AI Operators · Use cases

Document automation

Automate logistics document processing and TMS data entry from emails and PDFs. Extract shipment fields, validate documents and write approved data to your TMS.

Discuss document automation

Your SOPs. Your systems. Your team in control.

Starts with: Shipment documents received through agreed operational channels.
Works with: Document types, shipment context, field mappings, comparison rules and your connected TMS.
Completes with: Approved data entered into the operational workflow, or a document exception ready for review.

The operational opportunity

Process the document. Validate the data. Complete the operational entry.

Logistics document processing connects incoming emails and PDFs to accurate operational records. It includes document classification, shipment-data extraction, validation and automated TMS data entry—not just OCR or comparing two files.

Shipflow’s Document Operator classifies files, extracts shipment data, checks it against customer rules and compares related documents when needed. It enters validated data into your TMS and sends unclear or conflicting information to your team with the source documents attached.

The workflow can support documents across the Ocean, Air and Road lifecycle. Representative Ocean documents include Master Bills of Lading (MBLs), House Bills of Lading (HBLs), Shipping Orders, Shipping Instructions, pre-alerts, commercial invoices, packing lists and arrival notices. Each document type has its own field mapping, validation rules and completion condition.

Receiving or extracting a document does not by itself make the data approved. Your workflow defines the authoritative source, required checks, permitted TMS fields and actions that need human review.

Workflow coverage

Process documents. Compare the right fields. Complete the data entry.

Configure the Document Operator around the job each document needs—not a single extraction template applied to every file.

Document processing

Collect documents from agreed channels, identify the document type and shipment, read the relevant content and manage revised versions.

Comparison and validation

Check required fields against related documents, TMS records and customer rules. Surface only the differences or omissions that require action.

TMS data entry and follow-through

Enter approved data into the shipment record and move the workflow to its next step.

Representative document types

Master Bill of Lading (MBL)
House Bill of Lading (HBL)
Shipping Order
Shipping Instructions
Pre-alert
Commercial Invoice
Packing List
Arrival Notice

How it works

From incoming file to usable operational data.

Collect and identify the document
Bring files from the agreed inbox, portal or workflow into one process. Classify the document type, match it to the shipment and distinguish the current version from superseded or duplicate copies.
Extract and normalize the required data
Read the fields the operational workflow needs, such as parties, references, routing, cargo, equipment, dates and document-specific values. Normalize the information to the formats expected by your TMS and SOP.
Validate the document in context
Check fields, formats and business rules against shipment records. Treat a document as ready only after it passes validation.
Compare related documents when required
Apply relationship-aware checks across documents such as MBLs and HBLs, Shipping Orders and Shipping Instructions, or commercial invoices and packing lists. Define which values should correspond, which can legitimately differ and which discrepancies require action.
Enter approved data or route the exception
Write validated values to the TMS. If information is missing, unclear or conflicting, send the source file and exact fields needing review to the responsible person.

Illustrative workflow

From an emailed Shipping Instruction to a verified TMS update.

A customer emails a revised Shipping Instruction as a PDF for an existing ocean shipment. The job is to update that shipment—not create another booking or submit instructions to the carrier. The following uses fictional sample data, not a customer deployment or product screenshot. Field mappings, source-priority rules and verification methods are agreed during implementation.

1. Match the email and attachment to the shipment
Use reference SF-DEMO-1042 and customer context to find the existing TMS record. Identify the revised document and check whether this version has already been processed. An ambiguous match goes to review rather than creating a second shipment.
2. Extract the fields the workflow needs
Read the shipper and consignee, shipment reference, ports, package count and gross weight. In this example, the PDF lists Shanghai to Rotterdam, 120 cartons and 2,400 kg. Map these values to the agreed TMS fields and units; do not invent missing information.
3. Resolve a discrepancy before writing
The TMS currently shows 100 cartons, while the revised instruction shows 120. Under this example’s SOP, a package-count change requires approval. Send the reviewer the source document, existing value and proposed value. Leave the record unchanged until the discrepancy is resolved.
4. Apply the approved revision
After the reviewer confirms 120 cartons, recheck that the shipment has not changed since review. Update only the approved fields and associate the action with the document version and shipment reference. Do not treat an unrelated field or carrier submission as implicitly approved.
5. Verify the result—or keep it open
Use the available system confirmation or read-back to check that the correct shipment now shows the approved values. If the write fails or times out, keep the task unresolved. Check whether the update took effect before retrying, and escalate when the result cannot be verified instead of reporting success.

