
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Streamliner
Welcome to our FAQ center. This section is designed to help you understand how Streamliner bridges the technical and human gaps in your supply chain. Whether you are curious about our Order-Centric scheduling logic or how we help you eliminate the "D&D blind spot," you will find the answers to our most common inquiries here.
We strive to provide total performance control, but we know every logistics network has its own unique challenges. If you have a specific scenario or a question not covered in this list, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at info@streamliner.cloud for a personalized analysis or a live demo.
General
Which specific industries is Streamliner designed for? Streamliner is a cross-industry platform carefully crafted for any business managing large-scale warehouse operations and/or importing containers. This includes: oWholesalers: Managing inbound supplier shipments and outbound customer deliveries. oLogistics Service Providers (LSPs): Acting as a central hub connecting LSPs with their principals and carriers. oManufacturers: Tracking incoming raw supplies and outgoing finished products to ensure a smooth production flow. oRetailers: Monitoring shipments from suppliers to central distribution centers as well as directly to individual shops.
What is meant by "Supply Made Social"? This reflects Streamliner’s approach to transforming fragmented communication (emails/phone calls) into a centralized social platform. •Message Wall: Allows you to broadcast broad announcements, such as roadworks or changed opening hours, to your entire community. •Focused Chats: Keeps all conversations linked to specific Order IDs or Shipment IDs, ensuring the right people have the necessary context without hunting for contact details. •History Trail: Every document, photo of damaged goods, or chat message shared becomes a permanent part of that shipment's history trail for accountability and easier claim management.
Can Streamliner be considered as a "Digital Twin" of our logistics network? The platform allows you to build a "digital twin" of your entire warehouse network. You can define specific sites, warehouses, and zones with dedicated gates, as well as set custom opening hours and resource capacities for each activity.
Import Container Scheduling
Does Streamliner improve visibility between the port and the warehouse? Streamliner provides end-to-end inbound monitoring, tracking the lifecycle of shipments from the moment a container is loaded at origin until the goods arrive and are unloaded. It provides timestamps for critical milestones all along the voyage linking traditional RTTV datapoint with inland steps up to the physical arrival the the warehouse and the unloading process. The multi-modal transport is mapping the route from the port all the way to specific warehouse zones. The actual transit time is compared to standard lead times to automatically trigger alerts in case of delays.
How can we reduce detention & demurrage (D&D) costs? Most logistics teams manage containers based on arrival date (First-In, First-Out), which often leads to expensive penalties for high-risk containers. Streamliner uses Intelligent Arbitration to prioritize your flow based on a strategic balance of two factors: •Financial Risk: The system identifies containers closest to their "Last Free Day" to avoid looming D&D penalties. •Commercial Urgency: It aligns pull-dates with actual business needs, such as high-priority promotions or backordered stock. •The Result: You stop processing containers blindly and start making the most profitable decisions for your bottom line.
How does Streamliner eliminate the "visibility gap" between the port and the warehouse? A major cause of D&D is a lack of coordination between container arrivals and warehouse capacity. Streamliner closes this gap through Predictive Flow Alignment: •Synchronized Capacity: The system matches container arrivals with the actual absorption capacity of your docks and labor. •Eliminating Queues: By predicting bottlenecks before they happen, you eliminate truck queues and yard congestion that lead to idle time and penalties. •Real-Time Steering: You gain a "Control Tower" view that allows you to anticipate arrivals rather than simply reacting when a container hits the gate.
Can we stop detention fees that occur after the container is delivered? Streamliner actively manages empty containers once a unit is unloaded. When the empty unit is finally reused or picked up, its status is updated to "OUT," providing a precise recorded timestamp of its departure. Furthermore, return processes can be managed through a dedicated "return location" zone to track the assets back to the supplier. Because fees often accrue due to administrative delays in returning empty containers after unloading, Streamliner solves this through Automated Empty Returns. The process begins with an instant trigger the moment a warehouse team marks a container as "emptied" in the platform.
