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AI in logistics

Dispatch, freight documents, investment decisions: we show logistics companies where AI genuinely holds up today, and then build it. Processing in Europe, GDPR-compliant.

From practice

What AI delivers in logistics today

Logistics is the sector we have worked in longest. For the venture builder HHLA Next we built a complete venture from zero that compares terminal equipment and makes investment decisions traceable through total cost of ownership. The MVP stood in under six months, run with AI agents that handle document processing, investment calculations and research.

Before that we built Heylog, a logistics-tech company from Vienna funded with 3.8 million euros from Schmitz Cargobull, LKW WALTER and 9.5 Ventures. That one was about the gap between the dispatch desk and the cab: WhatsApp messages became structured workflows, from an agreed tour through to a captured document.

Both show the same pattern. In logistics, AI rarely fails on the model. It fails because the data sits scattered, because a plan leaving dispatch is overwritten by mid-morning anyway, and because nobody has time to look after a pilot. So we start with the process, not the tool.

We work from Vienna across the whole DACH region, on site or remote. Get in touch for a free, no-obligation intro call.

Bernhard Hauser running an AI training session
Why Waterglass

What we actually do in logistics

Documents and paperwork

Capture freight papers, delivery notes, customs documents and invoices automatically and write the results back into existing systems. At InStaff more than eight endpoints do exactly that, entirely inside the EU.

Communication along the chain

Turn messages from drivers and partners into structured transactions instead of leaving them in a chat log. That was the core of Heylog.

Decisions backed by numbers

Investment and TCO calculations that pull together scattered data on machines, energy and maintenance. For HHLA Next that became a product of its own.

Processing in Europe

Shipment and personal data do not leave the EU. On request with European-hosted or open models on infrastructure we run ourselves.

How it runs

Four steps to the first result

A sequence that works alongside day-to-day business: few meetings, clear interim results and a decision after every step.

  1. Intro call

    In an intro call we establish your starting point and your goals. Then we go through the options for putting AI to work in your company. Free and without obligation.

  2. Assessment

    We review processes, systems and data and talk to dispatch, the warehouse and accounting. The result is a sober picture of where AI holds up today and where the foundations are still missing.

  3. Workshop and prioritisation

    One workshop with leadership and team puts the use cases in order by value, effort and risk. Afterwards it is clear what to start with and who owns it internally.

  4. Pilot and operations

    The first use case goes into production, with real data and a measurable result. On request we then take on running it, so the solution does not fail for lack of staff.

Selected references

Successful client projects

Read case studies
Logistics

€1.7BAnnual turnover (Group)

Read case study
Logistics

€3.8MTotal funding

Read case study
HR

€25M+Annual turnover

Read case study
Silia Traub
AI agents are a transformative technology that unlocks efficiencies across a wide range of businesses.
Silia Traub
Director AI & Strategy at willhaben
Oliver Lukesch
We are using AI agents to radically improve our business efficiency and quality of service for our customers.
Oliver Lukesch
CTO at StartMatch

We integrate seamlessly into your infrastructure

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Questions & answers

Common questions about AI in logistics

Which use cases pay off first in logistics?
As a rule, the tasks that recur often and need little judgement: capturing freight papers and delivery notes, checking invoices, answering standard enquiries, moving data between systems. Route optimisation and forecasting come later, because they assume clean data that many operations still have to build up first.
Does this work with our TMS or forwarding software?
Usually yes. What matters is not the vendor but whether data can be pulled out of the system and results written back, through exports or a database connection if need be. Where an interface is missing, we say so in the assessment rather than adding it later as extra scope.
What happens to drivers’ personal data?
Telematics, location and contact data are personal data. We design data protection in from the start: processing inside the EU, data minimisation and clear rules about which fields a model gets to see at all. On request the models run on European infrastructure we operate ourselves.
We are a mid-sized forwarder, not a corporate group. Is it worth it?
There is no minimum size, but there is a sensible precondition: there has to be a task that recurs often enough for automation to pay off. An operation with thirty vehicles and daily recurring paperwork meets that just as well as a terminal does. An intro call is usually enough to judge it in a few minutes.
How long until the first result?
A compact assessment gives you clear first recommendations within a few weeks. For HHLA Next a complete venture stood in under six months, but that is building an entire company and not the yardstick for a single use case.
Will AI replace our dispatchers?
No, and logistics makes that especially clear. A plan that ignores the exceptions gets overwritten by dispatch anyway. What AI takes on is the groundwork: gathering data, capturing documents, running through options. The decision stays with the people who know the operation.
What does an AI project in logistics cost?
Scope depends on your starting point and the question, from a compact assessment through to full implementation with operations. After a short intro call you get a fixed, no-obligation quote, scope, sequence and cost included.
Who runs the solution afterwards?
We do, if you want. Running it is a separate, clearly priced part of the offer: monitoring, updates and adjustments when your workflows change. If you want to run it in-house, we document accordingly and hand over.

Let us talk about AI in your logistics operation

Tell us where your company stands. We will show you where AI has the greatest leverage and put together a free, no-obligation quote.

How can we help?

Book an intro call and we will look together at which workflows are worth it and which are not.