Consultant’s Insight: AI powers route planning, optimization

Artificial intelligence is improving route optimization and planning tools and, as a result, transforming transportation management systems. [caption id="attachment_76185" align="alignright" width="298"] Cathy Roberson, Cargo Facts Consulting senior consultant and Air Cargo Next columnist[/caption] However, “no one TMS [transportation management system] can do everything for everyone,” Michael Horvath , chief marketing officer for TMS provider Revenova , said at the SMC3 Connections 2023 conference for the truck transport industry last week. Shippers and brokers typically use TMS to compare rates and book and track freight. But Horvath said that, when selecting a TMS one must have “an eye towards the future. Do you need less-than-truckload trucking? Will you need to add a final-mile addition? What about international transportation?” According to the 2023 Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Study, 52% of survey respondents said international transportation was the most frequent outsourced activity. Planning and scheduling transportation management were also the most important IT capabilities in shipper-3PL relationships, according to the study. TMS are becoming more multimodal and moving beyond domestic transportation services, but there are also third-party aggregator sites and individual carriers that offer rates, booking and tracking services . Deciding on what type of service to use depends on an organization’s requirements, but often all three will be used in decision making — usually a time-consuming process. Australian-based Fluent Cargo is focused on route planning, optimization and pre-booking visibility. Using AI and proprietary technology, Fluent Cargo aggregates and processes data from partners and data providers to create a full view of air cargo and ocean freight lanes and provide real-time route and schedule lookups between any two-lane pairing. “There are many factors to consider when route planning: time frame, commodity attributes such as size, perishable and dangerous goods; commodity restrictions, including customs restrictions and embargoes; pricing; carbon emissions, etc.,” Fluent Cargo Chief Technology Officer Andy Greig told Air Cargo Next . “Gathering that data and verifying it requires visits to numerous websites. That all takes time. Finding answers on a single site is attractive to busy logistics professionals.” Mitigating costs and improving efficiency on international routes have always been problematic for logistics organizations. Risk management is also a growing concern, whether it’s a labor, economic, political, weather or other risk. By using AI-powered systems, organizations can identify the best options, trends and forecast patterns. After introducing AI into their supply chains, 61% of executives reported decreased costs and 53% reported increased revenues as a direct result, according to a survey from consulting firm McKinsey . Lower inventory, transportation and labor costs are among the areas with the most savings. Join Air Cargo Next for the second Air Cargo Tech Summit on Monday, Sept. 18, and Tuesday, Sept. 19, at the Brussels Marriott Hotel Grand Place in Belgium. For more information on the summit and to register, click here .

Consultant’s Insight: AI powers route planning, optimization

From the Cockpit with Everts Air Cargo’s Robert Everts

Central Airlines to grow 777F fleet

Related Posts

Widebody transactions carry momentum into June

From the Cockpit with K2 Aviation’s Karl Ryan

Production freighter activity highlights May FATs

Central Airlines to grow 777F fleet

Cargo Facts Free Newsletters

Cargo Facts Connect Podcast

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password