Logistics & Freight Automation - For Brokers, 3PLs, and Carriers
Our logistics client
California Landscape Supply
A California landscape-materials supplier we built an automated order dispatch and planning system for, connecting orders, delivery scheduling, and the back office.
Why your TMS still needs babysitting
A automation layer between your TMS, load boards, accounting, and customers
Freight brokers, asset-based carriers, and 3PLs running 5-200 loads/day
What we automate inside a logistics operation
Eight workflows that absorb the most time in a mid-size brokerage or carrier op.
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Load matching & dispatch
Load boards (DAT, Truckstop, project44, FreightWaves) monitored continuously and matched against carrier appetite, lanes, and equipment. Matches surface in the TMS with one-click booking, not 15 tabs of cross-checking.
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Carrier verification
Live FMCSA insurance lookups, SAFER score checks, MC# verification, and carrier-packet completeness - pulled before booking and re-checked on a schedule. Stops disqualified carriers before they hit a load.
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Rate confirmation generation
Rate cons auto-generated from booked load data, sent to the carrier, e-signed, and filed back to the TMS. The 10-minute manual step becomes a one-second event.
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Status comms to shippers
Pickup, transit, and delivery updates sent on the cadence each shipper wants - automated SMS for some, structured EDI for others, portal updates for the big enterprise customers. Driven by ELD data and TMS events, not by dispatchers.
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Driver settlement
Settlement statements built automatically from TMS load data with fuel surcharges, advances, deductions, and reimbursements. Drivers see settlements on payday instead of "end of next week."
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Freight billing & factoring flow
Invoices generated on delivery confirmation, routed to factoring or direct billing per customer, aged-receivables tracked, and payment posted back to the TMS automatically.
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Claims & exception handling
Damaged-freight claims, OS&D events, late-delivery exceptions surfaced from TMS/ELD signals into a single queue with SLA timers and customer-comms templates.
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KPI dashboards
Margin per load, on-time delivery, carrier scorecards, driver utilization, lane profitability - refreshed daily from TMS, accounting, and ELD data. The numbers you've been building in Excel run as a live system.
Three logistics models we work with
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FREIGHT BROKERS
Brokerages running on McLeod, AscendTMS, Tailwind, or MercuryGate. Pain is load matching speed, carrier verification, and status comms at volume. Automation wins are load board integration, automated rate cons, and shipper-specific status comms. -
ASSET-BASED CARRIERS
Trucking companies running their own fleet. Pain is driver settlement, ELD-to-billing flow, and HOS-aware dispatching. Automation wins are settlement pipeline, fuel/IFTA accounting, and ELD-integrated dispatch. -
3PL & WAREHOUSING
3PLs running TMS + WMS together. Pain is inbound/outbound coordination, customer reporting, and claims handling. Automation wins are TMS-WMS sync, customer portals, and exception-handling workflows.
How it worked for Signature Champions
Championship Ring Manufacturing Signature Champions: From Spreadsheet Chaos to Automated Revenue
Custom software development and automation
- 300+ hrs / monthManual ops time eliminated
- No hires requiredOperational scale
"300+ hours of manual work eliminated every month. Recurring processes that ate our team's time are gone entirely."
Kyle WinchellSignature Champions The Logistics automation layer
Five connected systems that turn a logistics op into an operations business instead of a herd of glue scripts.
The Logistics automation layer
The complete operations infrastructure a mid-size logistics op runs on:
Load Matching
Continuous monitoring of DAT, Truckstop, FreightWaves, and project44 with appetite-matching against carrier lanes and equipment. Match candidates surface inside the TMS with one-click booking and auto-generated rate cons.
Status Comms
Pickup/transit/delivery updates driven by ELD events (Motive, Samsara, KeepTruckin) and TMS milestones, sent on each shipper's preferred channel - SMS, EDI 214, customer-portal push, email. No more dispatchers chasing updates.
Settlement Pipeline
Driver settlement statements assembled automatically from TMS load data, with fuel surcharges, advances, IFTA, deductions, and reimbursements. Statements published to drivers on a schedule; exceptions routed to settlement clerks.
Billing Integration
Invoices generated on delivery confirmation, routed to factoring (TBS, RTS, OTR Capital) or direct billing based on customer setup. Aged receivables tracked and payment posted back to the TMS - QuickBooks or NetSuite stays in sync.
KPI Dashboards
Margin per load, OTIF, carrier scorecards, driver utilization, lane profitability - refreshed daily from TMS, accounting, and ELD data. The ops director's morning report runs as a system, not a spreadsheet drill.
Claims Handling
OS&D events, late-delivery exceptions, and damaged-freight claims surface from TMS and ELD signals into a single queue. SLA timers, customer-comms templates, and accounting-side accruals run as one workflow instead of three departments emailing each other.
Carrier Verification
Live FMCSA insurance lookups, SAFER score checks, MC# verification, and carrier-packet completeness - pulled before every booking and re-checked on a configurable schedule. Disqualified carriers never see a load.
How we install it
One system at a time, each producing measurable ROI before the next phase starts.
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Week 1. Operations Discovery
We sit with your ops director, head dispatcher, and accounting lead. We map the actual flow - what happens in the TMS, what happens in load boards, what happens in accounting and email. We come out with a ranked list of automation targets and a 90-day plan.
