How a Rotterdam Forwarder Cut Response Time to 12 Minutes

Client Profile: Mid-sized Freight Forwarder Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands Service: Multimodal Forwarding (Sea LCL & Pan-European Road) Key Result: Quote Response Time reduced from 4 Hours to 12 Minutes.

1. The Challenge: The "Quote Latency" Trap

In the highly competitive European spot market, speed is the primary differentiator. This Rotterdam-based forwarder was losing viable business not because their rates were too high, but because they were too slow.

The Operational Bottlenecks:

• Inbox Overload: The sales desk received 300+ email RFQs (Requests for Quote) daily. Agents spent hours manually copying data from emails into Excel rate sheets.

• The "4-Hour" Lag: By the time an agent calculated the buy-rate, applied the margin, and drafted a PDF quote, 4 hours had passed.

• The Opportunity Cost: Competitors using automated tools were responding in under 30 minutes. The client’s "Win Rate" on spot quotes had plummeted to below 8%, as shippers simply booked the first valid offer they received.

2. The Solution: Axe Global AI "Auto-Quote" Engine

Axe Global AI deployed a "Zero-Touch" quoting layer that acts as a 24/7 digital sales agent, sitting between the email server and the pricing database.

The Workflow Implemented:

1. Intent Recognition: Our Natural Language Processing (NLP) model scans incoming emails to identify "Quote Requests" versus general inquiries, extracting key entities: Origin (Zip), Destination (Zip), Weight, Volume, and Incoterms.

2. Dynamic Rate Lookup: The engine queries the client’s internal Rate Management System (or static Excel rate sheets) to find the current "Buy Rate" from their carrier network.

3. Algorithmic Pricing: A pre-set "Margin Logic" is applied based on the customer tier (e.g., Gold Clients get +12%, Standard get +18%).

4. Draft & Release: The AI drafts a professional PDF quote and email reply.

   • High Confidence: Sent automatically (Zero-Touch).

   • Low Confidence: Saved as a "Draft" for a human agent to review and hit send (One-Touch).

3. The Results: Winning on Speed

The impact was immediate. By removing the manual data entry friction, the forwarder transformed their sales responsiveness without adding headcount.

• 95% Faster Response: The average time-to-quote dropped from 4 hours to 12 minutes.

• 15% Increase in Win Rate: By being the "First to Quote," the client captured significantly more spot volume, particularly for time-critical LCL shipments.

• Scalability: During peak season, the AI handled a 40% surge in quote volume with zero additional staff, allowing the human sales team to focus on complex, high-value project cargo negotiations.

"In logistics, the fast eat the slow. Axe Global’s engine allows us to be the first option in our customer’s inbox, 24/7. We are winning business while our competitors are still opening the email." — Commercial Director, Rotterdam