Completion check: Completed means the intended shipment record contains the approved data and the update is verified, with the source version and review decision traceable. Extracted fields or an attempted write alone do not count as completion.

Human control

Automate the routine. Keep judgment with your team.

Your team sets the SOPs, system access and approval rules before launch. AI Operators act within those limits and escalate cases that need a decision.

Execute within agreed rules

Collect, classify and match documents from the agreed sources.
Extract and normalize the fields required by each document workflow.
Validate documents against shipment records and related files.
Enter approved data into the TMS and advance the workflow.

Escalate when needed

Required documents or fields are missing.
Source information is unclear or does not pass validation.
A discrepancy or revision falls outside the approved handling rules.
The authoritative source is unclear or multiple documents conflict.
A correction, submission or downstream action requires human approval.

Explore security and human control

Customer result

AI execution at Asia Shipping.

Less time spent on document comparison: 97%+

Asia Shipping uses Shipflow AI Operators to automate document comparison, including MBL and HBL checks. The deployment reduces time spent on this task by 97%+. This is evidence for the comparison task, not a measured result for TMS data entry or all document processing.

This result relates to the customer workflow described. Results depend on workflow scope, input quality and deployment configuration.

“Prior to Shipflow, our operators had to manually compare data fields between MBL and HBL three to four times per shipment, which was extremely time-consuming. With Shipflow, this process is now fully automated by AI.”

Jack YeungIT Manager at Asia Shipping

Read the customer story

Getting started

Build around the way your operation works.

Choose the document workflow

Bring representative documents, including scans, attachments, revisions and difficult examples. Define whether the first workflow is processing, comparison, TMS data entry or a connected sequence, and agree what completed work means.

Map fields, relationships and sources of truth

Specify the data required from each document, how documents connect to shipments and one another, and which source takes precedence when values conflict. Identify the exact destination fields in the TMS.

Set validation and write controls

Define the checks, exception routes and approvals that apply before information is entered or an external action is taken. Confirm the supported input channels, file formats, system access and write-back permissions for the deployment.

Explore systems and integrations

Plan testing and rollout How document workflows are priced

Measure completed work, not just AI activity.

Measure the complete document workflow from receipt through validated data entry or exception handoff. Faster extraction alone does not establish that the shipment record is accurate and ready for the next operational step.

Manual time per document or document set
Time from receipt to validated TMS entry
Fields entered without manual rekeying
Document discrepancies requiring review
Corrections and repeated processing

Common questions

Before you put an AI Operator to work.

How is this different from OCR or data extraction?

Optical character recognition (OCR) converts an image into readable text. Extraction identifies useful fields. Shipflow connects those steps with validation, cross-document checks and actions in the operational workflow, subject to your rules and system access.

Can Shipflow compare MBLs and HBLs?

Yes. MBL/HBL comparison is part of the document-comparison deployment at Asia Shipping. The fields, document relationships and exception rules for another implementation are configured around that operation’s requirements.

Can Shipflow process documents and enter data into our TMS?

Yes. Shipflow reads documents, checks extracted fields against shipment context and writes approved values into the connected TMS. For CargoWise, the workflow can read and write through eAdaptor. Your team defines the document types, field mappings, access and approval rules before deployment.

Can we automate logistics data entry from emailed PDFs?

Yes. An email and PDF can start a document-processing workflow that matches the shipment, extracts the required fields, validates them and updates the TMS. Test the actual file formats and layouts used by your team, including scans, revisions and incomplete documents. Unreadable or conflicting information goes to review instead of being treated as valid data.

Which logistics documents can be included?

Workflows can be configured around documents such as MBLs, HBLs, Shipping Orders, Shipping Instructions, pre-alerts, commercial invoices, packing lists and arrival notices. Supported file formats, fields and actions are confirmed for the selected workflow and systems.

Does every difference mean a document is wrong?

No. Different document roles can lead to legitimate differences. During setup, your team defines which fields should correspond, which differences are expected and which require investigation. The operator applies those rules rather than treating every difference as an error.

Do we have to automate every document type at once?

No. Start with one repeatable document workflow and a clear validation standard. Expand to additional types after the team has reviewed the results and agreed the relevant rules, exceptions and system connections.

Start with one workflow

Start with the document processing or data-entry workflow your team keeps repeating.

Start with a free 15-minute AI consultation. Describe the document your team rekeys most often, the destination system and the checks it needs. We will map a first workflow around those requirements.