Automation for logistics and freight forwarding
Last updated: July 23, 2026
The phone rings because someone wants to know where their shipment is. At the same time, orders come in by email that someone has to type up. routinefrei takes the recurring queries and order intake off your hands, so dispatchers and drivers can focus on what matters again.
Availability: Gmail, Google Calendar, draft replies, approvals and audit records are available today in the customer workspace. Dispatch, status data and document workflows are possible pilot projects after a technical review. Overview of all systems: Integrations.
Sound familiar?
- The phone rings all day with the same question: where is my shipment, when is the driver coming, has the delivery gone out yet.
- Orders come in by email, PDF and phone and have to be transferred by hand into the dispatch software, and every typo costs time later.
- Standard questions about delivery times, delivery notices, stock levels or freight papers tie up the dispatchers, who should actually be planning routes.
- If a call isn't answered, an order is lost or the customer calls a competitor.
How does AI automation take the load off a freight forwarder in practice?
routinefrei connects inbox, calendar and your existing systems instead of introducing new software. Incoming orders, delivery notices and status enquiries are sorted automatically and given finished draft replies; your team only checks and approves. In many businesses the inbox typically eats up one to two hours a day, and structured email triage reduces this effort by 40 to 60 percent. The routine check shows in two minutes what that means for your business.
The basis for this is the service Email automation + time management: inbox triage with draft replies plus an appointment cockpit for calendar, reminders and weekly plan. Both are included in the pilot automation.
One day, two versions
Without routinefrei
At seven in the morning the phone rings for the first time: a customer asks about yesterday's shipment. By the lunch break, three people from dispatch keep picking up the same phone, giving the same information every time. Meanwhile twelve new orders pile up in the inbox as PDFs and free text that someone has to type up before the route is fixed. Whoever hangs up in the evening has spent half the day giving information and typing, and has hardly optimised a single route.
With routinefrei
At seven in the morning the first status queries from the inbox are ready, pre-sorted, each with a draft reply that dispatch only checks; only the actual special cases need more. New orders arrive as tidy drafts, and a person checks and approves them. Standard questions about delivery notices or delivery times are answered by a draft based on your guidelines. The dispatchers can focus on route planning and the cases where experience counts. A phone assistant and a connection to the dispatch software are possible pilot projects after a technical review.
What we automate for you
AI phone assistant
As a pilot after a technical review: takes status queries and calls even at peak times, gives information about the shipment and confirms delivery dates.
Email triage with draft replies
Pre-sorts incoming orders, delivery notices and questions and prepares finished draft replies. The final approval stays with your team, order intake gets faster and less gets lost in the inbox.
Quote and document automation
As a pilot after a technical review: creates freight quotes and order confirmations from your templates and automatically follows up on open enquiries.
Knowledge base for the team
Brings delivery times, rates, delivery notice rules and standard workflows together in one place. New employees and the draft replies give the same, correct information.
What you get out of it
- Noticeably fewer recurring status calls in dispatch, because standard information runs automatically.
- Orders from the inbox typically reach the system faster and more accurately, often with fewer transfer errors.
- The dispatchers get time back for route planning and difficult cases instead of giving information all day.
How a project works
- Initial consultation. In the free initial consultation we look at which status queries, order channels and email routines take up the most time in your dispatch. You get a clear assessment of which workflow pays off first.
- Short analysis & fixed price. We look at the workflows and your systems and send a quote with a fixed price, scope and delivery date.
- Implementation. We build the first workflow, test it with real emails and appointments from your daily work and switch it on together with you. The pilot automation is live in 14 days.
- Operation & expansion. After the start we monitor the workflows, adjust rules and expand step by step once the pilot has proven itself. You have a fixed contact person instead of a ticket system.
Who is this for?
- Freight forwarders with a small dispatch team, where status calls and order entry depend on a few people.
- Courier, express and parcel services that get many similar enquiries about delivery and delivery notices.
- Warehousing and fulfilment businesses that answer stock enquiries and goods-in notices by hand today.
Frequently asked questions from logistics and freight forwarding
Does this work with our dispatch and warehouse software?
Your software stays. We connect to existing systems instead of replacing them. Available in the customer workspace today are Gmail, Google Calendar, draft replies and approvals. We assess the connection of dispatch, telematics or warehouse software as a pilot project before the start, and only then do we commit to what will be automated.
Can the automation answer status enquiries by itself?
Status enquiries by email are pre-sorted and given finished draft replies, and your team checks and approves them. An automatic answer directly from your shipment data, for example by phone, is a possible pilot project after a technical review, not a standard module that can be activated today.
What does the first automation cost for a freight forwarder?
The way in is the pilot automation at a fixed price, including time management + email system, live in 14 days. If several workflows are to be linked, we calculate the automation sprint after a short analysis. You can find all packages with market context on our pricing page.
How do shipment and customer data stay protected?
Hosting, model region and data flows are agreed and documented together before going live, and this includes a data processing agreement. We define in advance which data a workflow sees, and your team approves outgoing replies. That way it is always traceable what has been automated and what hasn't.
Let's take a calm look in a free initial consultation at which queries and order channels you can automate first.
Request a free initial consultation