Efficiency and automation
Shipment planning
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Efficiency and automation
Shipment planning
Summary
What is shipment planning?
Shipment planning is the process of selecting the correct carrier for our customers cargo to be loaded on based on the required Port of loading, Port of discharge, shipping window and other parameters. The selection of the right carrier is based on many variables such as weekly carrier allocation, scheduled departure time, transit time and type of goods being shipped.
The current process of doing shipment planning for many account teams is highly manual, often requiring one to two full-time CX member to spend 1–2 days per week working across spreadsheets, emails, carrier platforms and external sites to find the correct carrier for the cargo. The new shipment planning initiative aims to turn this manual decision making into an automated process which would result in an approximate workload reduction by 40% and streamline the planning workflow.
Main pain points after GEMBA workshop
Current planning allocation rules on Excel
Problem
Users currently rely on numerous local tools such as Excels, email and data sources to create shipment plans offline, resulting in excessive manual intervention, frequent replanning, limited visibility, and inconsistent quality control. To address these pain points, the system should automate the planning process with solid control, adapts flexibly to dynamic business rules changes, and minimizes manual editing. The solution must also maintain end‑to‑end traceability and historical tracking to strengthen governance and auditability.
Quotes from our users
“Batch订单：一个目的港可以一次性订多个SO”
“Want to see batch CBK creation: 1 Destination port can book multiple SO at once”
— CX consultant
“ADEO很在乎carrier allocation的balance，系统看看是否可以实现planning和carrier allocation之间的balance功能”
“ADEO really cares about carrier allocation balance, can SCP auto‑balance the planning against carrier allocation?”
— CX manager
“I don't want to jimp to different places to do my work, why can't we have it in one place"
— CX consultant
Previous shipment planning process
Approach
Develop an automated solution capable of interpreting complex business rules and customer-specific requirements. Provide a dashboard that enables users to select bookings and trigger automated planning with system-generated carrier recommendations.
Zara page flow planning
Solution
A rule-based planning system that:
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Supports configuration of complex customer rules
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Filters and selects eligible vendor bookings
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Recommends optimal carriers based on contracts and allocation logic
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Includes configurable operational dates such as gate-in, SI cut-off, and sailing windows
This creates a guided workflow that automates decision-making whilst still allowing actual users to change carrier selection if exceptions happen.
Dashboard usage to replace weekly report download
Ver 1.0 Shipment planning recommendation page
Ver 1.0 Shipment planning route details
Shipment planning settings - Rule builder
Shipment planning settings - Contract input
Ver 3.0 Shipment planing recommendation page
Ver1.0 Prototype solution walkthrough
Impact
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Planning time reduced from 1–2 days per week to within the same day. Captured by observing multiple teams feedback after implementation, comparing before and after process times.
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Improved consistency and fewer planning errors
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More efficient workflows, allowing teams to focus on exceptions and customer engagement
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Allowing teams to run with lower headcount hence reducing operational cost.
-40%
reduction in manual workload for CX planners
“I'm able to finish planning within a day after using the new shipment planning tool. Although sometimes we still need to double check, but this has definitely reduced my time spent on planning"
— CX consultant