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Weeks 2-5. First build
First system goes live - usually status comms or settlement, because the ROI is unambiguous and the data flows are clean. We integrate against the TMS API where supported and use approved partner connectors where it isn't.
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Weeks 6-12. Layer In Adjacent Workflows
Load matching, billing flow, carrier verification, KPI dashboards - whichever ranked highest in discovery. Each module is tested on a single lane or customer before company-wide rollout.
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Ongoing. Further builds
Once core is running, we extend: claims handling, customer portals, multi-modal expansion (ocean, intermodal, parcel). The retainer covers monitoring, optimization, and new requests.
WHY LOGISTICS COMPANIES PICK US
What makes us different from a TMS reseller or generic agency
TMS-native, not TMS-replacing
McLeod, MercuryGate, Descartes, AscendTMS, Tailwind - we work inside what you have via documented APIs. No rip-and-replace. If a TMS doesn't expose what we need, we tell you what's reachable and what isn't, instead of selling a migration.
Real load board integration
We've built production connections to DAT and Truckstop with monitoring, rate-aware matching, and carrier-appetite scoring. Where APIs are restrictive, we use sanctioned partner connectors - never fragile scraping as a primary path.
ELD-aware dispatching
Driver HOS, location, and detention are first-class inputs to the dispatch logic, pulled from Motive, Samsara, KeepTruckin, or whichever ELD you run. Compliance constraints are enforced before a load gets assigned, not after.
Accounting flow that actually closes
Settlement, billing, factoring, IFTA, fuel - we build the TMS-to-QuickBooks (or NetSuite) flow that closes the loop. Most engagements pay back on settlement automation alone within 90 days.
Retainer, not project bill
Logistics changes weekly - new customers, new carriers, new lanes, new ELD updates, new freight markets. The retainer means the automation adapts continuously instead of decaying between projects.
Systems we connect inside logistics ops
The tools we've built production integrations against for brokers, 3PLs, and carriers.
API-firstNative API integrations with documented fallbacks where carriers force them
Transportation management
Load boards & market data
ELDs & telematics
Accounting
Factoring
Communications
Engagement & pricing
Builds are priced per project: most take three to six weeks and land between $6,000 and $24,000. Once a build is live it runs without us. If you want us to keep improving it, we agree that separately.
Full builds (matching, comms, settlement, billing, KPIs) typically run $25K-$70K total over 3-6 months depending on TMS, fleet size, and customer mix. We don't take projects without a defensible ROI inside 6 months.
Automation Discovery Week
Builds
Ongoing
Frequently asked questions about logistics & freight automation
Do you replace our TMS?
No. The TMS stays. We build on top of McLeod, MercuryGate, Descartes, AscendTMS, Tailwind, Aljex, or whatever you run, using each platform's documented API. TMS migrations are 12-month projects; we deliver measurable ROI in 90 days. See supply chain automation for the function-level pillar that covers manufacturers and distributors too.
Can you integrate McLeod, MercuryGate, Descartes, or AscendTMS?
Yes - all four are in our regular stack. McLeod has the deepest API surface (LoadMaster + PowerBroker). MercuryGate's API is mature and well-documented. Descartes varies by module. AscendTMS is API-friendly. We tell you upfront which workflows are clean API integrations and which need partner connectors.
What about DAT and Truckstop load boards?
We've built production connections to both. DAT's API is the cleaner of the two and supports rate-aware matching, lane history, and appetite scoring. Truckstop is reachable through their integration partner program. Where load board APIs are restrictive we use sanctioned connectors, never primary scraping.
Can you automate carrier verification (FMCSA, insurance, SAFER)?
Yes - FMCSA insurance lookups, SAFER score checks, and MC# verification run pre-booking and on configurable schedules. We integrate with the FMCSA SAFER data directly and use carrier-packet platforms (RMIS, MyCarrierPackets) where you already have one. Disqualified carriers can't get assigned a load.
How does it handle factoring and quick-pay?
Billing flow routes to factoring (TBS, RTS, OTR Capital, Triumph) or direct billing based on per-customer setup. Quick-pay programs are configurable per carrier. Payment posts back to the TMS automatically and aging is tracked in a single AR view.
What about ELD data and HOS compliance?
ELD data from Motive, Samsara, Geotab, or KeepTruckin feeds dispatch logic and status comms. Driver HOS is enforced as a constraint on dispatch - a load that would push a driver over hours never gets assigned. Detention and idle reporting feed billing automatically.
Will it work for both broker and carrier ops?
Yes - most hybrid asset/brokerage operations use the same automation layer with different modules emphasized. Brokers lean on matching, carrier verification, and status comms. Asset-based carriers lean on settlement, IFTA, and ELD-integrated dispatch. The automation layer supports both because the underlying TMS does.
Typical engagement for a 20-truck operation?
Builds are priced per project: most take three to six weeks and land between $6,000 and $24,000. A 20-truck asset-based carrier typically extends into settlement, billing flow, and ELD-integrated dispatch over the next 3-6 months - total spend $25K-$50K and a $ Settlement automation alone usually covers the retainer within the first quarter. See our logistics automation guide for related reading, and use the ROI calculator to model your case.
Start with an Automation Discovery Week
One week, from $2,000. You'll see where your ops bleed hours - load matching, settlement, status comms, billing - and which workflows have the highest ROI to automate first. You keep everything it produces whether we end up working together or not.
Want more context first? Read our AI automation guide or browse the supply chain automation pillar.