Custom TMS Software Development
How a Saudi Logistics Company Replaced Its SaaS TMS With Custom Logistics Software
SK Logistics paid for a SaaS TMS it could not customize, while HR and finance ran outside it. In 6 months, we built one Laravel platform for fleet, shipments, finance, and HR that works the way their team does. It paid for itself within 12 months.
- Project duration
- 6 Months
- Modules in one platform
- 22
- Return on investment
- 12 Months
Client Overview
Client Story
SK Logistics is a Riyadh-based transport company with 20+ years in road freight. Led by CEO Faisal Shaikh, it runs domestic trucking between Saudi cities and cross-border land freight to the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman, along with customs clearance, warehousing, and air cargo and event logistics. The company reports 10,000+ completed trips and runs support around the clock.
Those trips ran on a third-party SaaS TMS that the company paid for every month but could not shape. Fields the operation needed did not exist, so the team tracked them by hand alongside the system, and workflows followed the software’s logic instead of the team’s. Leave, salaries, loans, and petty cash were handled outside the TMS altogether, so answering one question about a trip’s cost or a driver’s availability meant checking more than one place. As the network grew across six GCC countries, the subscription kept charging for a system that kept adding work.
Background
Project Background
Faisal wanted to stop renting software that did not fit and own a system built around how SK Logistics works. The brief:
- Centralized Logistics and Contracts
- Fleet, routes, shipments, and vendors managed in one platform.
- Operational and Financial Visibility
- Reports that connect shipments, invoices, and expenses.
- Digital HR and Finance
- Leave, attendance, payroll, loans, and petty cash inside the same system.
- Room to Grow
- Complex logistics workflows that scale as the GCC network grows.
Our TMS doesn’t give us the flexibility we need, and keeping everything running smoothly takes too much effort. We need a system that works the way our team does.
Discovery
Research & Ideation
The first question was not what to build. It was whether to keep adapting the team to a rented TMS, or own a platform shaped around the operation.
Rent or Own
The subscription was a recurring cost for a system the team worked around. An owned platform could pay back its build cost and keep paying back after.
Fit the Software to the Team
Fields, records, and reports follow SK Logistics’ own workflows instead of a vendor’s defaults.
Grow by Adding Modules
A modular build lets complex workflows scale by adding modules, not by rebuilding the core.
Design
Designing the Shipment Lifecycle
Every shipment moves through the same five steps, from fleet setup to supplier payment.
- Fleet SetupTrucks, drivers, trailers, vehicle types
- Routes and CitiesPickup, delivery, distance, duration
- Shipment OrderCustomer, route, driver, supplier, waybill
- Tracking to DeliveryStatus from request to proof of delivery
- Invoice and PaymentSupplier charges, totals, payment status
HR, finance, and vendor records sit beside this flow in the same platform, so shipment, cost, and staff data come from one source.
Challenges
Project Challenges
A Rented TMS With No Control
The third-party SaaS TMS offered no way to change its workflows or adapt it to how the team worked.
Missing Fields Added Manual Work
Data the operation needed had no place in the TMS, so the team tracked it separately.
Complex Workflows That Had to Scale
Trucks, drivers, trailers, routes, and cross-border shipments across six countries needed one structure that could grow.
HR and Finance Outside the System
Leave, attendance, salaries, loans, and petty cash were not digitized alongside operations.
Limited Operational and Financial Visibility
No reports connected shipments, supplier invoices, and expenses in one view.
Approach
Our Solutions
We traced the problems to their root cause, software the team could not shape, and replaced it with one platform built around SK Logistics’ operation.
Centralized Logistics Management
Fleet, routes, cities, shipment orders, and shipment tracking managed in one platform.
Fleet and Vendor Records
Trucks, drivers, trailers, vehicle types, and vendor details kept in structured records.
Operational and Financial Reports
Supplier invoice and shipment tracking reports, plus petty cash and expense type management.
