Logistics & Transport

Logistics & 3PL Suite

Quote faster, track proactively, and close every freight invoice before it leaks margin.

A full operating layer for freight brokers, third-party logistics providers, and last-mile carriers. The suite covers the entire shipment lifecycle: from the moment a customer request for quotation lands, through carrier tendering and in-transit monitoring, to POD collection and invoice close-out. The biggest margin killers in freight are reactive exception handling, slow quote turnaround that loses loads to faster competitors, and billing friction that delays cash. This suite makes status communications automatic, catches delays before customers do, and reconciles PODs and accessorials without a back-office team chasing paper.

Designed playbook · not a deployment claim

A starting configuration to test against the business's actual evidence and operator constraints.

Illustrative failure hypotheses

Questions for the audit to verify

Manual 'where's my freight?' calls and emails consuming dispatcher and CSR hours every day

Delays and exceptions caught by the customer before the broker, eroding trust and inviting chargebacks

Slow RFQ response losing live loads to competitors who quote in minutes

No systematic carrier performance data, forcing gut-feel tendering and repeat use of underperforming carriers

POD collection and invoice reconciliation handled manually, stretching DSO and hiding accessorial charges

Detention and accessorial costs going unbilled because no one is tracking dwell time in real time

Idle capacity on owned assets or carrier network going unmatched to available loads

Proposed starting point

A pilot hypothesis to review

Designed role · approval required

RFQ Quote Responder

Converts an inbound customer RFQ into a priced, formatted freight quote within minutes and sends it back on the customer's preferred channel.

Quote speed is the most visible win: shippers award loads to whoever replies first, and a responder that turns an emailed RFQ into a priced, formatted quote in under two minutes shows ROI before the first billing cycle closes.

Designed playbook

Proposed work streams and roles

These are configuration ideas to test during an audit. They are not autonomous workers or evidence of a live deployment.

01Forma Core · included with every suite

Forma Core

Runs under every suite. The shared operating spine: front desk, follow-up, reputation, owner reporting, cash, and content.

Front DeskFollow-Up EngineReputation EngineOwner's DigestMoney FlowContent Engine
Designed role descriptions ↓
  • Front Desk

    Captures and triages every inbound (email, web form, missed call, DM), then replies, classifies, and routes it to the right place.

  • Follow-Up Engine

    Runs persistent, polite multi-touch follow-up on every quote, no-show, and stalled enquiry until it converts or is cleanly closed.

  • Reputation Engine

    Asks happy customers for reviews at the right moment, drafts replies to every review, and routes negative feedback to a human first.

  • Owner's Digest

    Compiles the weekly (and on-demand) operating picture into a plain-English brief: what happened, what's at risk, what needs a decision.

  • Money Flow

    Issues and chases invoices, tracks AR aging, and reconciles payments so nothing slips and cash comes in faster.

  • Content Engine

    Turns the brand kit into a steady cadence of social, email, and blog content, ready for one-click approval.

02

Quoting & Tendering

Win more loads by turning RFQs into priced, compliant quotes in minutes and placing them with the right carrier immediately.

RFQ Quote ResponderCarrier Tender Engine
Designed role descriptions ↓
  • RFQ Quote Responder

    Converts an inbound customer RFQ into a priced, formatted freight quote within minutes and sends it back on the customer's preferred channel.

  • Carrier Tender Engine

    Tenders an awarded load to the optimal available carrier based on lane performance, cost, and capacity, escalating down the waterfall until accepted.

03

Track & Trace

Give customers proactive, automated shipment updates from pickup to delivery so the phone stops ringing.

Shipment Status CommsCustomer Update Digest
Designed role descriptions ↓
  • Shipment Status Comms

    Sends automated, personalised shipment status updates to customers at key milestones so they never need to call for a location.

  • Customer Update Digest

    Compiles a daily or on-demand shipment summary for each customer account, covering all active and recently delivered loads.

04

Exception Management

Detect delays, weather events, and service failures the moment they emerge and resolve them before the customer notices.

Exception & Delay Sentinel
Designed role descriptions ↓
  • Exception & Delay Sentinel

    Monitors every active shipment for delays, weather disruptions, and service failures and triggers a resolution workflow before the customer is aware.

05

Carrier & Capacity

Build a high-performing carrier network, match capacity to demand, and keep scorecards current so tendering decisions are data-driven.

Carrier Scorecard BuilderCapacity Matcher
Designed role descriptions ↓
  • Carrier Scorecard Builder

    Maintains a live performance scorecard for every active carrier, surfacing reliability, cost, and compliance metrics to drive better tendering decisions.

  • Capacity Matcher

    Identifies idle or returning capacity in the network and matches it to available loads before those loads hit the spot market.

06

Billing & Documents

Close every shipment cleanly: PODs collected, accessorials billed, invoices reconciled, and disputes resolved before they age.

POD & Invoice ReconcilerDetention & Accessorial Tracker
Designed role descriptions ↓
  • POD & Invoice Reconciler

    Collects proof-of-delivery documents, matches them against carrier invoices and rate confirmations, and flags discrepancies before approval.

  • Detention & Accessorial Tracker

    Monitors dwell time at origin and destination and ensures every valid detention, layover, and accessorial charge is captured and billed before the invoice window closes.

Measurement design

Candidate measures to baseline

These labels do not claim a result. The audit must define the source, window, method, baseline, and owner before a metric can support a pilot decision.

Quote turnaround time

Median minutes from RFQ receipt to quote sent, the primary lever for winning live loads over competitors.

On-time delivery rate

% of shipments delivered within the committed window, measured across all modes and carriers.

Exceptions caught before customer contact

% of delay and service-failure exceptions detected and communicated proactively, before the customer calls.

Invoice dispute rate

% of carrier invoices requiring manual dispute resolution, a direct proxy for billing accuracy and POD completeness.

Days sales outstanding (DSO)

Average days to collect customer payment; reduced by faster POD collection and clean invoice approval.

Accessorial revenue captured

Total detention, layover, and accessorial charges billed vs. incurred, the most commonly unbilled margin in freight.

Connector boundary

Availability is scoped per controlled pilot

Connector names in the internal playbook are planning inputs, not a public integration promise. Current code-live readers are bounded and require account-specific verification before use.

See the commerce pilot boundaries →

Audit first

Validate the playbook against your operation.

Pricing, scope, data access, review boundaries, and success measures are agreed in writing before any paid work.

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