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Freight operators should sort out unreliable data, unbilled charges and repetitive admin before expecting AI to protect their margins, Metro Shipping and Portcast executives told The Loadstar.

The practical point is refreshingly unglamorous: technology can help track deadlines and bill charges correctly, but it cannot make messy underlying processes disappear. Metro’s Ian Powell described a three-month pilot to integrate airfreight tracking systems and resolve problems before wider adoption. The article also cites Australian forwarder Neolink, whose staff handle 80 to 90 per cent more shipment volume than three years ago without added headcount. Its account credits both automation and its operating model, so this is not an AI-only success story. The case for AI may start with fixing the spreadsheet-shaped holes in the business.

Discuss: What should freight firms prioritise first: cleaner data and processes, or investing in AI tools that might help expose the gaps?

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