Home
Login
CASE STUDY
Scaling Freight Forwarding Logistics by 3X with GoodGist Agentic Workflow Automation
Company Overview
A mid-sized freight forwarding logistics provider specialized in handling exports for various customers faced persistent bottlenecks in their shipment processing workflow. With increasing volumes of export documentation, their team grappled with labor-intensive manual processes, making it challenging to keep up with peak demand while maintaining accuracy. The core workflow involved categorizing, extracting, verifying, and reconciling data from 25 document types per shipment—primarily sent through email—before uploading this data into Cargowise, the company’s logistics management software.
Challenges Faced
  1. Labor-Intensive Workflow:
Document Processing: Exporters sent 25 types of documents (e.g., bills of lading, packing lists, and certificates) through email. The freight forwarding team manually retrieved these attachments, stored them in the company’s document repository, and proceeded through a series of steps to process the data. Categorization and Data Extraction: Each document required identification and categorization. Then, specific details were manually extracted and entered into the company’s internal database. Verification and Reconciliation: Data accuracy was critical to prevent delays or penalties, demanding meticulous verification and reconciliation to ensure consistency with existing records before finalizing the entries in Cargowise.
2. Systemic and Communication Gaps:
The lack of integration between email, document storage, database, and Cargowise created data silos and required manual data transfer, leading to fragmented information and high error rates. Given these manual processes, there were inherent risks of human error, which could lead to costly delays and operational inefficiencies.
3. Operational and Growth Constraints:
Due to the time-intensive nature of processing shipments, the number of shipments handled per day was directly tied to available human resources. Scaling to meet increased demand required additional staff, limiting the company’s growth potential and profitability.
Solution: GoodGist Agentic Workflow Automation with Human-in-the-Loop
The freight forwarding provider implemented GoodGist Agentic Workflow Automation to create, deploy, and manage autonomous AI Agents that streamlined the entire document processing workflow, providing a scalable and efficient solution that retained human oversight for critical checkpoints. GoodGist’s Agentic solution transformed the processing of shipping documents by automating categorization, extraction, verification, and reconciliation, eliminating the bottlenecks associated with manual processing.
Key Workflow Improvements
  1. Automated Document Reception and Storage:
  • GoodGist’s AI Agents automatically retrieved and stored emailed documents in the company’s internal repository, eliminating the manual retrieval step and ensuring all records were immediately accessible.
  1. Intelligent Document Categorization:
  • The AI Agents autonomously categorized each document type, reducing manual review time and increasing processing speed.
  1. Autonomous Data Extraction and Database Update:
  • The system accurately extracted shipment details, consignee information, and other critical data fields from documents. The AI Agents then directly updated the company’s database, ensuring data consistency and reducing human error in data entry.
  1. Verification and Reconciliation with Human-in-the-Loop:
  • The verification process, previously handled entirely by staff, now included an automated preliminary verification, identifying any potential discrepancies and prompting human intervention only when necessary. This integration allowed for high accuracy while maintaining flexibility for exception handling.
  1. Integration with Cargowise:
  • With GoodGist’s API integrations, shipment data was seamlessly updated into Cargowise, eliminating the need for manual data entry and enhancing data uniformity across systems.
Impact and Results
1. Increased Processing Capacity:
With GoodGist Agentic Workflow Automation, the freight forwarding provider could process shipments at 3x their previous daily capacity, allowing the company to efficiently scale operations without additional headcount. The time savings from automation enabled them to meet peak demand and maintain shorter processing times.
2. Error Reduction:
Automated data entry and verification reduced human error, enhancing data accuracy and reliability. This reduction in errors minimized shipment delays and mitigated compliance risks, which directly contributed to improved customer satisfaction.
3. Improved Efficiency and Employee Productivity:
By automating repetitive tasks, employees could shift their focus to more strategic, value-added functions, such as customer service and exception handling, which further strengthened client relationships.
4. Enhanced Scalability:
With a flexible, scalable workflow powered by AI Agents, the freight forwarding provider could expand its client base without significantly increasing operational costs. The automation capabilities provided by GoodGist eliminated the “human-scale limitation,” allowing the company to grow sustainably.
5. Customer Satisfaction and Retention:
Improved processing times and higher accuracy reduced delays, leading to positive feedback from customers who appreciated the reliable and timely handling of their shipments. Conclusion
Summary
GoodGist’s Agentic Workflow Automation enabled this freight forwarding logistics provider to transform a labor-intensive, error-prone workflow into a streamlined, scalable process. By integrating AI-driven automation with human oversight, the company achieved a realistic increase of 3x in shipment processing capacity while significantly reducing human error in data entry. This case study illustrates how GoodGist’s automation solution not only eliminated inefficiencies but also provided the foundation for scalable growth and enhanced customer satisfaction.