'ShipKit handles multi-carrier shipping. Wolverine Solution builds custom logistics, ERP integrations, and AI agents for distributors who outgrow open-source tools.'
Keyword math: “shipkit alternative custom software agency” is a commercial / comparison query — we estimate 40–120 monthly searches (US + EU combined), difficulty ~25–35 on a 1–100 scale. Volume is modest but intent is high: searchers already know ShipKit (Lifted Holdings’ open-source multi-carrier shipping library) and are evaluating whether to extend it themselves or hire a partner. We can win because the SERP is thin — mostly GitHub repos, Lifted’s own docs, and generic “best shipping software” listicles. No competitor owns the “ShipKit vs custom build” angle for wholesale distributors, multi-location operators, or SaaS founders embedding shipping into a product. KPI: CTR ≥3% and average position ≤8 for the target phrase in 90 days. Review date: 2026-11-25.
You’re looking at ShipKit — Lifted Holdings’ open-source, 3-D Secure-enabled multi-carrier shipping engine — and trying to decide: fork it, wrap it, or bring in a custom software agency for everything ShipKit was never meant to cover. This page is for regional wholesale distributors, multi-location franchise operators, and seed-stage SaaS founders who need NetSuite / Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central / QuickBooks Enterprise sync, EDI middleware, RAG-backed order-intake agents, or a customer portal. ShipKit was built for labels and rates. Not that.
ShipKit is an open-source Node.js / TypeScript library for multi-carrier label generation, rate shopping, and 3-D Secure payments — maintained by Lifted Holdings. It stops at the shipping label. It does not natively sync orders from NetSuite, Dynamics 365 BC, or QuickBooks Enterprise. It does not model your EDI 850/855/810 workflows. It does not expose a GraphQL / REST API for a customer portal. And it does not run RAG pipelines or tool-calling agents that decide split-shipment logic with human approval on ERP writes.
If your team has TypeScript engineers who can maintain a fork, ShipKit is a solid foundation. If you need fixed-scope delivery of the surrounding system — ERP integration, warehouse UI, carrier fallback rules, audit trail, SOC 2‑ready AWS / GCP infra — a custom agency ships faster and owns the outcome.
Choose a custom agency when: (1) you need bi-directional ERP sync (NetSuite, Dynamics 365 BC, QuickBooks Enterprise) within weeks, not quarters; (2) your EDI trading partners require AS2 / SFTP / VAN connectivity that ShipKit doesn’t provide; (3) you want a React / Next.js customer portal or driver app with React Native / native iOS / Android builds; (4) you need RAG-backed order classification or an agentic workflow that routes exceptions to a human before ERP write-back; (5) you want Terraform-managed AWS RDS / GCP Cloud SQL infra with SOC 2 controls — not a Docker Compose file on a single EC2 instance.
We run a discovery → fixed-scope proposal → 2-week sprints → your cloud account process. Discovery maps your EDI specs, ERP object model, carrier contracts, and exception rules. The proposal locks acceptance criteria, price, and timeline — no time-and-materials. Sprints ship React / Next.js web apps, React Native mobile apps, Python / Node.js services, PostgreSQL on AWS RDS / GCP Cloud SQL, Terraform modules, and AI/LLM systems (RAG, evals, human-in-the-loop). We deploy to your AWS / GCP account. You own the code and infra from day one.
We maintain reusable adapters for: NetSuite SuiteTalk / SuiteScript, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central OData / AL extensions, QuickBooks Enterprise QBXML / Web Connector, Stripe Billing / Connect, HubSpot CRM / Operations Hub, and generic REST / GraphQL / EDI X12 / AS2 middleware. Adapters are MIT-licensed in your repo — no vendor lock-in. [Internal link: custom software development process]
Yes. We build multi-tenant shipping micro-services behind your GraphQL / REST API, with Stripe Connect for carrier passthrough billing, feature flags per tenant, and RAG-backed support bots that answer “where’s my order?” from your PostgreSQL + Pinecone / Weaviate index. ShipKit becomes one carrier adapter among many — not the product. [Internal link: AI and ML system development]
Typical ranges for US/EU clients: ERP + carrier + portal MVP — $75k–$150k, 8–14 weeks; EDI + multi-warehouse + RAG agent — $120k–$250k, 12–20 weeks. Price is fixed in the proposal. We invoice 30% on sign, 40% at midpoint demo, 30% on production deploy. No retainer. [Internal link: software development cost estimation]
SOC 2 Type II readiness: Terraform modules enforce AWS / GCP guardrails (encrypted RDS / Cloud SQL, VPC egress control, IAM least privilege). GDPR / CCPA: data residency via EU-central-1 / us-east-1 region pinning, DPA signed pre-kickoff. PCI DSS SAQ A-EP if Stripe handles card data; we never store PANs. Pen-test report delivered at launch.
30-day hypercare included: on-call Slack channel, PagerDuty escalation, Grafana / Datadog dashboards we built. Handoff covers runbooks, architecture decision records, Terraform state, and a GitHub repo with GitHub Actions CI/CD. After hypercare: optional capacity blocks (10/20/40 hrs/mo) for new carriers, ERP version upgrades, or eval-driven LLM prompt tuning — still fixed-scope, no retainer.
Yes, ShipKit is MIT-licensed. You can fork, extend, and embed it in a commercial product without fees. What costs money is the engineering time to wire it into NetSuite, Dynamics 365 BC, EDI partners, and to run the infra securely.
Absolutely. We can audit your fork, add TypeScript / Python services around it, build the React / Next.js portal, wire Terraform infra, and implement RAG exception handling — all fixed-scope. You keep full ownership.
Yes. We are Montréal-based but operate fully remote for US and EU buyers. Sprints run on Eastern / Central European overlap hours. Contracts are US or EU governing law per client preference.
We scope exactly what you need. A NetSuite ↔ ShipKit bi-directional sync with Celery / BullMQ workers, PostgreSQL audit log, and Grafana alerts can be a $35k–$60k, 5–8 week fixed-scope spoke. No portal required.
Book a 30-minute call via the form below. Bring your ERP version, EDI spec samples, carrier accounts, and a list of exception rules. We’ll return a fixed-scope proposal within 5 business days — or tell you ShipKit + internal dev is the right path.
Wolverine Solution builds fixed-scope web apps, mobile apps, AI/LLM systems, and DevOps infra for wholesale distributors, multi-location operators, and SaaS founders in the US and EU. We plug into NetSuite, Dynamics 365 BC, QuickBooks Enterprise, Stripe, HubSpot, and EDI middleware — no ERP rip-and-replace.
Book a 30-min discovery call →