Automation for transport and freight forwarding companies

Customers send orders as PDFs, email text or Excel files, each in a different layout and often in a different language. The forwarder retypes addresses, dates, weight and rate into the TMS.

AI reads the order from the attachment or email body, extracts loading and unloading points, time windows, type of goods and rate, and then creates the order in the TMS. It flags missing data, and the forwarder only checks and approves.

Drivers send photos of CMRs via messaging apps or bring the paperwork back days later. The office hunts for documents to issue an invoice, and the customer waits for proof of delivery.

The driver takes a photo in the app or sends it via WhatsApp. AI recognises the document and order number, checks signatures and consignee remarks, attaches the scan to the order and immediately sends the customer proof of delivery.

Freight invoices are issued once a week, after documents are collected. Waiting-time surcharges, extra stops or rate corrections are easy to miss, and every day of delay pushes back the payment date.

Once an order has a confirmed delivery, the system prepares an invoice with data from the TMS, adds any reported surcharges and sends it to KSeF in the FA(3) structure. The customer receives the KSeF number together with the CMR scan, and rejected invoices trigger an alert.

A forwarder receives dozens of invoices from subcontractors. Someone has to check whether the rate matches the order, whether surcharges were agreed and whether the carrier has sent the documents.

Purchase invoices are downloaded from KSeF and linked to the order by number, carrier tax ID and route. Matching amounts go to payment, while rate discrepancies, missing CMRs and unagreed surcharges go to the forwarder.

The dispatcher checks vehicle positions in the telematics system, calls drivers and informs customers of arrival times by hand. The customer is often the last to find out about a delay.

A workflow pulls GPS positions and compares the estimated arrival time with the time window. The customer receives automatic notifications of loading, departure and delivery, and when a deadline is at risk, the dispatcher and customer get an alert with the new time.

A carrier from a freight exchange is checked in a hurry: licence, carrier's liability insurance, bank account on the white list. An expired policy or a fake carrier only comes to light when there is a claim.

When a carrier is added, the system checks the tax ID and bank account against the white list, the EU VAT number in VIES and details in registers, and reads licence and insurance expiry dates from the documents provided. Before the policy expires, it asks the carrier for a new one and blocks further orders without it.

When transporting sensitive goods such as fuel, you have to handle the SENT notification, reference number and locator data. An error in the data or a missing notification before departure can lead to a fine.

The system recognises orders with goods covered by SENT, prepares the notification data based on the order and vehicle, and before departure checks that the reference number has been passed to the driver. A missing notification blocks the order from being released.

Inspections, insurance, tachograph calibrations, driver medicals, driver cards and Code 95 are recorded in a spreadsheet. One missed deadline is enough to take a vehicle or driver off the road.

All deadlines are in one register. The system reminds the driver and fleet manager in advance, books servicing in a free slot and does not allow a vehicle or driver with an expired document to be assigned to an order.

International transport requires submitting posting declarations in the IMI system and tracking in which countries and for how long each driver worked. The data is collected by hand from route plans and tachographs.

Based on planned routes, the system shows which drivers need declarations and for which countries, prepares data for the IMI system and sends reminders before departure. After return, it compares the plan with tachograph data.

Fuel card transactions, road tolls and driver advances arrive in separate statements. The profitability of a specific route or customer is calculated in Excel once a quarter, if at all.

Costs from fuel cards, toll systems and KSeF invoices are assigned to the vehicle and order by date and location. Every week, management receives a route and customer profitability report, with orders below the margin threshold highlighted.

Quote requests wait in the inbox until a forwarder has time to calculate the distance, check the price list and reply. Meanwhile, the customer asks three other companies.

AI extracts the route, date, dimensions and weight of the load from the request, calculates the distance and suggests a price based on the price list and history of similar orders. The forwarder gets a draft quote ready to send with one click.

Dispatchers spend much of the day on the phone, answering customers' and consignees' questions about status, arrival time and documents.

A voice bot on the phone line and a chatbot on the website or WhatsApp recognise the order number, give the current status and estimated delivery time, and send the CMR scan on request. Unusual cases are passed to the dispatcher with a summary of the conversation.

A damage report arrives by email, photos separately, and the CMR with remarks has to be tracked down. The case drags on for weeks because no one tracks deadlines towards the customer, carrier and insurer.

The customer reports damage through a form with photos. The system opens a case linked to the order, attaches the CMR with consignee remarks and carrier details, notifies the insurer and tracks the next steps until closure.