AI Operators · Use cases
Booking automation
Turn booking emails and forms into validated shipment records. Shipflow AI Operators follow your SOPs, update your TMS and escalate exceptions to your team.
Explore your workflowYour SOPs. Your systems. Your team in control.
- Starts with
- A booking email, customer form or shipment instruction.
- Works with
- Your approved shipment data, booking SOPs and connected TMS.
- Completes with
- A validated booking record, or an exception routed for action.
The operational opportunity
From a booking request to a shipment ready for execution.
Booking work rarely starts with a complete, standardized record. It arrives in an email, a customer form or an attachment. An operations team then reads the request, checks the details, moves information into the TMS and coordinates the next action. Repeating that process across customers and branches consumes capacity before shipment execution even begins.
Shipflow’s Booking Operator connects those steps into a controlled workflow. It extracts shipment information, validates it against your requirements and creates bookings in your transportation management system (TMS). Your existing SOPs define what can proceed automatically and what needs a person. The workflow is configured for the relevant Ocean, Air or Road operation—not imposed as one universal booking process.
How it works
One workflow. Clear steps.
Read and structure the request
Identify the booking request and extract the fields needed by your operation. Depending on the mode, these may include parties, origin and destination, cargo details, equipment or requested dates. Required fields are defined during workflow setup.
Validate before creating the booking
Check the extracted information against your SOPs and available shipment context. Configure checks for missing details, inconsistent values and the applicable customer instructions. A request that needs clarification should follow the exception path rather than be treated as a complete booking.
Create the record in your TMS
Map validated information to the fields and workflow supported by your connected system. The operator creates the booking within its agreed permissions, reducing the need for your team to re-enter the same shipment information.
Coordinate the next action
Prepare or send the configured response and route unresolved decisions to the responsible team. A booking record, an external submission and a carrier confirmation are different milestones; your SOP determines which of them belongs inside the automated workflow.
Human control
Automate the routine. Keep judgment with your team.
Execute within agreed rules
- Read booking requests from the agreed inboxes and forms.
- Extract and map required shipment fields.
- Apply configured validation rules and create eligible TMS records.
- Prepare or send routine responses within approved permissions.
Escalate when needed
- Missing information that the workflow cannot resolve.
- Conflicting instructions or a request outside the agreed scope.
- Commercial or operational decisions requiring judgment.
- Actions that your policy explicitly reserves for approval.
Customer result
AI execution at Dimerco.
- Touchless booking completion rate
- 99%+
Dimerco deployed Shipflow’s Booking Operator for high-volume booking workflows, achieving a 99%+ touchless completion rate.
This result relates to the customer workflow described. Results depend on workflow scope, input quality and deployment configuration.
Read the customer storyGetting started
Build around the way your operation works.
Define a complete booking
Bring representative requests, required fields and the SOP your team uses today. Include incomplete requests and unusual cases, not only clean examples. Agree where the workflow begins and what counts as completed work.
Map systems and responsibilities
Identify the relevant inbox, TMS fields, customer instructions and system permissions. Name an operations owner and the people who handle exceptions. Access methods and write-back scope depend on the systems in your deployment.
Agree the release controls
Set the checks, approval requirements and exception routes before enabling automated actions. Review representative cases with your team and agree how changes to customer SOPs will be maintained.
Measure completed work, not just AI activity.
Compare the same booking scope before and after automation. Define touchless completion as an end-to-end outcome for the agreed workflow, not simply successful data extraction.
- Manual handling time per booking
- Time from request to TMS record
- Bookings completed without human intervention
- Exception and correction rates
Common questions
Before you put an AI Operator to work.
Does this replace our TMS?
No. Shipflow adds execution around the systems your team already uses. The operator works with the connected TMS; field mappings, permissions and supported actions are agreed for your implementation.
Does every booking require human approval?
Not necessarily. Eligible work can proceed within configured rules, while exceptions and approval-required actions go to your team. The balance depends on your policies, the workflow and the system access available.
Is creating a booking the same as confirming carrier space?
No. Creating the internal shipment record does not by itself confirm space or acceptance with a carrier. External booking steps and responses must be defined separately in the workflow.
Who is booking automation for?
Logistics companies handling repetitive booking and shipment-creation work, including freight forwarders, 3PLs and integrated logistics providers. The starting point is a repeatable operational process with clear inputs and completion rules.
Start with one workflow
Start with the booking workflow your team repeats every day.
Map the inputs, decisions and systems with Shipflow. Define a useful first deployment with clear boundaries and measurable outcomes.
Book a working session