In an industry historically rooted in paper, typewriters, and siloed systems, the winds of change are finally blowing through freight forwarding. “It was very old school. It was machines, typewriters,” Johan Ruthström, Director of Strategy and Business Development at MyFreight, said. “It’s a slow boat to China, I would say.”
Yet, real transformation is happening, albeit cautiously: “There is a lot of fear for changes. Many people I’ve been talking to within the industry still don’t fully understand what AI is all about, and that puts them a little bit on a conservative… not really sure how to interact with this knowledge.”
For MyFreight, the difference lies in how it has built its platform. Unlike legacy systems, which are rigid and monolithic, MyFreight’s technology was designed from scratch. “We didn’t build or update the old system. We built one from scratch, utilising the latest technology. This means you don’t have the kind of legacy ERP applications, where flexibility for new technology is limited,” Ruthström explained.
Building beyond legacy systems
AI is not an “enemy” but a tool to boost productivity. “We use it for integration, managing large data sets, instead of manually entering hundreds of bookings, you can now use technology to automatically populate these bookings into your, MyFreight software. It’s about sharing information in a very easy way,” Ruthström outlined.
The applications are both practical and strategic. “AI can help the industry automate routine tasks like data entry, invoice matching, document creation… But the indispensable human role remains: strategic relationship management, sales, complex exception handling. You still need empathy and problem-solving,” he continued.
Security and transparency also factor heavily into the adoption of AI in logistics, with clear importance around controlling sensitive data: “We make sure that our AI tools are built without relying on third-party services. Clients have accessibility of this information in a very direct environment, via Customer Portal, fully secured, enterprise-grade, GDPR-compliant infrastructure,” Ruthström expressed.
Beyond efficiency and compliance, technology as a tool for environmental responsibility. “We are looking into using AI for carbon footprint data, routing suggestions, and CO2 emissions. You can maximise container or space utilisation and reduce the overall carbon footprint of transport. With analytics, it’s nearly endless how you can use technology to make smarter moves with better impact on the environment,” he added.
AI is also gaps across modes of transport, introducing predictive analytics and impacting workforce development “We are using real-time milestones to anticipate delays in the supply chain. It’s important that you have accurate data for the AI to make the right assumptions. We’re working on getting the information as real-time as possible, so we can understand the flow not only in the past but also in the future,” Ruthström laid out. “It’s very much about learn and adapt. Coding is easy, but it’s about finding the best solutions to speed up the process for clients. AI plays a vital role to accelerate that process.”
Tools to autonomous agents
It is clear that AI is evolving from a tool to a true agent in logistics operations, with adaptability key to maximising the potential of these tools, shifting freight forwarding into the 21st century, accelerating productivity, enhancing sustainability and complementing human expertise. . “AI will shift from being a tool users operate to being agents that can execute bookings or reconcile data. It will always be the human that has that monitoring watchtower role. We are also enhancing AI quotation capabilities to integrate with platforms like Microsoft Outlook, eliminating further friction.
“We are a highly adaptable technology company… We haven’t just taken an old system and put lipstick on it. We built it from scratch. If you have a smarter accounting system, why not interface to SAP? That makes us a very interesting alternative for companies looking for modern AI-driven platforms.”
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Author: Edward Hardy
