6,800 drivers short. The trips still have to run, with fewer people behind the wheel.
In transport and logistics you earn on full lorries and lose on empty kilometres, waiting time and a driver you cannot reach. Margins are thin and people are scarce: there are simply too few drivers on the road for all the work. Smarter planning is not a luxury, it is survival. Not by replacing the driver, but by no longer making him wait, search and call, and by showing the planner the best trip instead of making him puzzle it out by hand.
// A report from a fictional transport and distribution company with 22 lorries, a planner who works from a map and his memory, and customers who call all day asking “where is my order?”. The company is fictional, the situations are real: we run into them again and again.
Sound familiar?
- Route planning is a puzzle on a map and in the head of one planner; if he is off sick, the company grinds to a halt.
- Lorries drive back half empty; return loads are not found, or found too late.
- Consignment notes are paper; the signed copy goes missing, and the invoice waits for it.
- The customer calls all day: “where is my order?” The answer is a phone call to the driver.
- An address turns out to be wrong or unreachable for a large lorry; you only find out on the spot.
- The driver waits an hour at loading; nobody records it or bills it.
- Driving and rest times are checked afterwards, often just when it is already too late.
- The actual costing per trip never gets done; which customer or route loses money, nobody knows exactly.
What usually runs here
The software we come across here most often. It does not have to go; we build around it and in between.
A day in transport planning & administration: now and next
On the left, the day as it usually runs now. On the right, the same day once the dull parts are automated and AI does the groundwork. Watch what changes: not the people, but where their time goes.
- 06:00PlannerDivides the trips over 22 lorries on gut feeling. The sequence and the combinations are in his head; only half of it is on paper.
- 08:20DriverWaits an hour at the first customer for loading. Nobody records the waiting time; it never gets billed.
- 10:45CustomerCalls: “Where is my order?” The planner calls the driver, the driver does not pick up, the customer waits.
- 12:30DriverStands in front of an address where his lorry cannot turn. Nobody had spotted that in advance; he loses half an hour.
- 14:00DriverDrives back half empty. There was a return load nearby, but it sat in another mailbox and was never linked.
- 16:30AdministrationWaits for the signed consignment notes to be able to invoice. Two are missing; those invoices go out a week later.
- 18:00Managing directorAsks which trip lost money today. No idea: there is no actual costing per trip.
- 06:00PlannerThe system proposes a trip plan: sequence, combinations and load factor all worked out. The planner shifts things based on his knowledge and approves; the plan no longer lives only in his head.
- 08:20DriverWaiting time at loading is recorded automatically via the on-board computer; waiting time beyond the agreed limit goes on the invoice.
- 10:45CustomerAutomatically received a track and trace link this morning with a realistic arrival time. No longer calls; sees for himself where the lorry is.
- 12:30DriverReceived a warning about this address in advance: tight access, no turning possible. The plan had already taken that into account.
- 14:00DriverPicks up a return load on the way that the system had added to the plan; the empty kilometres are gone.
- 16:30AdministrationThe consignment notes are signed digitally (e-CMR); the invoice is ready automatically as soon as the trip is completed. Nothing goes missing.
- 18:00Managing directorSees the margin per trip and per customer: which routes run well, which customer structurally costs money. The next pricing agreement is backed by numbers.
Where AI makes the difference here
Per use case: what the automation does, what a person keeps doing, and whether it is proven or still promising. We say which one honestly.
Route planning that does the maths
The system proposes a plan that takes driving time, loading and unloading times, load factor and time windows into account, and allows for known difficult addresses.
Still human: the planner decides and shifts things based on what he knows; the system does the maths and the puzzle.
Cutting out empty kilometres
Return loads and follow-on loads are automatically matched to existing trips, so lorries run fuller. Every filled return trip is direct profit on a thin margin.
Still human: accepts or rejects the proposed combination based on customer agreements.
Track & trace without phone calls
Customers automatically receive a link with a realistic arrival time, which shifts with any delay. The “where is my order” phone call largely disappears.
Still human: the planner only steps in for genuine exceptions; the rest runs by itself.
Digital consignment note and immediate invoicing
The e-CMR is signed digitally on the road; as soon as the trip is done, the invoice is ready with the right surcharges (waiting time, extra stops).
Still human: checks the exceptions; the rest runs automatically and nothing goes missing any more.
Waiting time that bills itself
Waiting time at loading and unloading is recorded via the on-board computer; anything beyond the agreed limit automatically goes on the invoice.
Still human: decides on goodwill with regular customers; the system makes sure you never forget it again.
Margin per trip and per customer
Trip data, hours, fuel and surcharges come together in an actual costing per trip: which routes and customers pay off, which cost money.
Still human: uses it at the next pricing agreement and when dropping loss-making trips.
Honestly: what AI does not do here
- Route optimisation is only as good as your data. If the loading and unloading times and the addresses are wrong, the system optimises on nonsense. First get that basis in order, and that takes a while.
- Linking return loads only works if there is something to link; if you drive fixed rounds for a single client, there is less to be gained there. We tell you up front whether it will pay off for you.
- The planner stays the boss. The system calculates faster than a person ever can, but it does not know your customers and agreements the way he does. That is why it proposes and he decides, especially at the start.
- Track & trace removes the phone calls, but only if the arrival times are realistic. A promise that is too good is worse than no promise; that is why we let the times move with reality.
The objections we hear — and whether we can close them off
We looked them up and heard them from clients. For each objection we say whether it is really solvable, partly solvable, or a risk that stays and that you accept knowingly.
Can it be closed off: yes. Impressive, and risky. If he drops out, the planning stops. We capture his way of working in the system; he stays in charge and gains computing power on top. When he is on holiday, it keeps running.
- 01Week 1: core session in planning and one day riding along. We follow the trips, the waiting times and the phone calls, and count what falls through the cracks.
- 02Weeks 2 and 3: route planning that does the maths alongside the planner, and track & trace links to customers to take away the phone calls.
- 03Weeks 3 and 4: digital consignment note and automatic invoicing with waiting time and surcharges; switch on actual costing per trip.
- 04Week 4: measure. Empty kilometres, waiting time, phone calls, margin per trip. Only then return-load linking or further optimisation.
First the free AI scan, then a core session on your floor (a half-day of 4 hours, €596 excl. VAT and travel costs) with a core report and an honest go/no-go. We build on a project basis with fixed hours: €110 per hour for straightforward work, €165 for complex development.
More hours only with your written approval. If we cannot deliver, you pay nothing for what was not delivered.
Want to know what this means for your transport planning & administration?
Take the free AI scan or book an intro call with someone who builds it themselves. A reply within one working day, no slides, no obligations.
Most businesses start with the tool and then get stuck. It is better to start with one piece of work that comes back every week and nobody enjoys.
The build costs are usually the easiest part of the bill. The surprises are in the clean-up beforehand, the monthly usage and the maintenance afterwards.