The verdict in three sentences
An off-the-shelf TMS gets you live in weeks for 30 to 90 EUR / user / month, but it bends you to its routing rules and EDI formats. A custom TMS costs 70,000 to 170,000 EUR and 7 to 12 months, and it fits your transport orders, your subcontractors and your tracking. In Amsterdam, the real trigger isn't the licence: it's the 15% cut in empty kilometres that pays the project back.
Off-the-shelf or custom: the real trade-off
A transport operations director juggles three problems: optimising routes, tracing transport orders and giving the end client visibility. Vendors cover 80% of the standard need; the remaining 20% — your subcontracting rules, your port constraints, your client EDI — are either impossible or billed as bespoke development.
| Criterion | Off-the-shelf TMS (SaaS) | Custom TMS |
|---|---|---|
| Entry cost | 0 to 8,000 EUR (setup) | 70,000 to 170,000 EUR |
| Subscription | 30 to 90 EUR/user/month | 0 (you own it) |
| Time to go live | 4 to 10 weeks | 7 to 12 months |
| Route optimisation | Standard, configurable | Your exact rules |
| EDI / connectors | Limited catalogue | On demand, unlimited |
| Maintenance (TMA) | Included in subscription | 700 to 1,600 EUR/month |
| Code ownership | No | Yes |
The 5-year TCO, in numbers
Total cost of ownership depends mostly on user count. Here is a 2026 order of magnitude for a fleet run by an operations team.
| Scenario | 10 users | 25 users | 50 users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Off-the-shelf TMS (60 EUR/user/month) over 5 years | 36,000 EUR | 90,000 EUR | 180,000 EUR |
| Custom TMS (120,000 EUR + 1,200 EUR/month TMA) | 192,000 EUR | 192,000 EUR | 192,000 EUR |
| Custom vs off-the-shelf gap | +156,000 EUR | +102,000 EUR | +12,000 EUR |
At 50 users the gap becomes marginal — and custom makes you the owner, with no licence hike per new driver. Below 15 users the vendor stays unbeatable, unless your business rules are genuinely unusual.
Mini case study
Marc, operations director of a 40-employee carrier in Amsterdam. His fleet covers 1.8 million km/year, 22% of it empty. A custom optimisation engine brings the empty rate down to 18.7% (−15% relative), saving 59,400 km/year. At 0.42 EUR/km fully loaded, that's 24,950 EUR saved per year. Add 6 planners saving 45 min/day (≈ 30,000 EUR/year valued). Against a 120,000 EUR project plus 14,400 EUR/year of maintenance, payback lands around 2.4 years, before counting avoided vendor licences.
FAQ
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How much does a custom TMS cost in Amsterdam in 2026?
Budget 70,000 to 170,000 EUR depending on scope: route optimisation, real-time tracking and EDI push the upper range. Maintenance runs 700 to 1,600 EUR/month.
How long does a custom TMS take to deliver?
Between 7 and 12 months. A first working module (transport orders + planning) can ship in 3 to 4 months, then optimisation and EDI are added in batches.
Is custom worth it below 20 drivers?
Rarely on licence cost alone. It becomes worthwhile if your subcontracting rules or port constraints fit no vendor, or if empty-km savings exceed 10%.
Can my TMS connect to my shippers' EDI?
Yes. Custom handles any format (EDIFACT, XML, REST API) without depending on a connector catalogue. That's often the number one reason to leave a vendor.
What happens if my fleet doubles?
With custom, no extra licence cost: you pay infrastructure and maintenance. With a vendor, the bill grows linearly with every added user.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your fleet size, transport-order volume and EDI constraints, and we'll frame a scope and an indicative budget between 70,000 and 170,000 EUR. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
