How to Collaborate with Forwarders Without 50 Emails

TL;DR — Key Takeaways

Digitoll requires carriers and forwarders to share consignment data accurately and quickly. Instead of exchanging data through 50 emails, shared spreadsheets, or phone calls, use a live dashboard where everyone works on the same data. Odin Customs makes this possible with shared links and real-time collaboration on house consignments.

The 50-Email Problem

Here is a typical scenario before a border crossing:

The carrier creates a transport. The forwarder sends house consignment details via email — often as a PDF or Excel file. The carrier manually re-enters the data. Something is wrong (a missing weight, an incorrect VAT number). The carrier emails back. The forwarder replies with a correction. The carrier updates the filing. Another issue is found.

By the time the truck reaches Svinesund, ten emails have been exchanged, the data has been copied three times, and nobody is confident it is correct.

Live Collaboration Instead

Odin Customs replaces this entire back-and-forth with a shared workspace. The carrier creates the transport and master consignment, then shares a link with the forwarder.

The forwarder opens the link and enters house consignment data directly — no accounts needed, no software to install. Both parties see the same data in real-time. Validation runs continuously, highlighting errors before they become border problems.

This approach eliminates data re-entry, version conflicts, and the 'who has the latest file?' question.

Shared links in Odin Customs can be set to view-only or edit mode. You control who can modify data and who can only review it.

What Your Forwarder Needs to Provide

For each house consignment, the forwarder typically provides:

• Consignor (sender) name, address, and identification • Consignee (receiver) name, address, and identification • Goods description and commodity codes • Gross weight and number of packages • Document references (invoice numbers, contracts)

With Odin Customs, these fields are clearly laid out in the shared workspace with inline validation — the forwarder sees exactly what is missing or invalid as they type.

Time Saved, Errors Prevented

Companies using structured collaboration workflows report spending 70–80% less time on data exchange per shipment compared to email-based processes. More importantly, the error rate drops significantly because data is entered once, validated immediately, and visible to all parties.

For high-volume carriers with dozens of forwarder relationships, this is the difference between a manageable workflow and operational chaos.