The AI-Driven Logistics Revolution: How Shipwell is Harnessing the Power of ChatGPT

By Greg Price, CEO and Co-Founder of Shipwell

Logistics is an industry that requires precise timing, efficient processes, and fast decision-making, where any delay can create a negative brand experience. This complex and interconnected environment is often plagued by manual and inefficient processes, compounded by a lack of visibility due to the over reliance on paper, email, and spreadsheet-based workflows. To tackle these issues, Shipwell has constantly sought out and integrated new technologies, from artificial intelligence and automation to cloud computing and precise tracking, into our platform to enhance customers' experience, drive efficiency, and unlock value. 

ChatGPT — a large language model developed by OpenAI — has proved to be yet another such tool that has been a game-changer for Shipwell and our customers. As pioneers in using artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning for logistics, we quickly adopted ChatGPT as a welcome addition to our Transportation Management System (TMS) Platform. We have already witnessed firsthand how ChatGPT can drastically improve manual logistics processes, and we are excited about the boundless potential of this technology to transform the industry even further.

Here we will explore how we use ChatGPT to transform and harness its power to revolutionize our operations and the services we offer our customers.

Automating email quotes

One of the areas where ChatGPT has shown tremendous potential for our customers is in automating the email freight quoting process. Responding to email price requests is often time-consuming, requiring a significant effort that delays customer response. 

With the capabilities provided by ChatGPT, Shipwell makes it possible to streamline and automate this process, dramatically reducing the time and effort required to respond to email quote requests. 

Thanks to ChatGPT's advanced analysis capabilities, logistics service providers can communicate with customers naturally and intuitively, using the same language, terminology, and communication methods they would use, but with a fraction of the time or effort involved. This seamless and simplified communication enables businesses to deliver on two fronts — first, by improving customer relationships, and second, by freeing up more time to handle exceptions or react to many more requests. Using this technology has enabled us to provide even more accurate and personalized responses to quote requests in far less time, for more satisfied customers.

In Figure 1 below, we depict the new process flow. ChatGPT automatically identifies an email with a freight quote request, pulls the request into Shipwell’s ML pricing pipeline, generates a response, and then emails the quote to the customer. Shipwell’s platform leverages both the customer’s data in the platform and external market data to provide a quote based on informed decisions about carrier selection, pricing, and transit times,, leading to more cost savings and efficiency improvements. The entire process can be executed with zero human assistance in as little as 5-10 seconds while reducing the chance of error.

Once an order is shipped, Shipwell’s platform provides real-time updates on the shipment status to the customer, including tracking information and any potential delays.

By reducing the need for manual intervention, ChatGPT frees employees to focus on more valuable tasks, such as strategic planning, relationship building, and solving complex challenges. 

Improving customer service 360

In addition to automating email quotes, ChatGPT can be particularly useful for Shipwell in customer service operations. By leveraging NLP technology, ChatGPT can provide instant and accurate responses to many common customer issues, 24/7, increasing response and resolution rates while freeing our support experts to help those users struggling with more challenging problems. The overall customer experience improves, and we can use valuable support resources better. Some of the specific and immediate benefits the TMS and support center augmented with ChatGPT delivers include:

• Instant responses to common questions: By leveraging NLP technology, ChatGPT can quickly provide customers with answers to common questions, such as "What is the status of my shipment?" or "How much will it cost to ship my product?" This reduces critical response times and increases satisfaction, as customers no longer have to wait for a human representative to provide information.
• Real-time updates on shipment status: By integrating with Shipwell's TMS, ChatGPT can provide customers with real-time updates on the location of their shipments, expected delivery times, and any potential delays. This can help avoid frustration and give customers peace of mind that their shipments are handled carefully.
• 24/7 support: ChatGPT can help support customer inquiries 24/7 so that off-hours staffing schedules for valuable support associates can be reduced.
• Automating routine tasks: ChatGPT can automate routine tasks, such as generating shipping labels and tracking numbers, freeing up Shipwell's customer service team to focus on more valuable work, building customer relationships and identifying areas for improvement.
• Multilingual support: ChatGPT can support multiple languages, potentially expanding the range of companies and software users that Shipwell services.

By integrating with Shipwell's TMS, ChatGPT can provide customers with up-to-the-minute information on the location of their shipments, expected delivery times, and any potential delays directly from a text prompt. It can act as a portal into the TMS and a more familiar way to interact with Shipwell’s intelligent models. This can help provide peace of mind that customer shipments are handled carefully.

ChatGPT is poised to increase the efficiency of Shipwell’s customer service operations, expanding our capabilities to delight even more users and help them deliver even greater value through our TMS. 

The future of logistics with ChatGPT

ChatGPT is already revolutionizing logistics at Shipwell by speeding up customer response times, reducing human error, and improving efficiency. And the impact of ChatGPT and other advanced AI-based technologies like it is not limited to Shipwell. The potential for this technology to transform the entire logistics industry is impossible to ignore. As more companies begin to experiment with natural language processing and artificial intelligence, we believe that these technologies will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of logistics.

As we look ahead, we are excited to see the transformative impact that AI will have on the logistics industry. We anticipate many use cases where it will enable us to make faster, more informed decisions, reduce operating costs, and enhance the overall customer experience. And even with all the improvements this technology brings, it’s still just the tip of the iceberg regarding possibilities. We are just now witnessing this phenomenon's early stages of exploration and experimentation. As ChatGPT and the artificial intelligence behind it continues to evolve and improve, Shipwell is committed to exploring new and innovative ways to leverage this technology to provide ongoing value for our customers. We are proud to be at the forefront of the AI-driven logistics revolution. We believe successfully adopting ChatGPT, and other AI technologies requires a willingness to embrace change, adapt quickly, and rewrite the rulebook. In the fast-changing world of logistics, companies must be willing to adapt outdated operating procedures and work in harmony with their people to stay ahead of the curve.

As we continue to explore the potential of ChatGPT and other AI tools, we are confident that we will be able to provide our customers with even more innovative solutions to their logistics challenges. Our goal is to lead the way in deploying these technologies to improve business outcomes for our customers and so help shape a brighter future with logistics technology.

We invite you to join us on this exciting journey, where we embrace the transformative potential of AI, adapt quickly to new challenges, and work together to create a smarter, more efficient, and sustainable logistics industry. At Shipwell, we are working toward a better future for logistics professionals and are excited to be a part of it.

ChatGPT integration walkthrough video