Editor’s Note: This story is the final part of a series about how carriers are using AI in their daily operations.
Landstar System is actively rolling out artificial intelligence enabled customer service solutions and will continue to invest in AI-enabled products within its portfolio of digital tools to support agents, capacity providers and employees, CFO James Todd said during a Q3 earnings call.
The company’s AI use is nothing new. During Q2, CEO Frank Lonegro said it had plans to tackle the growing issue of cargo theft through the use of AI and technology.
The carrier has three areas of focus when it come its use of AI, which are in its agents workflow, business capacity owners retention and corporate operations.
In its agency office, the technology is focused on pricing, Lonegro said in the call. The CEO did not elaborate on this focus.
For BCO retention, the company wants to know when a BCO might be sending signals that they’re not in it for the long-run with Landstar. This could mean looking at data points like a reduced number of loads, a change in the type of freight being sent or the type of agents a BCO is dealing with. The information could help provide indication of where the business is headed in the future.
Lastly, the company’s corporate support are designed to serve the BCOs in the agent community. Landstar wants to use AI so this support team can effectively and efficiently acquire knowledge in a particular question set, the CEO said.
“We're working on a whole call center technology and suite of AI tools there that are going to help us be more efficient and effective when we deal with both BCOs and agents,” Lonegro said.
The company is also investing in technology for its trailing equipment.
“We continue to invest through the cycle in leading technology solutions for the benefit of our network of independent business owners and have allocated a significant amount of capital this year towards refreshing our fleet of trailing equipment, with a particular focus on investment in unsided/platform equipment,” Lonegro said.
Landstar joins a growing list of carriers and logistics providers investing in AI in its logistics operations such as Roadrunner, Schneider National, ArcBest and C.H. Robinson Worldwide.
