AI is taking over logistics’ endless calls and emails

The multi-trillion-dollar logistics industry runs on trucks and trains, ships and planes. It also runs on calls, texts, and email. “We get hundreds of thousands of emails saying, ‘Hey, I have this freight that needs to move from X to Y—how much would it cost?’” says Mike Neill, chief technology officer at logistics provider C.H. Robinson. The details vary from load to load and mode to mode, but generally a company that wants to ship a load of goods reaches out to freight brokers, who in turn connect with carriers who actually haul the goods from place to place. Getting the details right, like whether the shipper has a full truckload, specific insurance requirements, or cargo needing special handling, and when and where the carrier must send a truck, can mean a lot of back and forth that’s traditionally been handled by people sitting at phones or computers. Now, it’s increasingly being handled by artificial intelligence, which can help all parties in the equation respond to emails, communicate availability, and even solicit bids and issue quotes, often much faster than humans feasibly can. “We determined that the humans weren’t getting to all the opportunities,” says Neill. “They w…