How a Global Forwarder Protects Every Blanket Booking With an AI Routing Agent

A global forwarder catches delayed bookings 2 to 3 weeks earlier, with Reef re-checking every blanket booking against live sailings and recommending the best option.

The Company

A leading global freight forwarder moves around 500,000 ocean containers a year with 10+ major carriers. Its planners book space weeks ahead, but schedules shift and sailings get rolled before the cargo ships. Reef, the Routing Agent, re-checks every booking against live sailings and recommends the best option while there is still time to act.

The Challenge

Carrier split set manually

Each lane's carrier split was reviewed manually every week against schedules, performance and volume commitments.

Delays spotted too late

Sailings get rolled or rescheduled, often without notice, in the 2–3 weeks before cargo is ready.

Different every booking

Arrival date matters for one booking, price or transit time for the next, and target transit times differ by destination.

The Solution

Reef searches live sailings for each lane, scores 40,000+ combinations across carriers in seconds, and explains its recommendation in plain language. The team decides and books.

Four steps in order: Search, Score, Explain, Decide. — *How Reef works: it searches live sailings on every lane, scores each option against your priorities, explains why each one ranks where it does, and leaves the booking decision to your team.*

Allocation-aware

Recommends a carrier and schedule per lane, weighing contracted allocation, reliability and carrier preferences, so committed space is used first.

Checked against live market

Each booking is re-ranked against current sailings and flagged if it has slipped, changed or been superseded.

Re-ranked on demand

Planners reorder what matters, such as arrival date, reliability, price or allocation, and every option is re-scored instantly.

Inside a Recommendation

When a booked sailing is rolled, Reef re-scores every live sailing on the lane against the planner's ranking and shows the best match.

Route Planner recommendation showing three carrier options scored against the planner’s ranking, with Carrier B as the best match. — *Reef’s recommendation after a booked sailing is rolled: every live sailing is re-scored against the planner’s ranking, with Carrier B’s direct service shown as the best match at 91%.*

The Impact

Reef represents ~$690k of estimated value every year: planner time reclaimed on every booking, plus a key account kept, as delayed bookings are caught 2–3 weeks earlier, while they can still be amended.

Measure	What it is based on	Result
Planner time reclaimed	Booking team's time saved on 386,000 bookings a year, at a $10 blended hourly rate.	~$643k
Margin kept on one key account	A key shipper at risk after repeated late arrivals stayed, with delays now caught and rebooked in time.	~$48k
Earlier warning on delayed bookings	Delays are flagged against the live market before cutoff, while the booking can still be amended.	2–3 weeks
Estimated value every year		~$690k

Beyond the Numbers

Allocation commitments met: Committed space is used first, protecting contract rates and minimum volumes.
More bookings on time: More cargo arrives in its target window, with fewer missed SLAs and escalations.
Same team, more lanes: Planners cover more lanes and bookings without adding headcount.
Sharper carrier reviews: Observed reliability informs carrier reviews and tenders.
Smarter freight spend: Cheaper sailings surface whenever price is ranked as a priority.
Lower emissions: Fewer emergency air shipments, with emissions available as a priority.

Curious how Portcast can cut manual tracking, improve shipment visibility, and reduce costs? Get in touch to explore how.