Arrival Notice Automation for a Logistics Forwarding Company
Client Overview
A mid-sized freight forwarding and logistics company specializing in international ocean freight shipments was facing operational inefficiencies in processing Arrival Notices. These critical documents, issued by carriers to notify consignees of cargo arrival, often arrived via email as PDF attachments containing essential details like Master Bill of Lading (MBL) numbers, container information, arrival dates, and potential charges (e.g., demurrage, detention, or other fees). Manually reviewing, extracting data, matching shipments in their ERP system, and uploading documents was time-consuming, error-prone, and delayed critical actions—leading to missed notifications for charges and increased risk of penalties.
Volume of Incoming Documents: Hundreds of Arrival Notices arrived weekly via email, primarily as PDFs (with occasional Word or Excel files), requiring manual opening, reading, and data entry.
Data Extraction and Matching: Key elements like the Master Bill of Lading had to be identified and used to query the company’s ERP system (OneView) to locate the corresponding shipment record.Document Management: Once matched, the Arrival Notice needed to be uploaded to the correct shipment file in OneView.
Document Management: Once matched, the Arrival Notice needed to be uploaded to the correct shipment file in OneView.
Charge Alerts: Notices often included freight charges, demurrage (fees for containers lingering at terminals), detention (fees for delayed container return), or other costs. Missing these led to unexpected expenses and disputes with carriers.
Human Error and Delays: Reliance on staff to process emails resulted in backlogs, overlooked charges, and inconsistent handling—especially during peak periods.
The company sought an automated solution to streamline this workflow, reduce manual effort, and ensure timely notifications for charge-related notices.
The Solution: AI-Powered Automation with Gemini, Power Automate, Outlook, and OneView Integration
Nsightlytics implemented a custom automation using Microsoft Power Automate as the orchestration engine, integrated with Google Gemini AI, Outlook, and the OneView ERP system.
Email Monitoring: Power Automate continuously monitors a dedicated Outlook inbox for new emails.
AI-Driven OCR and Data Extraction: Upon trigger, Gemini AI performs advanced Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on the attachment(s).
Automated Document Upload: If a match is found, the original Arrival Notice attachment is automatically uploaded to the correct shipment file in OneView for permanent archiving and easy access.
Intelligent Charge Detection and Notification: Gemini AI analyzes the document content for flags like charges, demurrage, detention, damaged containers, rail pickups, or free time notifications.
Error Handling and Logging: Unmatched shipments or unclear extractions are flagged for manual review, with logs maintained for auditing.
“The Arrival Notice automation from Nsightlytics has transformed our operations. What used to be a daily bottleneck is now seamless—documents are uploaded automatically, and we get instant alerts on any charges. It’s reliable, accurate, and has directly saved us money on penalties.”
This automation demonstrates how targeted AI integration can modernize legacy logistics processes, delivering efficiency, cost savings, and peace of mind.
The solution was deployed with custom rules based on the company’s specific tagging logic (e.g., for multiple bills, or specific upload paths), ensuring 100% alignment with existing processes.