Outproduce
AI EmployeeBook a call

For forwarders, third party logistics operators and carrier operations teams.

Where does the booking actually live? Right now it lives in an inbox thread, and someone retypes it into the TMS.

Bookings arrive as email text, attachments and portal alerts. Outproduce installs the path from the booking request to a shipment record in the TMS, with the bill of lading pack assembled, the customs documents checked for gaps, and the milestone updates written back to the customer. Rate exceptions and anything that changes a charge wait for the named operator.

Book a callSee the workflows
  • TMS
  • Inbox
  • Customs documentation store
  • Accounting software
  • Customer portal

By hand today

What your team does by hand, and what we build.

You do this by hand

An operator reads the booking email, opens the attachment, and retypes the consignment details into the TMS.

We build this

A booking intake path that reads the request, maps the fields to the shipment record, and holds anything it cannot resolve.

What changes

The shipment record is created from the request itself, and the gaps are visible instead of guessed.

You do this by hand

Someone assembles the bill of lading, packing list and commercial invoice by copying details between documents.

We build this

A document pack builder that draws every field from the confirmed shipment record and flags mismatches between documents.

What changes

The pack is consistent with the record, and conflicts surface before the pack leaves the building.

You do this by hand

A coordinator chases carrier milestones, then emails each customer a status line written from memory.

We build this

A milestone and status path that collects events against the shipment and prepares the customer update for release.

What changes

Customers hear about movement and delay from the record, not from whoever happened to be free.

You do this by hand

Customs paperwork is checked by eye for missing commodity codes, weights and party details.

We build this

A completeness check against the declaration requirements, with every missing field named on the shipment.

What changes

Incomplete declarations are caught at the desk instead of at the border.

You do this by hand

Carrier invoices are compared with the quoted rate in a spreadsheet, and differences are argued over later.

We build this

A rate and invoice match that lines the charge up against the agreed tariff and raises the variance as an exception.

What changes

Margin leaks show up as a named exception with evidence attached.

Freight work is already digital, but the connective work is not. The booking sits in the inbox, the record sits in the TMS, the documents sit in a folder, and a senior operator carries each of them in their head. When that person is on leave, the desk slows down.

Customers now expect to be told about a delay before they ask. That is only possible when carrier events, the shipment record and the customer update are part of the same path rather than three separate habits.

Lifecycle

Where the system runs and where a person decides.

Typical lifecycle in this sector
  1. 1Booking request arrivesEmail, attachment or portal alert.
  2. 2Fields read and mapped to the shipment recordAutomated
  3. 3Missing or conflicting details raisedAutomatedNamed on the shipment, not buried in a thread.
  4. 4Operator confirms the consignment and the rate basisHuman approval
  5. 5Document pack assembled from the confirmed recordAutomated
  6. 6Customs completeness checkAutomated
  7. 7Release of documents and customer confirmationHuman approvalAnything that changes a charge waits here.
  8. 8Milestones and status updates maintainedAutomated

Workflows

The workflows we install first.

Each one names the manual version, the installed version, and the approval point that stays with a person. Figures show sample records, never client data.

01

Booking request to shipment record

The request is read where it arrives, mapped to the shipment fields, and held for operator confirmation. Nothing is invented: unresolved fields are named.

Expected impactExpected impact: bookings enter the TMS from the source request, and rekeying moves off the desk.
Illustrative field mapping from a booking request · Illustrative
Request detailShipment fieldWhen unresolved
Shipper and consignee blockParties on the shipment recordRaised for operator match against the account
Container and seal referencesEquipment listHeld and named as missing
Gross weight and commodityCargo detailFlagged against the declaration requirement
Quoted rate referenceCharge basisRouted to the rate owner for confirmation
02

Document pack assembly

The bill of lading, packing list and commercial invoice are built from the same confirmed record, then compared with each other before release.

Expected impactExpected impact: fewer corrected packs, and document conflicts found before despatch.
Illustrative trace of a document packIllustrative
  1. 01
    Confirmed shipment read

    Parties, equipment, cargo and charge basis taken from the record.

    Automated
  2. 02
    Pack drafted

    Each document populated from the same source fields.

    Automated
  3. 03
    Cross document check

    Weights, marks and party names compared across the pack.

    Automated
  4. 04
    Mismatch raised

    A weight that disagrees between documents stops the release.

    Escalated
  5. 05
    Operator releases the pack

    Named approval before anything reaches the customer or the carrier.

    Human approval
03

Milestone capture and customer status

Carrier events are written against the shipment, and the customer update is prepared from that record. The operator releases the message where the account requires it.

Expected impactExpected impact: status requests fall, because the customer already has the movement.
Illustrative escalation ladder for a missed milestoneIllustrative
  1. Event received on timeMilestone written to the shipment and the portal view.
    Automated
  2. Event late against the planThe shipment is marked as awaiting an event and the carrier contact is prepared.
    Automated
  3. Delay confirmedThe customer update is drafted with the revised plan attached.
    Human approval
  4. Commercial consequenceDemurrage or rebooking exposure goes to the account owner before anything is promised.
    Escalated
04

Carrier invoice and rate variance

Each carrier charge is matched against the agreed tariff and the shipment record. Variances are raised with the evidence rather than absorbed.

Expected impactExpected impact: variances are argued from the record, and unbilled accessorials become visible.
Illustrative comparison of charge handling
Charge caseBy hand todayInside the installed path
Matches the tariffChecked by eye in a spreadsheetMatched and marked ready for posting
Accessorial not quotedOften absorbed and forgottenRaised as an exception against the shipment
Charge exceeds the quoteFound at month endHeld for the rate owner with both figures attached

Go live

How it reaches production in your firm.

  1. 01

    Fit Review on the real desk

    We sit with the operator who carries the bookings and watch the actual path from request to released pack.

    Free
  2. 02

    Operating Map

    The map names every record, every handover and every point where an operator must approve a charge or a release.

    Paid, yours to keep
  3. 03

    Production Install on a scoped lane

    A scoped trade lane or customer group goes live first, with a written acceptance test on real shipments.

    Human approves
  4. 04

    Managed operation or handover

    We either run the exception queue with your team or hand over the documented system with the owner named.

    Monitored

What we measure

Baseline first, then the delta.

We record each of these before anything switches on, so the result is measured against your numbers, not a benchmark.

first builds: booking intake to shipment record · document pack assembly and cross check · carrier invoice variance queue

Related

Questions from logistics and freight.

Do we need to change our TMS?

No. The install starts inside the TMS you already run. A replacement is only discussed if the system cannot hold the agreed workflow.

What happens when a booking is ambiguous?

It is held and named. The shipment shows which field could not be resolved and who it is waiting on, rather than a confident guess.

Can it talk to carrier portals?

Where an interface exists, yes. Where it does not, the path still handles the inbox and attachment route and keeps the record as the single source.

Other sectors

Start here

Show us the workflow.

Tell us what starts it, who owns the result, which tools carry it, and where it stalls. We will tell you whether it is ready to map.

Book a 20-minute callOr send it in writing
Strong fit

The workflow repeats

One person owns the result

The records exist

Several tools carry the work