Automation for freight forwarders and logistics companies
Transport orders, status queries and proofs of delivery — the paperwork behind every trip.
Does this sound familiar?
Orders arrive as PDFs, in the shipper’s portal or by email. Every one is typed up. On top of that come dozens of status queries a day — “where is the truck?” — and at the end of the month matching proofs of delivery against invoices.
- Transport orders are typed from PDFs into dispatch
- Every shipper has its own portal with its own format
- Status queries tie up dispatch on the phone
- Proofs of delivery arrive as photos and are assigned manually
- Missing proofs only come to light when invoices are checked
What we actually do
Capture orders automatically
Order PDFs and portal messages are read and taken into dispatch as a draft order — with loading point, unloading point, time window and load details.
Let status queries answer themselves
The shipper sees the status without calling. What is three phone calls today becomes one lookup.
Assign proofs of delivery
Photographed proofs are read, assigned to the shipment and filed. Missing proofs are detected before the invoice goes out.
Prepare billing
The basis for billing is created from orders and proofs — it is still checked by hand.
Starting point
Automation after process analysis
From incoming order to billing
This is how the process runs today — and this chain is exactly where automation comes in.
- Order as PDF or portal message
- Extract loading and unloading details
- Draft order in dispatch
- Dispatcher checks and plans
- Status messages to the shipper
- Capture and assign proof of delivery
- Create the billing basis
Systems typically used here
This is the existing landscape an automation connects to. Listed is what is widespread in this industry — it says nothing about which system you use.
- Transport management such as CarLo, TIS, Winsped or cargo support
- Telematics from TomTom, Webfleet or vehicle manufacturers
- EDI formats such as EDIFACT and shipper portals
- Scanning apps for proofs of delivery
- Customs and dangerous goods documentation
What matters most here
Driving times, dangerous goods and documentation duties
Proofs of delivery are evidence for the freight claim and subject to retention periods. With dangerous goods, documentation duties under ADR apply, and customs shipments bring further ones. Automation may only capture and file here — it must not add any details that are not on the original.
Frequently asked questions
Every shipper has a different PDF. Does this still work?
That is exactly what the combination of text extraction and a language model is suited for: it recognises fields even when they are in a different place. For uncertain fields it asks instead of guessing — a wrong time window is more expensive than one click to confirm.
Our drivers photograph the proofs with their phones.
That’s enough. The shipment number and recipient details are read from the photo and the proof is assigned to the shipment. Unreadable photos are reported back while the driver is still on site.
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Check your websiteWorking in Wiesbaden, Mainz, Frankfurt am Main, Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis.
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