Asia Pacific · China

Ship Chandler Software for
Shanghai

Ship chandlers at Port of Shanghai use Tidal to turn RFQ emails into priced quotes in under 30 minutes, matched to their own catalogue and margin rules. Send us one real RFQ and we will quote it with you on a 30 minute call.

Built for ship chandlers and marine suppliers who quote vessels calling at Shanghai
One AI-native ERP for RFQs, quotes, purchase orders, invoices and stock, matched to your own catalogue and margin rules
You approve every line before the quote goes out. Live in about a week, no IT team needed

See how it works Is Tidal right for you?

Get a live demo on one of your own RFQs

Leave your work email and company. We reply within one business day to set up 30 minutes, then quote a real RFQ from Shanghai with you.

Looking for a ship chandler in Shanghai, or selling to us? Read this first.

Is this for you?

Software for the chandlers who supply Shanghai, not a chandler

Tidal is quoting software. Ship chandlers and marine suppliers use it to answer buyer RFQs faster. We do not supply vessels ourselves.

A good fit if you

Run a chandlery or marine supply business serving vessels at Shanghai
Retype buyer RFQs into spreadsheets or your ERP before you can price them
Lose orders because a faster supplier answered first
Want consistent prices and margins on every quote, whoever prepares it

Not the right page if you

Need provisions or stores delivered to a vessel. Tidal does not supply ships, please contact a local chandler or your ship agent.
Want to sell products or services to Tidal. The demo form is for chandlers and suppliers looking at the software.
Are looking for a job. Please see the Agility careers page.

How it works

From buyer RFQ to priced quote, on your own catalogue

What changes for a Shanghai chandler on the first day with Tidal.

1
RFQ arrives
By email, PDF, Excel or a portal export. Tidal reads every line, including vague descriptions and missing codes.
2
Lines matched
Each line is matched to your own catalogue and item codes, with unclear lines flagged for your team.
3
Priced your way
Your supplier prices, client tiers and margin rules are applied. You review and approve every line.
4
Quote goes out
Send the quote, turn it into a sales order, then check supplier invoices against it when they arrive.

See it working

A real quote, priced line by line

Quote Desk

Turns buyer RFQs into priced quotes and sales orders from your own catalogue and supplier prices.

See Quote Desk

Invoice Capture

Reads supplier invoices from a photo or PDF and checks them against the order before they reach your accounts.

See Invoice Capture

Meet us at IMPA Singapore

Stand SUZ 4, Suntec, 24 to 25 November 2026. Bring an RFQ and see it priced.

Plan your visit

Port of Shanghai — Photo: www.wbayer.com (CC0)

Shanghai and Yangshan

The world's busiest container port, at the mouth of the Yangtze

Shanghai sits where the Yangtze meets the East China Sea, and it has been the world's busiest container port since 2010. Its terminals stretch along the Huangpu River, the Yangtze estuary at Waigaoqiao and the offshore deep water port at Yangshan, linked to the mainland by the Donghai Bridge. The Yangtze carries cargo far inland, making Shanghai the main outlet for central China.

For a ship supplier, Shanghai brings huge volumes and fierce competition. Container ships, tankers, bulk carriers and car carriers call daily, and many shipyards in the region build and repair ships that need stores. Calls are short and schedules tight. Foreign managers expect quick quotes in English, while local buyers work in Chinese and compare prices hard. Accuracy and speed decide the order.

Time zone: CST, UTC+8
Business languages: Mandarin, with English for international shipping
Working week: Monday to Friday, with some weekend working days around public holidays
TEU a year: 47M+
vessel calls/year: Over

Business culture

Relationships, known as guanxi, carry real weight in Chinese business, and trust is built over time. Mandarin is the main business language, with English common in international shipping. WeChat is the standard channel for messages, calls and documents, and email is used for formal records. Decisions can depend on senior approval. Chinese New Year and the October Golden Week close many businesses, and some weekends become working days.

Port and maritime heritage

Shanghai was a cotton and trading town before the Treaty of Nanking opened it to foreign trade in 1843. The Bund grew into a financial district, and the city became China's busiest port. Development of Pudong, across the river, began in 1990. Yangshan Deep Water Port opened in 2005, and its automated fourth phase began operating in 2017.

Local market

Container lines dominate, alongside tankers, bulk carriers, car carriers, cruise ships at Wusongkou and a large inland river fleet. Shipyards in the region add demand for newbuilding and repair supplies. Buyers range from international managers to Chinese state and private owners. They expect sharp prices, fast responses on WeChat or email, accurate delivery to the right terminal and correct export and customs paperwork.

Working with us from Shanghai

We start with a remote 30 minute demo on one of your own RFQs. You can be live in about a week, on your own catalogue and margin rules, with no IT team. Shanghai is 2.5 hours ahead of India, so our working day covers yours from about 11.30am to the close of business, with good overlap each day outside Chinese public holidays.

FAQ

Common questions from Shanghai ship chandlers

How does Tidal scale to handle Shanghai's extreme RFQ volumes?

Port of Shanghai is the world's busiest container port, chandlers operating here process RFQ volumes that would overwhelm any manual team. Tidal processes incoming RFQs in parallel: multiple simultaneous RFQs are handled without any slowdown in processing speed or accuracy. Each RFQ is extracted, matched, and priced independently in under 30 minutes, regardless of how many are arriving concurrently. For Shanghai chandlers during peak season, when vessel calls cluster around tide windows and berth availability, this means zero backlog accumulation and consistent response times even under extreme load.

Does Tidal support the ERP systems commonly used by Shanghai ship chandlers?

Yes. Tidal integrates with ShipNet and Bassnet, which are used by many Shanghai based chandlers serving international fleet operators. Integration is available via API or CSV export. For chandlers using domestic Chinese systems or custom built platforms, Tidal's standalone mode works with any email inbox and a CSV format product catalogue. The go live process does not require changes to your existing systems, Tidal sits alongside your current workflow and handles the RFQ processing layer independently.

How does Tidal handle ultra large container vessel RFQs with 800+ line items?

Ultra large container vessels (ULCVs) calling at Yangshan regularly generate RFQs with 800 or more line items covering deck stores, engine stores, provisions, safety equipment, and spare parts. Tidal's AI extraction processes the entire document regardless of length or format, PDF, Excel, plain text, or structured email. Every line item is matched against the chandler's your own catalogue at 90%+ accuracy. The resulting quote is generated complete, with margin rules applied across all line items, in under 30 minutes. The volume of line items does not increase the turnaround time proportionally the way manual processing does.

Ship Chandler Software forShanghai