C.H. Robinson Worldwide has been scaling its use of artificial intelligence to help resolve missed LTL pickups faster and even drastically cut down on unnecessary trips, the brokerage said.
AI agents can call carriers and decide how to intervene, working together and simultaneously in a way that automates response efforts and saves over 350 hours of manual work per day, according to a news release Monday.
“Unnecessary return trips to pick up missed freight have been reduced by 42% — a win for carriers and shippers,” the 3PL said.
Before the changes, teams of people could spend “over half the day chasing missed pickups — manually checking carrier websites, making calls, recording updates and notifying customers,” C.H. Robinson VP for LTL Greg West said in the release. “Now that all that time and capacity aren’t being wasted, it keeps other shippers’ freight from getting delayed.”
C.H. Robinson rolled out changes to small- and medium-size customers in its Freightquote platform then began scaling the tech in July with LTL customers, VP for AI Mark Albrecht noted.
The Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based business has been leaning heavily on technology in recent years to streamline operations, including through the use of generative AI. The broker has created a series of over 30 AI agents to perform frequent shipping tasks, such as handling LTL price quotes, orders, freight classification, shipment tracking and proof of delivery. AI even assists other AI.
A complex emailed load tender that used to take as long as four hours to process can now occur in 90 seconds thanks to the technology investments, C.H. Robinson previously noted.
AI use cases are sweeping across the transportation industry, with firms such as ArcBest, Landstar System and Ryder System using the technology to optimize routes and operations.
