What is Automation?
Think of automation as your reliable assistant who follows specific rules. It's like setting up an email filter that automatically moves all shipping notifications to a designated folder.
In freight forwarding, automation handles tasks like:
- Automatically sending booking confirmations to clients
- Moving documents to specific folders based on shipment numbers
- Generating standard reports at scheduled times
- Sending tracking updates to customers at predetermined milestones
The key thing about automation? It follows preset rules: "When X happens, do Y." No thinking required – just consistent, reliable execution.
What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
AI is more like having a smart colleague who can read, understand, and make decisions.
In freight forwarding, AI can:
- Read shipping documents and extract relevant information
- Gather key data points from a swarm of documents to create customs entries
- Identify discrepancies between booking requests and actual shipments
- Predict potential delays based on historical data
- Categorize documents by type without human intervention
Unlike automation, AI can interpret information and make informed decisions based on what it learns from data.
How They Work Together
The real magic happens when you combine both technologies. Here's an example in freight forwarding:
Here's an example in freight forwarding:
- An email arrives with a Bill of Lading (Automation triggers the workflow)
- AI reads and extracts key information from the document
- AI compares the information against your system of record
- If everything matches, automation pushes the data to your TMS
- If discrepancies are found, AI flags specific issues, and automation routes them to the right team member
Real-World Benefits
The combination of AI and automation is transforming operations:
- Time Savings: Tasks that took hours (like manual data entry) now take minutes
- Error Reduction: AI's ability to spot discrepancies reduces costly mistakes
- Better Customer Service: Faster processing means quicker responses to customer inquiries
- Staff Satisfaction: Your team can focus on complex problems instead of repetitive tasks
Where Do Humans Fit In?
Despite these powerful technologies, human expertise remains crucial in industries like logistics. Your team's knowledge is essential for:
- Building customer relationships
- Complex routing decisions
- Strategic planning and optimization
- Handling unusual requirements
- Managing exceptions and special cases
Getting Started
If you're looking to modernize your operations, start by:
- Identifying repetitive tasks that follow clear rules (perfect for automation)
- Noting processes that require document reading or decision-making (ideal for AI)
- Looking for workflows where combining both technologies could multiply benefits
Remember: the goal isn't to replace human workers but to empower them with tools that make their jobs more efficient and meaningful.
