Case Study: Automating Invoice Processing with Cargowise Integration

10 Apr, 2025 / 4 minutes read

💡 90% of logistics companies still rely on partially manual invoice workflows — leading to delays, human error, and hidden operational costs.
This use case shows how SenseTask helped a global logistics provider fully automate the processing of over 4,000 invoices per month, through a deep integration with Cargowise and Getex.

Before automation, invoices arrived in multiple formats — electronic, scanned, and PDF — often containing complex shipment references and charge codes. Manual allocation of these invoices to the right departments and operators consumed valuable time and introduced costly errors.

SenseTask implemented a fully live, production-grade solution that:

  • Extracts and validates invoice data from any format
  • Identifies and matches shipping references with Cargowise records
  • Automatically allocates costs to the correct departments and operators
  • Syncs structured data and documents directly into Cargowise and Getex

The impact:

  • Drastic reduction in invoice allocation errors
  • Processing speed improved 5× — from hours to just minutes per invoice
  • 4,000+ documents/month automated, with a global rollout in progress

Logistics Invoice Processing

Challenges Before Automation

Before SenseTask, the invoice process was heavily reliant on manual effort — especially when working across multiple departments and tools like Cargowise. The main challenges included:

❌ Fragmented Invoice Sources

  • Invoices were mostly electronic but came in varied formats (XML, PDF, scan)
  • Shipment references were embedded inconsistently across documents

❌ Manual Matching & Allocation

  • Operators had to manually search for shipment IDs and references in each invoice
  • Allocating charges by department or transport mode (air, sea, road, rail) took hours

❌ High Risk of Errors

  • Manual entry increased the risk of incorrect allocations and missed charge codes
  • Tiny discrepancies (e.g. 0.001 differences) led to export failures or payment issues

❌ Disconnected Systems

  • There was no real-time sync between invoices and the Cargowise TMS
  • Exporting to Getex was an extra manual step, delaying document archiving

The SenseTask Solution

To eliminate manual effort and ensure seamless Cargowise integration, SenseTask deployed an end-to-end automation solution tailored to the client’s logistics workflows.

✅ Unified Invoice Processing Engine

  • Handled primarily electronic invoices, with fallback support for PDFs and scans
  • Extracted all relevant data, regardless of format — including Shipment IDs, Charge Codes, and Totals

✅ Smart Shipment Matching

  • Cross-referenced shipment references from invoices with Cargowise records
  • Validated invoice lines by comparing estimates vs. actuals, using Shipment ID, Charge Code, and Value

✅ Automated Allocation Logic

  • Assigned invoices to the correct transport mode (SEA, AIR, RAIL, ROAD) and internal operator
  • Mapped costs to the appropriate cost centers — fully automated with zero manual input

✅ Cargowise & Getex Integration

  • Exported both structured data and documents to Cargowise and Getex in real-time
  • Kept client records, shipment details, and costs synchronized across systems

✅ Bulletproof Validation

  • Built-in logic to validate and match totals — even correcting minor discrepancies (e.g. 0.001 differences)
  • Reduced export failures and eliminated invoice allocation errors

Results & Business Impact

The SenseTask implementation replaced a fragmented, manual process with a fully automated, production-grade solution — delivering immediate, measurable impact.

📈 5× Faster Invoice Processing

  • Processing time dropped from hours to under 10 minutes per invoice
  • No more manual reference lookups or cost allocation by operators

🧠 100% Automated Invoice Allocation

  • Invoices are now automatically allocated to the correct transport mode, operator, and cost center
  • Human intervention is no longer required for standard processing

🔒 Zero Allocation Errors

  • Eliminated mismatches between invoice lines and Cargowise shipment data
  • Custom validation logic ensures 100% accuracy before export to Cargowise and Getex

🌍 4,000+ Invoices/Month, Fully Automated

  • The solution is live across all departments — SEA, AIR, ROAD, and RAIL
  • The client now plans to extend automation to transport document collections, including waybills, delivery notes, and more

⏱ 100+ Hours Saved Monthly

  • Finance and operations teams now focus on high-value work, not manual data entry
  • Time savings translate into significant efficiency gains and cost reduction

How SenseTask Automates Invoice Processing in Cargowise

SenseTask integrates directly with your Cargowise environment, transforming invoice processing into a fully automated workflow. Here’s how it works:

1. Invoice Ingestion

SenseTask receives invoices in multiple formats — e-invoices, PDFs, or scans — via email, API, or direct upload.

2. Data Extraction & Validation

The platform automatically extracts:

  • Shipment IDs and references
  • Charge codes and values
  • Department indicators and totals

It then validates them against data from Cargowise — catching mismatches early.

3. Smart Allocation

Using business rules and context from the shipment, SenseTask:

  • Assigns invoices to the correct department (SEA, AIR, ROAD, RAIL)
  • Maps costs to the right operator and cost center
  • Flags any anomalies for optional review

4. System Sync & Export

Once validated, structured data and invoice documents are:

  • Synchronized with Cargowise (via API)
  • Archived in Getex or your DMS of choice
  • Made available for downstream systems (ERP, accounting, etc.)

5. Continuous Learning

SenseTask continuously learns from operator feedback and data patterns — improving precision across high-volume workflows.

Why Cargowise Users Choose SenseTask

Cargowise is a powerful TMS, but processing documents around it — especially invoices — often involves time-consuming manual work. That’s where SenseTask fits in.

🚀 Purpose-Built for Logistics Automation

SenseTask was designed with freight forwarding and transport in mind — from invoice handling to future support for waybills, PODs, and transport collections.

🔗 Seamless Integration with Cargowise

Our platform connects directly to Cargowise via API, syncing references, clients, shipments, costs, and document exports with zero manual input.

🧠 AI-Powered Matching & Validation

From matching shipment IDs to validating charges line-by-line, SenseTask’s automation engine ensures data accuracy and allocation precision — no templates required.

🔒 Enterprise-Ready & Scalable

SenseTask supports multi-department workflows (SEA, AIR, ROAD, RAIL) with RBAC, audit trails, and full version control, ready for global rollouts.

Conclusion

Automating invoice processing with Cargowise isn’t just about speed — it’s about accuracy, scalability, and freeing your team from repetitive work.

With SenseTask, our client transformed a time-consuming, error-prone workflow into a fully automated invoice engine, now processing 4,000+ documents per month with zero manual allocation.

And this is just the beginning — the same automation engine is now being extended to transport document collections, unlocking even greater efficiency across the logistics chain.

🚀 Ready to see how it works?

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