What is the difference between Streamliner and real-time visibility platforms (RTTVPs) like Wakeo and Shippeo? Streamliner works in perfect harmony with real-time visibility platforms (RTTVPs) like Wakeo and Shippeo. While these partners provide the high-quality tracking data and "dots on a map," Streamliner acts as the execution layer that turns that data into specific warehouse actions. To understand the difference with RTTVPs, think of them as the "sensors" and Streamliner as the "pilot": •A Collaborative Ecosystem: We partner with industry leaders like Wakeo and Shippeo to ingest their precise real-time data. This partnership allows you to view your entire supply chain in one place without manual data entry. Streamliner can connect withy other RTTV providers if needed. •From Visibility to "Intelligent Arbitration": Our partners tell you exactly when a container will arrive; Streamliner then helps you decide which container should be prioritized. By layering business logic over tracking data, we help you arbitrate between commercial urgency and the risk of D&D penalties. •Actionable Predictive Flow: Streamliner takes the "Expected Time of Arrival" (ETA) from our tracking partners and synchronizes it with your warehouse’s actual absorption capacity. This ensures that your dock, labor, and equipment are ready exactly when the data says the truck will hit the gate. •Closing the Execution Loop: While tracking provides the "inbound" status, Streamliner manages the "on-site" execution and the "outbound" return. •Our tracking partners provide the Visibility; Streamliner provides the Execution. Together, we provide a seamless "Ocean to Dock" solution that replaces supply chain blind spots with total performance control.
Appointment Scheduling
Can Streamliner handle complex multi-order shipments? Streamliner supports complex scenarios such as split shipments, backorders, and multi-order deliveries. Streamliner automatically links individual Purchase Orders (POs) to transport and dock appointments. This makes it easy to handles complex scenarios such as split shipments, backorders, and multi-order deliveries. Suppliers can combine multiple purchase orders into a single transport order, or split one purchase order into multiple transport orders. Carriers can also consolidate transport orders from different principals or suppliers into a single booking. Furthermore, for multi-modal transports involving barges and trains, multiple units (such as containers) can be combined into a single shipment for streamlined booking and tracking. All this keeps all teams aligned (from Sales to Operations).
Is the platform built for high-volume operations (500+ shipments/month)? Certainly. Streamliner is specifically targeted at companies that operate large warehouses managing more than 50 shipments per day (which equates to roughly 1,000+ per month). The highly scalable SaaS platform facilitated over a quarter of a million bookings in 2024 alone. And it makes you scale volumes without adding planners or administrative overhead.
How are dock slot times calculated accurately? Instead of using fixed time slots, Streamliner uses a "Order-Centric Scheduling" approach. It dynamically calculates the necessary duration of a delivery slot based on on the actual load (pallets, bulk, tankers) in the shipment AND the specific warehouse zone's productivity parameters. It adjusts dynamically based on the warehouse's real-time resource availability, staff, and topology.
What kind of ROI can we expect? Streamliner clients report average cost reductions of 25% per shipment. High-level customers have achieved savings of up to €8 per order and up to €200,000 annually per warehouse by eliminating bottlenecks, optimizing staff, and avoiding truck waiting fines. Because it is a SaaS platform, it delivers immediate OPEX reductions without requiring CAPEX.
How quickly can we see measurable results? Measurable results are achieved quickly because the platform requires no upfront hardware investments. A typical first-site deployment takes only 4 to 6 weeks, depending on operational complexity. The APIs can be smoothly integrated into existing IT systems within just 10 days.
