Where Robo Claw Fits at Large Logistics Companies: Choosing Your Rollout Candidates
Evaluate candidate workflows across six dimensions — workload volume, frequency, how standardized the work is, how often exceptions occur, whether systems can be connected, and whether external transmission is involved — and prioritize standardized workflows that span multiple systems and involve a lot of exception handling.
When choosing target workflows for a Robo Claw rollout, large logistics companies should prioritize workflows that: (1) occur frequently, (2) follow standardized procedures, (3) pull information across multiple systems, (4) carry a heavy exception-handling burden, and (5) keep external transmission limited or approval-gated. The more of these criteria a workflow meets, the easier it is to validate impact in the Pilot.
Who This Is For
Who This Is For
This article is written for logistics division heads, delivery and fleet operations managers, DX leads and others who are considering which workflow to start a Robo Claw rollout with.
What You'll Decide
What You'll Decide in This Step
In this Discover step, you identify candidate workflows for Robo Claw, prioritize them, and decide on the one or two workflows to start with. Detailed design of requirements, permissions and approvals happens in the next step, Refine.
Industry Challenges
Challenges Specific to Large Logistics Companies
At the stage of selecting target workflows, many companies run into the following challenges.
Too many candidate workflows to narrow down
Candidates span delivery, reporting, inquiry handling and more, making it hard to judge where to start.
No basis for a hypothesis about impact
Actual workload and effort are not visible, so it is difficult to estimate the impact of a rollout in advance.
System connectivity is unclear
Whether the TMS or GPS fleet-tracking system supports API integration is something only the IT department can determine.
Uncertainty about workflows involving external transmission
There are no criteria for deciding whether workflows that involve external transmission, such as reporting to shippers, can be in scope.
Method
Implementation Steps
1. Identify candidate workflows
Take inventory of workflows related to transport, delivery, dispatch and operations — delivery status checks, shipper reporting, operational communications, pickup and delivery confirmation, performance reports and so on.
2. Confirm workload and frequency
Check how often each workflow occurs (continuously, daily, weekly and so on) and how much effort it currently takes to handle.
3. Assess how standardized the work is and how often exceptions occur
Evaluate whether the procedure is standardized and how frequently exception handling (delays, accidents, non-delivery and so on) arises.
4. Confirm data and system connectivity
Work with the IT department to confirm where the data the workflow needs resides and whether the systems can be integrated.
5. Confirm whether external transmission and human approval are required
Determine whether the workflow involves external transmission to shippers or customers, and how much human approval needs to be retained.
6. Set priorities
Lay out the assessment results side by side and decide on the one or two workflows to start with.
Evaluation Table
Candidate Workflow Evaluation Table
The following is an example evaluation table. Substitute your own candidate workflows. The closer a workflow comes to the top rating, the higher its priority in Discover.
| Candidate workflow | Frequency | Standardization | Exception frequency | System connectivity | External transmission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-pass triage of delivery status and delays | Continuous | High | Medium to high | TMS / GPS | None |
| Drafting delay and incident reports for shippers | Irregular | Moderate | High | TMS | Yes, subject to approval |
| First-line handling of operational communications and inquiries | Daily | Moderate | Moderate | Email, Teams | Internal only |
| Preparing transport performance and KPI reports | Weekly | High | Low | TMS / ERP | Internal only |
Data & Systems
Data and Systems Used
In the Discover step, you check the state of the following data and systems in order to evaluate candidate workflows.
Human-in-the-loop
Where Human Approval Is Required
No implementation takes place during the Discover step, but when evaluating candidate workflows you organize the work on the premise that the following decisions are always made by a human.
- The final decision on whether a workflow may be selected as an automation candidate
- The decision on whether to include workflows involving external transmission among the candidates
- The decision on whether to include workflows handling personal data or location data among the candidates
Measurement
KPI
In the Discover STEP, the following are recorded as hypotheses for each candidate task and used as verification material in subsequent steps.
Current work effort
Estimation of the human workload currently required for the candidate task
Effect hypothesis
Hypothesis of the workload and time savings expected if automated
Implementation priority score
Priority calculated from factors such as frequency, regularity, and exception frequency
Pitfalls
Common Pitfalls
Select only tasks where the effects are easily visible
If you select only the prominent tasks without considering their frequency or the burden of handling exceptions, it becomes difficult to verify the effectiveness of the pilot.
Postpone system connection verification
If you decide on candidate tasks first and then check connectivity, rework may occur in later steps.
Start multiple tasks simultaneously
If multiple tasks are carried out concurrently from the beginning, the authority design and pilot evaluation become complicated, and verification will take longer.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tasks are appropriate to start with first?
In most cases, it is recommended to start with 1–2 processes. Handling multiple processes simultaneously can complicate authority design and Pilot evaluation.
Should tasks involving external transmission be excluded from candidates?
It is not necessarily required to exclude them. By automating up to draft creation and designing approval for sending by humans, they can be treated as candidates.
What should we do if we do not know whether system connection is possible?
Coordinate with the information systems department and confirm whether the target system's API or data linkage is possible. Individual consultations are also available.
Who should evaluate the candidate tasks?
It is recommended that local operation managers and the information systems department conduct the evaluation jointly. An assessment considering both operational realities and system constraints is necessary.
Continue
Next Step
Once the target operations are decided, the next step is to concretize the requirements, authorities, and approval design for those operations.
Shall we organize the selection of target operations together?
Based on your current workload, frequency, and system configuration, you can consult with your official LP about candidates and priorities for Robo Claw.