Empowering Freight Forwarders with AI Series

Solvo.ai developed this series of articles to look into three key areas where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionising the freight forwarding industry. We will explore how AI is driving operational efficiencies, enhancing customer retention, and ultimately improving margins. Each article will provide in-depth insights and real-world examples from our esteemed industry leaders, painting a comprehensive picture of the transformative power of AI in freight forwarding.

Part 1: Path to Operational Excellence

In an era where freight forwarders are under immense pressure to optimise their operations, industry leaders are already leveraging AI to achieve greater levels of operational efficiency. By automating routine and repetitive tasks, forwarders can now focus on higher-value activities that truly matter.

To explore this optimistic perspective, we interviewed two freight forwarding veterans, each bringing unique insights and extensive experience. Despite the diversity of our backgrounds, we all hit on major areas regarding how AI will empower freight forwarders going forward. Below, you’ll find perspectives from:

• Will Urban, a Freight industry veteran, who after a prolonged career with Expeditors, grew Flexport from $600m to $4.5bn revenue in his capacity as Chief Revenue Officer
• Nikolai Bozhilov, Executive Chairman, Unimasters, a freight forwarder operating in Eastern Europe 

This conversation is far from over. In fact it’s just the beginning. Reach out to let us to know how you see AI impacting freight forwarding—and where you think this exciting and dynamic field is headed - Gaurav Bajaj, CEO Solvo.ai  

Boosting Efficiency by Automating Routine Tasks

AI is increasingly being used to automate routine tasks, freeing up time for freight forwarders to focus on higher-value activities. “Data entry, tracking, and basic customer enquiries all consume a vast amount of time,” says Will Urban. “If you’re striving for efficiency, you can’t have your team working on those anymore. You want your entire team to be proactive, not reactive to inbound issues, especially when a large percentage of shipments still face some kind of delays, custom hold-up, missing data and reconciliation challenges.”

“By offloading process-oriented tasks to AI, freight forwarders can focus on real problem solving. You want your operational experts out there resolving critical bottlenecks and working with the shippers and all stakeholders in the logistics chain to get that shipment moving again. You don't want them doing data entry and maintaining spreadsheets. By reducing the burden of repetitive tasks through AI, skilled workers can concentrate on customer engagement and solving critical issues, thereby enhancing client relationships and retention. The stuff that really matters,” Will says.

Streamlining Functional Processes to Focus on Growth

Nikolai Bozhilov, who leads Unimasters, a freight forwarder active in Eastern Europe, agrees that for his company AI is an all-of-business approach. “AI, and generative AI in particular, is becoming an integral part in several aspects of Unimasters activities,” Nikolai says. “We use it to streamline and automate processes across sales and marketing, operations and financial forecasting.”

For Unimasters, this has been an evolution, not a revolution. “We started to use digital labour for the first time 6-7 years ago with 24/7 software robots tracking shipments of our clients through shipping lines websites. Then we embarked on a machine learning project with AI business partners to identify patterns of last mile deliveries, optimise line hauls and plan our distribution networks.” In other words, forwarders with big growth ambitions like Unimasters need their teams to be focused on drumming up business and not distracted by easy things technology can solve. Yet, it goes further than that; implementing technology to get customer’s answers and issues resolved faster creates a strong foundation for your partnership.

In Conclusion...

As we have explored, AI is not a threat but a powerful tool that can significantly enhance operational efficiencies in the freight forwarding industry. By automating routine tasks and allowing human expertise to focus on solving critical issues, AI enables freight forwarders to deliver better service and foster stronger client relationships. Stay tuned for the next part of our series, where we will explore how AI contributes to customer retention in the freight forwarding industry.

To learn more about how Solvo.ai can help your business achieve these efficiencies, contact us today or visit our website.

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