Back
In today's digitized era, businesses constantly seek ways to streamline their operations. One such international logistics firm specializing in transporting e-commerce packages from China to the US offers a compelling narrative about leveraging the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to overhaul its business processes.
About The Company:
This US-headquartered logistics company is an industry leader with its unique review process and pre-clear shipment items, ensuring seamless portability. With US and China warehouses, they work as a crucial bridge for leading e-commerce marketplaces transporting consumer products. As a privately held entity, the firm enjoys significant flexibility in the decision-making process.
The Challenge:
Its competitive advantage was at the core of the company's success—manually verifying import compliance for consumer goods from Chinese sellers. This strategy assured faster US Customs clearance. However, the manual system posed significant scalability challenges:
-
Intensive labor requirements demand more hiring and rigorous training.
-
High error rates from factors like employee fatigue and inconsistencies in training.
-
Continuous training is needed due to evolving regulations.
-
Inherent inconsistencies stemming from interpretive data - like product descriptions on eCommerce platforms versus the language used in Customs rules.
-
Communication barriers between review teams and logistics warehouses complicate package acceptances or rejections.
The Tech-Driven Solution:
A holistic solution was devised with the following objectives:
- Attain consistency in acceptance/rejection decisions.
- Overcome human resource limitations.
- Automate communication regarding package decisions.
- Enhance speed and accuracy in comparing product descriptions with Customs rules.
The Outcome:
While the initial idea was to develop a communication tool to facilitate manual reviews, Fortium's Interim CIO had a vision and developed an implementation plan. By proposing that the firm harness AI to automate reviews entirely, the Interim CIO eliminated the headcount challenge.
The resulting AI system mimicked the meticulous work of human review experts, providing decisions with unwavering consistency and accuracy. Whenever confronted with a new product description, human reviewers enriched the AI's database, bolstering its decision-making prowess.
This pivotal shift to AI-based processes meant the pace of manual reviews no longer hamstrung the company. Their logistics infrastructure could now function optimally, resulting in a sharp uptick in utilization and profitability.
Conclusion:
This case offers a stellar testament to the transformative potential of AI. For businesses grappling with scalability and efficiency concerns, the story of this international logistics firm underlines that innovation, coupled with the right tech adoption, can open up avenues for unprecedented growth.
How to Harness AI: If you're not sure where to start with AI, Fortium Partners can help you assess your needs and develop a custom AI solution that will positively impact your business.
To read and download the full case study, click HERE
