Stop paying demurrage and detention you should never have owed.
Proactive clock monitoring, pickup coordination and dispute preparation for demurrage, detention and per-diem across ocean and inland flows.
Overview
Demurrage and detention (D&D) are the two most preventable cost lines on a freight forwarder's P&L — and yet they routinely leak. Operanta's D&D management desk turns the clock into a discipline. Every containerised shipment gets a monitored D&D clock from gate-out. Every free-day window is tracked against contracted per-diem rules. Every impending expiry triggers pickup coordination, drayage escalation, appointment booking and — where cost is unavoidable — dispute prep against the carrier. We audit inbound D&D invoices, prepare disputes against wrongly-applied per-diem, and publish a monthly D&D exposure and recovery report.
Why D&D deserves its own desk
The industry-average forwarder pays for D&D that never should have been billed — mis-applied free days, wrong contract references, wrong port free-day rules or holiday exclusions ignored. A dedicated D&D desk running 24/7 recovers this leakage, and — more importantly — prevents the leakage in the first place by escalating early.
- D&D clock started at gate-out on every container
- Alerts at day-1, day-3 and day-5 pre-expiry (or per your SOP)
- Pickup coordination and drayage escalation to avoid D&D
- Audit of every D&D invoice against contracted per-diem rules
- Dispute prep for mis-applied per-diem and holiday-exclusion violations
- Monthly D&D exposure and recovery report
D&D scope
Monitoring
- D&D clock from gate-out on every container
- Alerts at configurable day thresholds
- Free-day window tracking by port and contract
- Holiday-exclusion tracking by country and terminal
- Cross-check against booking free-day agreement
Avoidance
- Pickup coordination with consignee and drayage provider
- Appointment booking at terminal / rail ramp
- Empty-return coordination and per-diem-stop monitoring
- Chassis-pool coordination and split-billing prep
- Escalation to your ops lead on stuck containers
Dispute & audit
- Audit of D&D invoices against contracted rules
- Dispute letter preparation to carrier / terminal
- Credit note follow-up to closure
- Root-cause analysis for repeat-offender lanes / customers
- Monthly exposure and recovery report
How we onboard this desk
Discovery
30-minute call to scope volume, TMS, SOPs and offshore-able tasks.
Workflow audit
We document your as-is process and highlight high-leverage offshore work.
SOP build
Co-authored SOPs, screen recordings, quality gates and QC framework.
Pilot (30 days)
Single specialist runs a controlled pilot on a sub-set of work.
Scale
Phased ramp to full team strength with named team lead.
Monthly review
Scorecard, optimisation opportunities and capacity planning.
Industries we serve with Demurrage & Detention Management
- International freight forwarders (Tier 1 and SME)
- Non-Vessel Operating Common Carriers (NVOCCs)
- Customs brokers and trade compliance practices
- 3PL, contract logistics and warehousing operators
- Digital freight platforms and forwarders
Frequently asked questions
What is the typical D&D recovery?
For a mid-market forwarder, D&D recovery from mis-applied per-diem, wrong free-day windows and holiday-exclusion errors typically runs 15–30% of gross D&D billed. Prevention (via pickup coordination and early escalation) reduces gross D&D by 20–40%.
Do you coordinate drayage and pickups?
Yes — we coordinate directly with your drayage providers and consignees to schedule pickups within the free-day window. We do not physically move cargo; we run the scheduling and escalation.
How do you handle terminals without a digital appointment system?
Manual booking with confirmation capture. Every appointment has a documented owner and confirmation reference.
Do you integrate with terminal appointment systems?
Yes. Where you have digital terminal appointment access, our desk operates inside those platforms using your credentials.
Do you handle inland detention (per-diem) on chassis?
Yes. Chassis per-diem is often the most-leaked line — we run it alongside container D&D.
Turn D&D from a cost line into a KPI.
Book a discovery call. We will benchmark your current D&D leakage and propose a 60-day plan.