Freight workflow white paper

Common freight service issues

Freight service teams receive automated alerts from the Trucking Management System, or TMS, throughout the day. A terminal, cab, or temperature alert can arrive while a shipment is moving or waiting at a ramp. A customer may already be asking for an update when the next alert arrives. The alert, the customer message, and the current shipment record need to point to the same case. One case record keeps the shipment response complete.

Before answering, the agent needs the shipment case, the latest TMS alerts, prior customer messages, the current owner, and the next recorded action. A case can contain incomplete or conflicting updates from different sources. An older alert may describe a condition that a newer ramp event has already changed. The agent needs the current record before sending an answer or opening an escalation. The next agent, approver, or escalation team needs the same record to continue the shipment work. The record identifies the shipment, the current condition, the owner, and the action the next team must complete.

Five freight workflows

The paper covers five common freight service workflows. Each workflow records the issue, assigns an owner, and identifies the next action. They connect incoming shipment updates to the case record, the responsible team, and the customer update.

The five workflows cover alert management, escalation, approved adjustments, assignment, and freight classification. Each workflow uses the shipment case to record the issue, its owner, completed work, and the next action.

1. TMS alert management

   Terminal, cab, and temperature alerts from the TMS enter iService as they arrive. Regex filters identify the shipment case, add the alert to its history, and assign it to the agent already responsible. Semantic Search finds relevant case history for the configured GPT chatbot. The chatbot summarizes the shipment status, ramp events, alert history, and next actions. It identifies missing or conflicting information before the agent responds. The agent checks the summary against the linked updates before sending a status response or opening an escalation.

2. Escalation forms

   A temperature-control problem changes a shipment's delivery ETA. The agent opens the iService escalation form and enters the PRO number and shipment details once. The form records the escalation reason, responsible teams, quality-of-care status, notification requirements, and revised ETA. One submission opens work for operations, leadership, carrier management, and the quality team. It acknowledges the submission to the agent and sends the customer the revised status and ETA. iService records the fields and tags on the shipment case for operational reports. Each team receives the escalation details from the submitted form.

3. Approved adjustments

   A request begins in the built-in credit memo form. It can include multiple order references, such as an invoice, order, waybill, or PRO number. iService checks each order number against prior credit memo requests, then sends the selected approver an email with a link to the approval form. The assigned approver uses that form to approve the credit or reject it with an explanation. iService supports single or double approval. The approval record connects the financial decision to the adjustment request.

4. Continuous assignment

   iService automates assignment management across 24-hour shipment-inquiry coverage so work reaches available agents throughout the day. Service leaders use the workflow to assign shipment inquiries across 24-hour coverage.

5. Freight taxonomy

   The freight taxonomy exhibit lists the common freight and logistics customer-interaction topics. The tables group each topic by workflow stage and show its topic ID, category, and description. Agents use the classification for routing and work management. Service leaders use the categories in reports that show where shipment work is accumulating.

Customer follow-up results

The escalation form notifies the customer when it opens the internal work. The customer receives the revised status and ETA immediately. Internal teams receive the submitted escalation details while the customer receives the status and ETA update.

Agents receive fewer follow-up calls about the escalation. At one freight operator, customer follow-ups on escalated shipments dropped 25%. The customer received the status and ETA when the escalation was submitted.

Request the white paper

Read the iService freight workflow paper for five practical workflows that connect TMS alerts, escalation forms, approved adjustments, assignment management, and freight classification. Use the workflows to define what your team records, who owns each task, and how customer updates move with the shipment case. The paper organizes the alerts, requests, approvals, assignments, and reports used in daily shipment support. Compare the workflows with your current service operation. Identify the records, owners, and customer notifications each process needs. Start with the workflow that creates the most customer follow-up because of incomplete updates, unclear ownership, or unresolved adjustments. Then connect that workflow to the responsible teams, approvals, and reporting categories. Review the result with the people who manage alerts, customer updates, adjustments, and daily queue coverage.

Request the White Paper