Collaboration
How easy is it to convince suppliers and carriers to enroll? Logistics directors often worry about partner adoption, but Streamliner is designed to eliminate these hurdles, typically reaching +98% enrollment within 3 months. We achieve this by removing the common friction points found in traditional systems: •Zero Cost for Partners: Unlike competitors who charge carriers per-slot fees (often €2.50–€3.00), Streamliner is completely free for your carriers and suppliers. •No Technical Barriers: Partners use a simple, intuitive self-service portal that requires no IT integration or complex setup. •One Account for Everything: Using a secure, VAT-identity based community model, carriers use a single login to interact with all your sites and other customers on our network. •Supported Onboarding: We manage the heavy lifting by providing digital manuals and pre-recorded webinars, ensuring your partners are ready to go in under an hour. •Operational Benefits: Partners gain instant value through reduced waiting times, digital document sharing, and a centralized "message wall" that replaces endless emails and calls. By removing financial and technical barriers and bringing benefits, we turn potential resistance into a collaborative standard for your entire supply chain.
How does Streamliner improve collaboration with carriers and suppliers? Streamliner replaces fragmented emails and phone calls with a centralized digital platform. It features a smart chat function directly linked to specific orders/shipments, allowing users to communicate instantly without hunting for contact details. It also includes a message wall for broad announcements, the ability to share pictures (e.g., damaged goods) and documents (e.g., delivery notes), real-time notifications, and standardized issue reporting.
Will our partners need extensive training to use the platform? No. The platform is designed for easy onboarding with a simplified interface, reducing the administrative workload for your external partners. The platform is highly intuitive and requires minimal training. It is a free self-service portal for suppliers and carriers, requiring no IT integration on their end. Streamliner handles partner onboarding via a 1-hour pre-recorded webinar and provides extensive digital manuals in an online support center.
Can we control what data our partners see? Streamliner uses secure, role-based permissions and company-level data segregation to ensure each partner only accesses the information relevant to them. At the same time, partners can collaborate with other companies in separate, fully isolated environments. This means they can participate in multiple networks while keeping your data completely secure and invisible to others. This is the strength of Streamliner: enabling seamless collaboration while maintaining strict data separation by design.
What languages does the Streamliner platform support? The Streamliner user interface is designed to be multi-lingual and currently supports English, French, Dutch, Geman and Polish. Additional languages can be added for a one-off translation cost.
Who maintains the users? Streamliner utilizes a decentralized management model to ensure that you are never burdened by the administrative overhead of your partners' personnel. Every stakeholder—whether a supplier, carrier, or principal—is fully responsible for managing their own user base. They independently handle their own invitations, roles, and access permissions within their own organization. This self-service approach ensures that the database remains accurate and up-to-date in real-time. Because each company manages its own team, transitions are handled internally when a partner’s employee goes on holiday or leaves the company. This social nature of the hub means you can focus entirely on logistics rather than data entry, as you no longer need to maintain a complex CRM for hundreds or thousands of external stakeholder staff.
Integration and Implementation
Will Streamliner replace our ERP, TMS or WMS? Streamliner is designed to seamlessly complement, rather than replace, your existing ERP, WMS, or TMS systems. It fills the technical and human collaboration gaps between the moment an order leaves your internal system and when it physically arrives at the dock.
How complex is the integration? Integration is straightforward. Streamliner offers a rich library of well-defined, digitally documented APIs (via Swagger UI). It is designed to smoothly integrate into existing ERP, WMS, and TMS systems within fewer than 10 days.
What internal resources are required? Streamliner follows a “train-the-trainer” approach to minimize internal workload and ensure scalable adoption. For a typical implementation, you will need a small cross-functional team composed of a reception or expedition key user, a transport key user, a stock or replenishment key user, and a project manager dedicating approximately 1 to 2 hours per day over a period of 1 to 2 months. IT involvement is limited and mainly required for setting up the initial API connections. For organizations operating multiple warehouses, deployment starts with a reference site, which is typically implemented within 4 to 6 weeks. During this phase, Streamliner experts train your internal key users and process owners. Once trained, your team becomes autonomous and can roll out the solution across the rest of your network. For large-scale or complex international deployments, Streamliner can be supported by strategic partners such as PwC to ensure a smooth and accelerated rollout.