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Streamlining Logistics Operations with Automation Technology

As competition in the logistics industry continues to increase, stakeholders must make strategic investments to stay ahead of the curve. Technology has emerged as a crucial factor in this effort, providing shippers and carriers with powerful capabilities to navigate the unpredictable freight market. Among these capabilities, automation stands out as a significant change. With the evolution of technology over time, automation has become an asset in the arsenal of logistics professionals, equipping them to better handle uncertainties and challenges. 

Thanks to technology, the process of invoice processing has become more error-free, providing greater transparency to customers, and enhancing their experience. Join us and discover how Cognine is tackling the significant challenges faced by industry players. 

About Client: 

Our client is a 3PL firm in the US focused on freight management solutions that arranges full truckload, expedited and LTL shipments for customers through its brokerage divisions. It provides customized transportation solutions for every size. 

Problem Statement:  

  • Client followed a manual process for invoice settlement. The process was repetitive, cumbersome and it involved interactions with multiple systems to fetch documents like PoD, BoL’s, Invoices, and delivery proofs. 
  • The amount must be fetched from these invoices and entered Salesforce portal, check for any variance as per the pre-agreed price and process the invoice. 
  • Client works with more than 50 carriers and the entire process was manually intensive, repetitive and error prone. 
  • Client also needed a solution to ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations by automating checks and validations to reduce the risk of noncompliance penalties.  
  • Client required a program to work around the clock, making it ideal for tasks that require constant attention. The program was expected to complete tasks much faster than humans, making the workflow efficient and cost-effective. 

    Solutions Provided by Cognine: 

    • Cognine started working with the client to implement an RPA solution that can streamline and automate time-consuming and repetitive operations like data entry, invoice processing, shipment tracking, and order management. 
    • Our team has identified an initial project within the invoice processing for one of the carriers and started documenting the manual as-is process. We have then implemented a POC to win the confidence of the client and to prove RPA is the ideal automation strategy. 
    • Unattended bots were implemented to automate certain tasks without any human intervention. These bots were programmed to complete a specific task or set of tasks, often in a repetitive manner. 
    • Based on the results from the POC, we have scaled up the implementation to other process like compliance and Manifest. Cognine has helped client automate 10+ processes across for more than 20 carriers. 
    • With the help of UiPath Orchestrator, we scheduled the execution of automated processes and monitored their progress, including detailed logs and analytics. 
    • Cognine introduced Semi Structured invoice data reading to be able to extract invoice data that was unstructured. We created around 5-6 rules to extract the exact amount. 

      Technology Used: 

      Results: 

      Conclusion: 

      • Automation increased the efficiency and streamlined operations by automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks, reducing the time required for order processing, inventory management, and shipping. 
      • Automated systems reduced the likelihood of errors and mistakes, leading to fewer shipping delays, fewer lost or damaged goods, and improved customer satisfaction and enhanced accuracy. 
      • Real-time visibility into inventory levels, shipping status, and other critical information, enabled the client to make data-driven decisions and improve their overall operations.

      Related Blog

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      Logistics

      Optimizing Driver Retention Through Technology

      Looking for truck drivers?

      Sorry, our truck drivers are not available.

      These are some common statements that most Trucking USA companies face. Ever wondered why???

      Trucking companies play a key role in the development of trade across borders. However, the success of any trucking company depends on two factors, i.e. Man and Machine. 

      1. Driver Retention
      2. Digital Logistics  

      A recent survey by the American Trucking Association reveals that the US market is facing a nearly 60,000 driver shortage, and the numbers will soon reach 1,00,000 by the end of 2022. Further analysis shows that the number of drivers who quit within the first three months of their joining is more than 30%; the ones who leave within the first six months is more than 50%, and the requirement for new drivers is always increasing at alarming rates. 

      Drivers quitting at the very beginning of their careers seem to have dented the company’s reputation in the market with dropped profit margins and turnover. Onboarding a new driver can cost a company more than 8,000$. Adding to this is the time spent training the driver on the company’s vehicle specs, delivery routes, and understanding of the company’s working style. After all, when the driver leaves within 6 months of joining, it proves to be a complete loss. 

      These numbers are alarming for trucking companies as they know the importance of retaining drivers. Before we understand how to address the problem, it is important to understand why it exists. 

