Global logistics & multimodal freight transportation company

Transforming global freight operations with AI agents

Creating shipments faster and cutting email handle time by 70%, so every operator handles more files, with higher quality, without adding headcount.

IndustryLogistics & transportation
FeaturingLean Six Sigma · Operational Excellence · Agentic AI
My roleAdvisor, process architect & transformation lead
Container terminal at dusk with stacked containers, gantry cranes and a bridge in the distance

One of the world’s largest freight transportation companies set out to win on speed, cost and service by putting AI at the center of its operations. Using Lean Six Sigma methodology and agentic AI, we rebuilt the freight-forwarding process end to end, from the first customer email to the shipment in the ERP.

What I delivered Opportunity assessment Business case & ROI forecast Prioritization Roadmap End-to-end automation design Change management & adoption KPI measurement
50%improvement in operator productivity
70%reduction in email handle time
80%reduction in financial risk & loss
01 · The situation

Skilled operators, buried in inboxes

As competitors raced to adopt AI, the company shifted its strategy to stay ahead: deliver shipments faster, at lower operating cost, with better service. But the freight-forwarding engine underneath that promise ran largely on manual effort.

A significant share of operator time went to managing email traffic between origins, shippers, vendors and internal teams, before a single shipment could move. Four pain points stood out:

Email overloadConstant back-and-forth across origins, shippers and vendors consumed the working day.
Swivel-chair data entryOperators pulled data from multiple platforms and copied it from files into the ERP by hand.
No guardrails on errorsFew controls existed to catch human mistakes before they turned into financial loss.
Overloaded rolesOne operator owned too many steps of a complex process, limiting speed and file capacity.
02 · The solution

Turning an AI strategy into a working operation

Rather than bolting AI onto a broken process, we started with the work itself. Drawing on Lean Six Sigma, I acted as advisor and orchestrator, connecting operations, IT and leadership around one redesigned process.

  1. 1Assess the current stateMapped the end-to-end freight-forwarding flow and pinpointed where time, effort and errors accumulated.
  2. 2Build the business caseQuantified the operational challenges and forecast the ROI of automation to secure leadership commitment.
  3. 3Prioritize high-value use casesBuilt a roadmap that sequenced the use cases with the biggest payoff first.
  4. 4Design the automated processRedesigned the process end to end with AI agents and built-in controls, with people focused on exceptions and customers.
  5. 5Deploy, adopt and scaleDelivered a detailed deployment plan with change management and training, and a path to scale globally.
03 · The result

Speed, scale and simplicity

We deployed multiple AI agents to orchestrate the freight-forwarding process end to end. The transformation paid off: operators now spend their time on judgment calls and customers instead of inbox triage and re-keying data.

  • 50% productivity improvement, each operator handles more files
  • 70% less email handle time
  • Faster shipment creation and more responsive client service
  • Lower operating cost, with volume growth no longer tied to headcount
  • 80% reduction in financial risk & loss, with built-in controls that catch costly human errors

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