Tasks that can utilize Robo Claw in a logistics startup and how to select candidates for implementation.
For target tasks, we evaluate them based on their impact on customers, shippers, and drivers, impact on operations and safety, whether AI makes the final decision, presence of personal, location, or delivery address information, presence of dispatch, fee, and billing data updates, presence of external transmission to shippers, customers, or delivery companies, presence of monetary or compensation processing, need for human approval, need for escalation to the operation safety manager, ease of stopping, correcting, or rolling back, and whether ongoing operations can be conducted with a small number of people. We recommend prioritizing standardized tasks that can be continued by a small number of people with a focus on reading or drafting.
When logistics startups choose the tasks for Robo Claw implementation, they should prioritize tasks that meet the following criteria: ① occur frequently, ② have standardized procedures, ③ have minimal impact on customers, shippers, and drivers or can be based on human verification, ④ AI does not make final decisions such as dispatch confirmation, pricing confirmation, or safety judgment, ⑤ handling of personal, location, and delivery address information is organized, ⑥ external transmission to shippers, customers, or delivery companies can be set to require approval, and ⑦ can be continuously operated with a small number of people. Tasks that meet these criteria are easier to validate for effectiveness during the pilot.
Who This Is For
Who This Is For
This is intended for business owners, dispatch managers, CS managers, and others who are considering which tasks to start Robo Claw implementation with.
What You'll Decide
What You'll Decide in This Step
In this Discover STEP, we will identify candidate tasks for Robo Claw, prioritize them, and decide on the first task to undertake. Detailed design of requirements, permissions, and approvals will be handled in the next Refine STEP.
Fit Check
Suitable/Not Suitable Tasks
Suitable Tasks
- Tasks that occur frequently and have standardized procedures, such as primary classification of delivery inquiries and summarizing delivery reports.
- Tasks where humans can easily check and correct the first draft of judgments, such as FAQ searches and drafting reports for shippers.
- Tasks that involve cross-checking information across multiple SaaS systems (delivery management, TMS, map services, etc.).
- Tasks that involve updating dispatch, pricing, or billing information, but allow approval before the update.
- Tasks limited to information organization and drafting that do not involve operational safety or financial impact.
Unsuitable tasks
- Tasks that occur very infrequently and for which automation benefits are difficult to anticipate
- Tasks that require immediate execution of dispatch confirmation, pricing confirmation, or billing amount determination without approval.
- Tasks where the final judgment is intended to be entrusted to AI, such as determining operational feasibility in bad weather or disasters and determining whether to transport hazardous materials.
- Tasks that involve a lot of highly confidential personal information, location information, and delivery address information in the input data, and whose handling is unorganized.
Industry Challenges
Challenges specific to logistics startups.
At the stage of selecting target tasks, many logistics startups face the following challenges.
Too many candidate tasks to narrow down
There are many candidates such as responding to delivery inquiries, dispatch adjustment, daily report creation, and shipper reporting, and it is difficult to determine where to start.
Unable to formulate hypotheses of effectiveness
The actual workload and labor hours of members with multiple responsibilities are not visualized, making it difficult to estimate the introduction effect in advance
Uncertainty about the connection compatibility with delivery management/TMS.
It cannot be determined without a dedicated person whether the delivery management system in use supports API integration.
Uncertainty in handling tasks related to operational safety.
There are no criteria to determine whether it is acceptable to target tasks related to dispatch decisions or operational feasibility during bad weather.
Method
Implementation Steps
1. Identify candidate operations
Taking stock of tasks related to dispatch, delivery operations, and customer service, such as classifying delivery inquiries, checking delivery status, creating shipper reports, and summarizing daily reports.
2. Check workload and frequency
Confirm the occurrence frequency of each operation (constant, daily, weekly, etc.) and the labor required to handle it.
3. Confirm the impact on customers, shippers, and drivers.
Confirm whether the target tasks involve decisions that affect customers, shippers, and drivers, such as dispatch confirmation, fare determination, and operational safety judgment.
4. Confirm the handling of personal, location, and delivery address information.
Confirm whether the target business handles personal information, location information, and delivery address information of customers and drivers.
5. Check whether connection to the delivery management/TMS is possible
Confirm the location of the data required by the target business and whether the target system can be integrated.
6. Confirm whether there is external transmission to shippers, customers, or delivery companies
Confirm whether the target business involves notifications or email transmissions to shippers, customers, or delivery companies, and if so, whether it can be assumed to be approved in advance.
7. Confirm whether it is possible to continue operation with a small team
Confirm whether a system exists in which members handling multiple roles can continue approval and review.
8. Determine priorities
List the evaluation results and decide the first shipper, delivery area, and delivery workflow to start.
Evaluation Table
Candidate Task Evaluation Sheet
The following is an example of an evaluation table. Please replace it with your company's candidate tasks. The tasks closer to ◎ have a higher priority for Discover.
| Candidate tasks | Frequency | Formality | Impact on customers, shippers, and drivers | System connection | Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-classification of delivery inquiries | Always | Expensive | None | Delivery management | None |
| Summary creation of delivery daily reports and results | Daily | Expensive | None | Delivery management/TMS | None |
| Draft of status report for shippers | Irregular | Moderate | Low (assuming human approval) | Delivery management | None |
| Organizing dispatch candidates | Always | Moderate | Medium (human confirmation required) | Delivery management/map services | None |
Data & Systems
Data and Systems Used
In the Discover STEP, the status of the following data and systems is checked to evaluate candidate tasks.
Human-in-the-loop
Where Human Approval Is Required
At the Discover STEP stage, implementation is not performed, but during the evaluation of candidate tasks, the following judgments are organized based on the assumption that they will always be made by humans.
- Final decision on whether the target task can be selected as an automation candidate
- Judgment on whether to include tasks involving the update of dispatch, fees, and billing as candidates
- Judgment on whether to include tasks that handle personal, location, and delivery address information as candidates
Measurement
KPI Candidates
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 based on frequency, regularity, and impact on customers/shippers/drivers
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 delivery management and TMS connection verification
If you decide on candidate tasks first and then check connectivity, rework may occur in later steps.
Ignore the impact on operational safety
If you choose tasks without evaluating the magnitude of their impact, you may need to redesign the approval flow in later processes.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tasks are appropriate to start with first?
In many cases, it is recommended to start with one shipper, one delivery area, one delivery workflow, and one task. Handling multiple tasks at the same time complicates authority design and pilot evaluations.
Should tasks related to operational safety be excluded from candidates?
It is not necessarily required to exclude them. By automating information organization and item verification, and having the final decision made by the operational safety officer, they can be treated as candidates.
What should I do if I do not know whether delivery management/TMS can be connected?
Please check the APIs and data linkage of the delivery management system or TMS you are using. If there is no dedicated staff, individual consultation is also possible.
Who should evaluate the candidate tasks?
It is recommended that business owners, dispatch managers, and CS managers carry this out together. Evaluation must take into account both actual business operations and system constraints.
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 the current workload, frequency, and delivery management/TMS configuration, you can formally consult with us on Robo Claw application candidates and priorities using the official LP.