Demurrage Is Draining Your Profits

You ever get that uneasy feeling when an invoice hits your inbox and something just feels… off? You glance at the numbers, squint a bit, maybe run it past a colleague—then spend the next two hours in Excel, trying to make sense of who owes what, for which container, and when the free time ran out.

Sound familiar? You’re not alone.

Tariffs, Talk, and Total Confusion

With geopolitical shake-ups like Trump’s tariffs still echoing across global trade, it’s no wonder the import/export scene feels like walking through fog. Port delays have become part of the routine now—like bad weather or coffee machines that never work. But while you can laugh off a slow espresso, the late arrival of a container can cost you thousands.

And here’s the kicker: most teams don’t actually know when those charges are about to hit. They just wait for the invoice and hope it makes sense.

Spoiler alert: it rarely does.

Do You Really Trust That Carrier Invoice?

Look, we’re not saying your carrier’s out to get you—but let’s be honest, their systems aren’t built for clarity. Fees pile up, codes are cryptic, and the line items start reading like a puzzle only a port veteran could solve.

Wouldn’t it be smarter to have your own view? One that shows your data, your way—before the invoice lands. That’s where CocoonDEM changes the game.

Containers Don’t Wait. So Why Are You?

Imagine this. You log into a dashboard, and in seconds you see every container currently on free time, those about to cross the line, and the ones already in the red. No more guesswork. No more chasing spreadsheets across departments. Just clean, clear visibility.

Honestly, we’ve seen supply chain managers spend days—literal days—manually calculating charges for detention and demurrage. By the time they finish, the data’s already stale.

With CocoonDEM, it takes 30 seconds.

Let’s Talk About That Excel Sheet You’ve Been Nurturing

We all know that one file. The Excel monster. It’s got tabs for each carrier, conditional formatting like a Christmas tree, and formulas you’re scared to touch because Brenda from finance built it seven years ago and now she’s retired in Portugal.

We get it. It’s familiar. But it’s also costing you time, money, and probably your patience.

You were never meant to be a part-time spreadsheet jockey. You’ve got bigger things to do—like planning inbound flow, forecasting budgets, and negotiating smarter contracts.

So here’s the question: if software can automate that work in under a minute, why are you still doing it by hand?

Visibility Isn’t a Luxury—It’s a Lifeline

Let me paint a picture. You’re reviewing container activity at the end of the month. Normally, you’re piecing this together with emails, PDF invoices, and the odd frantic phone call. But this time, it’s all right there: how many days each container sat idle, the exact charges accrued, the moment free time ran out.

It’s like switching from a jigsaw puzzle to a map with a flashing red dot saying: “Hey, this one needs your attention—now.”

This isn’t just useful for your ops team. CFOs care about this stuff too. Every charge you could’ve avoided is money off the bottom line. And in a climate where margins are tighter than ever, who can afford to let that slide?

Demurrage Is Sneaky—Don’t Let It Catch You Off Guard

Here’s the thing about detention and demurrage: they’re quiet costs. They don’t scream. They show up subtly—$90 here, $250 there—until suddenly your monthly total crosses five figures. And nobody saw it coming.

CocoonDEM acts like a watchdog. It tells you what’s happening, when it’s happening, and gives you a fighting chance to do something about it.

And yeah, that sounds obvious. But when you’re juggling 60 containers, four carriers, and a port schedule that changes more than a teenager’s playlist, even the obvious stuff slips through the cracks.

Automation That Doesn’t Feel Like a Black Box

Let’s be honest—there’s a lot of software out there that promises to automate things, but half the time it just replaces one pain with another. You trade manual work for confusing dashboards, clunky interfaces, or systems that only work if you spend six weeks training your team.

CocoonDEM was built differently. It’s clean, cloud-based, and actually built for the people who use it—planners, logistics managers, finance leads. People who don’t have time to babysit software, but still want it to do the heavy lifting.

It doesn’t try to be everything. It just does one thing really well: it calculates demurrage and detention fees in seconds. And it does it accurately—every time.

Final Thought: You Deserve Better Than Guesswork

Look, the supply chain isn’t getting simpler. Between unpredictable port operations, evolving tariff rules, and a growing demand for real-time accountability, the pressure’s only mounting.

But you know what? That doesn’t mean you need to stay in the dark.

You’ve got tools like CocoonDEM now. Tools that actually help you take back control—of your time, your data, and your budget. Tools that don’t just show you what went wrong, but help you prevent it before it does.

So maybe it’s time to give that old Excel sheet a well-earned break.

You’ve earned it.