Logistics specialist says automated systems now resolve hundreds of missed collections each day for thousands of customers
Logistics specialist CH Robinson says it is using artificial intelligence to reduce the number of missed collections in supply chains.
According to the company, missed pickups are a widespread pain point in what’s known as less-than-truckload shipping – where consignments from up to 20 different customers make up the cargo carried.
More than 30 AI agents are now employed by CH Robinson to track down missed collections and using advanced reasoning to determine how to keep freight moving, in some cases using previously unavailable data.
As a result, these automated systems are reportedly resolving hundreds of shipments a day for thousands of customers across North America.
“Before this transformational tech, teams of people spent over half the day chasing missed pickups – manually checking carrier websites, making calls, recording updates and notifying customers,” said Greg West, head of the group’s less-than-truckload business.
“If we couldn’t nail down the shipment’s status, we’d have to re-tender it and carriers would send another truck, often to find the freight still wasn’t ready or had already been picked up. Now that all that time and capacity aren’t being wasted, it keeps other shippers’ freight from getting delayed.”
Key to the advance are newly forged connections with carriers. One AI agent calls a carrier about a missed pickup, before another decides what steps to take.
Working together, these can make multiple calls and get them resolved simultaneously, without hours of manual work.
“Sharing our new missed-pickup data with carriers every day allows them to see which electronic communications could be improved, isolate operational issues to particular terminals and optimise their scheduling,” West adds. “Having more efficient LTL networks nationwide benefits our employees, carriers and customers – and everybody else who uses LTL shipping.”
