With annual revenues of around 50 million euros and deliveries to over 45 central warehouses of well-known retailers, one thing was clear: without digital processes, bottlenecks, time losses, and long-term competitive disadvantages were inevitable.
The Reality Before the Breakthrough: Paper Flood, Manual Processes, Growing Pressure
Week after week, freight papers piled up in the office. Drivers delivered them in person, employees sorted, scanned, filed. And later, they often spent hours searching for original documents in the archive basement.
Processing transport orders, delivery notes, and pallet slips was a true resource drain:
Incoming PDFs had to be manually entered into the transport management system (TMS).
After completed tours, papers were checked by hand – for completeness, signatures, and stamps.
Pallet movements? Only documentable through laborious typing of notes and handwritten comments.
At the same time, the shortage of skilled workers intensified the situation. The result: overloaded teams, stalled processes, and an increasingly inflexible organization. Growth? Hardly imaginable under these conditions.
The Turning Point: Automated Document Processing from ExB
The solution came with a clear goal: intelligently automate the entire freight paper process – quickly, reliably, and without costly system changes.
The company chose an Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) solution from ExB. After just three months, the project went live:
🔄 Automated Document Processing
Automatic classification and processing of item lists, delivery notes, and pallet slips
Recognition of handwritten content through trained AI models
Continuous optimization via feedback loops
Full integration into existing DMS and TMS systems
🚛 Optimized Workflow
Drivers scan documents directly on site
AI takes over classification, data extraction, and forwarding
All information is digitally available the next morning – also for customers
📦 Three-Step Approach for Maximum Efficiency
Transport orders: loading/unloading points, shipment data, and prices are automatically extracted
Freight paper validation: AI detects missing signatures, checks stamps, and flags discrepancies
Pallet management: movements are automatically recorded and reconciled with accounting
The Results
The introduction of the AI solution paid off quickly:
⏱️ 75% time savings: 100 orders now take just 30 minutes instead of 3 hours
💸 66% lower personnel costs: only one instead of three people required – with increasing capacity
🚀 Higher efficiency: 80–100 orders per hour, fully digital
🔍 Better data quality: automatic checks minimize errors, manual rework is rarely needed
What the Company Learned
“The automatic assignment of order papers has significantly simplified and accelerated our processes. It’s like having a digital team extension that never gets tired,” said the Managing Director.
Key success factors:
Iterative approach: live in just eight weeks – thanks to step-by-step rollout
Employee involvement: early workshops and testing ensured acceptance
Seamless integration: no system change required, no compromises
Continuous optimization: the AI keeps learning – and gets better every day
Conclusion: Digitalization Becomes a Competitive Advantage
This success story shows what is possible when technology and processes go hand in hand. Manual processing of freight papers? A thing of the past.
Today, the company works faster, more accurately, and more scalably – and is ready for further growth.
👉 For other logistics companies facing similar challenges, one thing is clear:
Automation pays off. Less effort, lower costs, better data – and more room for what really matters: day-to-day operations and satisfied customers.
