Find, research, and track every importer and exporter in the UK — from your desk or the road
How we built FreightSource, a sales intelligence platform that turns raw UK trade data into a searchable, saveable, trackable tool for freight and logistics companies so reps spend their time selling, not searching.
🚢
FreightSource herosearch interface + map + company profile
The Problem
An industry full of data but no way to use it
Freight and logistics teams need to know who is shipping what and where. UK trade data exists, but it is raw, fragmented, and difficult to use without significant manual effort.
Reps were manually trawling data, finding possible matches, and tracking prospects in spreadsheets. Reps in the field had no fast way to identify nearby prospects, and commodity detail was too buried to quickly determine fit.
The data existed. The tools to make it useful did not.
⚠️ UK trade data was available but raw and fragmented, requiring heavy manual processing
⚠️ No way to find importers or exporters near a rep's current location in the field
⚠️ Commodity codes were difficult to inspect quickly at company level
⚠️ No robust workflow to save, categorise, and manage target account lists
⚠️ No alerts for changing trade activity across saved prospects
⚠️ Sales teams spent too much time researching and not enough time selling
The Solution
Raw data turned into a sales intelligence platform
We built FreightSource as both a web app and native mobile app. Core principle: turn UK trade records into something reps can actually use searchable, filterable, saveable, and accessible on the move.
Search, filter, and find — from anywhere
Reps can search by location, commodity, and trade type. On mobile, they can run radius-based searches from their current location and get high-fit companies in seconds.
📍 Within 25miImportElectronicsActive last 90d
- Harbour & Co LtdBristol, BS1Importer
- Redland Components LtdBath, BA1Imp & Exp
- Aztec Micro LtdKeynsham, BS31Importer
- Westfield Logistics LtdWeston, BS23Exporter
- Severn Trade GroupAvonmouth, BS11Imp & Exp
Company profiles with full trade intelligence
Every company profile shows commodity codes, activity levels, and recent trading behaviour. Reps can save, categorise, and alert-watch accounts in one place.
Harbour & Co Ltd📍 Bristol, BS1 4QA · Registered 2014
★ Saved🔔 Alerts on
ImporterPrimary type
142Shipments (12mo)
3Commodity codes
ActiveLast 30 days
Commodity codes traded
8471 · Data processing machines (58%)8542 · Electronic integrated circuits (31%)8473 · Parts for data processing (11%)
✅ Search and filter UK importers/exporters by location, trade type, activity, and commodity
✅ Proximity search on mobile to find nearby prospects during field visits
✅ Commodity code visibility to quickly qualify account relevance
✅ Save and categorise targets into usable prospect lists
✅ Trade activity alerts for emerging opportunities
✅ Cross-platform workflows: desktop research, mobile execution
The Platform
What FreightSource does
A complete sales intelligence toolkit built specifically for freight and logistics.
Smart search
Filter by location, commodity, trade type, and activityProximity search
Radius-based company discovery from current locationCompany profiles
Trade intelligence, codes, volumes, and historySave & categorise
Structured target-account list managementActivity alerts
Signals on trade changes and new movementNative mobile app
Search and prospect workflows on iOS and Android"The data was always there. The missing piece was a product that made it practically useful for sales teams that need answers quickly while they are in motion."
The Results
What FreightSource delivers
FreightSource changes how teams prospect: less raw-data wrangling, more qualified outreach.
✓ UK import/export data made searchable and actionable for sales teams
✓ Proximity search enables rapid field prospecting in live territories
✓ Commodity-level visibility improves qualification before first contact
✓ Saved lists and categories create a structured shared pipeline
✓ Trade alerts surface opportunities that would otherwise be missed
✓ Web and mobile parity supports desk and road workflows
✓ More sales time spent in outreach and conversations, less in data prep
✓ A practical product where the market had data but no fit-for-purpose tool
Built With
Technology
Built for large-scale trade datasets, fast search, geolocation, and cross-platform use.
Next.jsReactReact NativeNode.jsPostgreSQLPostGIS / GeolocationAWSUK Trade Data APIsPush notificationsREST APIs
Key Takeaway
Sometimes the product does not exist yet, so you build it
This was not a "replace a spreadsheet" project. It was a product opportunity: an industry with valuable data but no practical workflow tool.
When the gap is clear and the workflow is specific, purpose-built product development is what turns data into revenue capability.
Got a product idea that does not exist yet?
If you have spotted a gap in your industry and need a technical partner to build it properly, we should talk.