      Here is a simple “Why-Why Analysis to drivers quitting jobs.” 

      3 aspects define Driver Retention:

      1. Pay
      2. Efficiency of work
      3. Dignity at work
      4. Lack of digitalization 
      • Poor Pay: The drivers feel that the salary they get and the effort they put in are underpaid. Therefore, most of the drivers quit. On the other hand, the drivers hired as replacements quit in a short span because the trucking companies pay less to new drivers than the drivers they replace. 
      • The efficiency of work: Driving trucks calls for a lifestyle change. The long travel hours and the risks involved in the traditional routing process can be taxing for drivers. 
      • Dignity at work: It’s necessary that trucking agencies look at their drivers as their representatives and not as mere drivers. 
      • Lack of Digitalization: The drivers feel stressed handling all the paperwork, customer management, and payment process manually. 

      The above is the holistic view of the problem; In this article, you will understand how technology in different formats can impact drivers’ efficiency and the company’s paying capacity. 

      Here are some technological insights into what is needed for logistics and transportation companies to retain drivers:

      1. The first and the most effective tool is establishing a good Routing App. What is a routing app? A good routing app is an interface created based on the driver’s inputs of all the details in terms of driving time, type of terrain, the kind of fines and traffic delays and more the drivers face in all the routes they travel. Creating this app will ensure that the trucking agency, the customer, and the driver are on the same page regarding delivery deadlines. In other words, the drivers are relieved from the stress of meeting unrealistic delivery timelines, which causes working overtime and accidents. 
      2. With technology growing leaps and bounds, it’s time to move from the manual process and plug-in RPA into logistics. RPA in logistics management helps increase efficiency and productivity, saves time, reduces errors, and increases company profits. For a 3PL provider based out of the US, Cognine helped implement the RPA platform that automated order creation, rate lookups, and payment status updation without any manual intervention, which 8FTE earlier performed.
      3. Automation of operations has become the need of the hour. Cognine built a natural language processing(NLP) engine that made a fleet manager’s day easier in data extraction and management. The model developed processes 99% of the rate requests, with the AHT being reduced from 500 sec to less than 50 sec. 
      4. Pay the driver his worth. Wondering how to measure his performance??? That’s where embracing Driver Management App helps you track and measure driver performance. We help trucking agencies develop an effective DMA to look at the drivers’ productivity, track settlements, plan their routes, upload dispatch expenses, e-sign BOLs, and send automatic load status notifications to customers.

      Conclusion

      Yes, Automation and Digitization are the keys to improving the process and retaining drivers. But, choosing the apt options that suit your organization is the key to making the best of the automation. With a thorough understanding of the logistics and transportation industry, Cognine constantly strives to create customized business solutions. 

      We consider the drivers’ and organizations’ perspectives to ensure that the technology makes their lives easy. 

      With Cognine’s intervention, it is always a win-win solution. 

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      Logistics

      RPA solutions for 3PL provider

      Client focus

      Client is a leading North American provider of logistics technology and transportation management services for manufacturers, retailers, chemical and consumer packaged goods companies.

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      Challenges

      • The client had been experiencing steady growth over the last 5 years. However a key concern going forward was, how to grab new market opportunities fast enough and press the accelerator on future growth.
      • Manual processes across rate lookups, route optimization, audit logs, order management and several other areas served as biggest roadblocks in its pursuit for process excellence and future expansion plans.
      • The client’s management team has realized that technology intervention was needed to automate some of these repetitive mundane tasks across the above areas to increase customer satisfaction.

      Solutions

      • Cognine has started RPA implementation with 2 bots across order management, freight forwarding and rate look ups. The bulky, repetitive, rule based processes across these areas served to be an ideal candidates for automation.
      • Ui Path tool was chosen for its resilience and ability to perform in various environments and proven NLP capabilities.
      • The bots were responsible for handling the process of order creation (orders received by email –> involves NLP based text extraction) in the ERP system, getting rates from various freight forwarding companies and inserting in to the portal, and getting the latest status of the client’s customer shipments all with out manual intervention.

      Key Benefits

      • The RPA platform has increased the accuracy levels and cut the time needed to perform certain tasks by up to 90%.
      • The resources that were performing these manual tasks earlier are able to focus on other value adds to customers.