Looking to launch or enhance a freight management platform? The open-source AxleShift Core‑1 repository offers a powerful foundation for clients to bootstrap their own freight systems—from order entry to smart scheduling and real-time notifications.
# What Is AxleShift Core‑1?
The AxleShift Core‑1 GitHub repo (opens new window) is the back‑end heart of the AxleShift platform, providing core freight management services including:
- Order management – create, update, schedule orders
- Planning & scheduling – assign shipments, configure delivery timelines
- Real‑time notifications – update clients and stakeholders on shipment status
This module enables you to rapidly launch freight workflows with built‑in logic and notification capabilities—without reinventing the wheel.
# Why Use Core‑1 as a Starting Point?
Building a FMS (Freight Management System) from scratch is complex. Industry-standard systems typically include:
- Order management to capture and validate orders
- Load planning & optimization to maximize cargo efficiency
- Carrier management for contracts, selection, and ratings
- Route planning with real-time traffic integration
- Freight tracking and visibility
- Billing, settlements, and analytics for financial control (anwire.org (opens new window), ignitionlogisticssoftware.com (opens new window), cario.com.au (opens new window), uffizio.com (opens new window))
Core‑1 addresses the first few components out of the box, leaving plenty of room for clients to extend:
| Layer | Provided by Core‑1 | Client can add |
|---|---|---|
| Data & API layer | ✔️ | — |
| Order/Schedule flow | ✔️ | — |
| Carrier logic | ❌ | ✓ (connect APIs, store contracts) |
| Route optimization | ❌ | ✓ (integrate mapping or AI libraries) |
| Tracking layer | ❌ | ✓ (IoT, GPS tools) |
| Billing / Invoicing | ❌ | ✓ (connect ERP, TMS) |
| Analytics & reporting | ❌ | ✓ (integrate) |
| Notifications | ✔️ basic | ✓ (SMS, email templates, webhook) |
By starting with Core‑1, clients get a working engine for freight workflows and build outward to add billing, tracking, optimization, and reporting.
# How Clients Can Build on Core‑1
# 1. Clone & Explore
git clone https://github.com/mrepol742/axleshift-core1.git
cd axleshift-core1
Familiarize yourself with the codebase—its data models for orders, shipments, schedules; the REST API endpoints; and the built-in notification structure.
# 2. Define Your Workflow
Map your business process:
- Order intake (commercial versus TMS vs. API submission)
- Automated scheduling / dispatch rules (e.g., regional hubs, time windows)
- Event-driven triggers (e.g., shipment creation, delays, delivery)
Core‑1 covers initiation and notification—everything else can extend via plug-ins or APIs.
# 3. Add Integration Layers
Connect to:
- Carrier APIs (e.g., FleetOps, DHL, UPS) for booking, rate requests, tracking
- Geolocation/Route optimization services (like Google Maps, GraphHopper, or open-source AI)
- IoT/GPS devices for live tracking updates
# 4. Implement Financial & Analytics
- Add billing logic: auto-generate invoices based on distances, carriers, service levels
- Connect to ERP/accounting tools (QuickBooks, SAP)
- Hook into BI dashboards for KPIs like cost per mile, on-time %, load factor (ignitionlogisticssoftware.com (opens new window), cario.com.au (opens new window))
# 5. Elevate Notifications & UX
Core‑1 includes basic notifications. Extend them to:
- SMS or email alerts
- Customer portal with shipment tracking
- Admin dashboard for shipment oversight
# Benefits of This Approach
- ✅ Faster time-to-market – leverage a tested order-to-schedule core
- 🔧 Fully customizable – build only what you need (carrier, routing, billing)
- ⚙️ Modular architecture – plug in third-party systems with clear integration points
- 📈 Scalable foundation – grow into advanced features like AI-route optimization, carbon tracking, analytics dashboards (axleshift.com (opens new window))
# Get Started Today
- Fork the repo and deploy Core‑1 locally (Docker or Node.js stack).
- Experiment by creating test orders and verifying scheduling and notifications.
- Plan extensions based on your use case: carriers? route planners? invoicing?
- Build incrementally: add components one at a time and deploy progressively.
# In Summary
AxleShift’s Core‑1 gives clients a robust, open-source back‑end module to launch a freight management system quickly. Rather than starting from scratch:
- You get battle-tested order & schedule handling
- You can choose only the components you need
- You can easily integrate carriers, EO tools, ERP, analytics
- You retain full ownership—no vendor lock-in
Begin with Core‑1, plug in the rest, and build a freight system tailored to your operations. Need help getting started with a specific integration (e.g. routing, invoicing, real‑time tracking)? I’d be glad to help!