Digital HR Processes
Users, leave, attendance, onboarding and offboarding, loans, salaries, and salary slips in one place.
Self-Service Profiles
Staff manage their own profile details and passwords without admin help.
Faster Data Handling
Search filters, import and export, and add, edit, and delete options across most modules.
22 Modules, One Platform
-
Fleet 6 modules
- Trucks
- Drivers
- Trailers
- Routes
- Cities
- Vehicle Types
-
Consignments 1 module
- Shipment Orders
-
Finance 2 modules
- Petty Cash
- Expense Types
-
Reports 2 modules
- Supplier Invoice Report
- Total Tracking Report
-
My Profile 2 modules
- Edit Profile
- Change Password
-
Vendors 1 module
- Vendor Master
-
HRMS 8 modules
- Users
- Leave Management
- Attendance
- Balance List
- Onboarding and Offboarding
- Loans
- Salaries
- Salary Slips
Custom Features
Custom Functionalities
The engineering choices that keep a 22-module platform simple to run and ready to grow.
Modular Architecture
Each area runs as its own module, so complex workflows scale by adding modules instead of rebuilding the core.
Role-Based Access Control
Operations, HR, and finance staff see and change only the records their role allows.
Location Autocomplete for Routes
Google Places Autocomplete returns latitude and longitude, so routes start from accurate pickup and delivery points.
Expense Types Mapped to Accounts
Each expense category maps to purchase and sale accounts, so petty cash and costs land in the right place.
Request-to-POD Tracking
One report follows each shipment from request through delivery, with vehicle, driver, charges, payment, and proof of delivery.
Bulk Import and Export
Most modules support import, export, and search filters, so records move in and out without manual retyping.
Support
On Going Support
SK Logistics engaged iCommuneTech on a fixed-price agreement, with scope, cost, and the 6-month timeline agreed before work began.
Fixed Scope, Fixed Price
The cost was known upfront, so the build could be weighed directly against the subscription it replaced.
A Platform They Own
No subscription to renew. SK Logistics decides what changes next and when.
90-Day Post-Launch Warranty
Issues found after go-live are fixed by the team that built the platform.
We’ve been pleased with the platform iCommuneTech has built for us. It has brought our logistics, finance, and HR processes together and has given us the control and visibility we need. The team understood how we work and delivered practical solutions that have helped us reduce unnecessary efforts.
Impact
Project Outcome
- Lower software costs after replacing the SaaS TMS subscription
- 75%
- More customers handled, with less unnecessary work
- 20–30%
- To return on investment
- 12 Months
- Modules in one owned platform
- 22
Results reported by SK Logistics.
Before: rented SaaS TMS
- Monthly subscription for software the team could not change
- Missing fields tracked by hand outside the system
- HR, payroll, and petty cash handled separately
- Shipment, invoice, and expense data in different places
After: owned logistics platform
- One-time build that paid for itself in 12 months
- Fields and reports built around SK Logistics’ workflows
- HR, payroll, and petty cash in the same platform
- Shipments followed from request to proof of delivery, with invoices alongside
SK Logistics now runs fleet, shipments, finance, and HR from one platform it owns. Each shipment can be followed from request to proof of delivery, with supplier invoices and payment status in the same reports.
Replacing the SaaS subscription cut software costs by 75% and returned the investment within 12 months. Custom fields and reports removed unnecessary work, so the team now handles 20–30% more customers.
How iCommuneTech Works
Understand first. Build exactly what’s needed. Stay for the long run.
We deliver the exact solution to a business problem with the least investment and time, then stay to keep it working.
We understand before we quote
We start by understanding how the work actually gets done, before we propose anything.
The exact solution, not the biggest one
We recommend the smallest solution that fully solves the problem, and use what already works.
A team that stays
Every launch includes a 90-day warranty, then an optional long-term delivery plan with the same team.
Problem Slowing Business Growth? Let’s Find the Exact Fix.
Tell us how the work gets done today. We’ll map it before we propose anything.
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