How Should I Think About Outsourcing in the World of Automation?

The freight industry is experiencing a transformation as technology reshapes traditional operating models. As a freight broker, you might be wondering: “Should I outsource operations in an era when automation seems to be taking over?” The answer isn’t simply choosing between outsourcing and automation – it’s understanding how these tools work together to create a more efficient, scalable operation.

The Evolution of Operational Excellence

Think of operational scaling as climbing a ladder. At the bottom rung, most brokerages start by handling everything in-house. This gives you complete control but often leads to your team being stretched thin across countless manual tasks – from tracking down rate confirmations to managing carrier communications.

The next step typically involves bringing in outsourced teams to handle some of these tasks. This provides immediate relief to your internal staff and helps manage costs, but it’s just the beginning. The real transformation happens when you begin building standardized processes and implementing the right technology to support them.

Where Automation Fits In

This is where modern automation comes into play – not as a replacement for your human workforce, but as a force multiplier for both your in-house and outsourced teams. The goal isn’t to eliminate the human element; it’s to make your people dramatically more effective at what they do.

Consider this real-world example:

• An experienced track-and-trace team member might handle 100 check calls per day manually.
• With basic automation tools, he or she might manage 150 calls per day.
• But with AI-powered systems integrated into the workflow, he/she could handle 300+ calls while providing better service quality.

The Power of AI-Armed Outsourcing

The most sophisticated operations are now combining outsourced talent with artificial intelligence to create what we call “AI-armed outsourcing.” This approach takes the cost benefits of outsourcing and supercharges them with automation to create teams that are:

• Faster at executing routine tasks.
• More accurate in their work.
• Free to focus on revenue-generating activities.
• Able to handle greater volume without sacrificing quality.

Building the Right Foundation

To make this work, you need technology that seamlessly integrates with your existing tools and workflows. This is where solutions like Drumkit come in. By connecting directly to your email inbox, TMS, and other critical systems, Drumkit helps create a unified operational environment where both in-house and outsourced teams can work more efficiently.

Our AI-powered platform automatically handles many of the routine tasks that traditionally bog down operations:

• Extracting key information from emails and documents.
• Updating load statuses automatically.
• Managing carrier communications.
• Flagging potential issues before they become problems.

This means your outsourced teams can focus on what matters most – building carrier relationships, solving complex problems, and driving revenue growth.

The Future of Freight Operations

The most successful brokerages of tomorrow won’t be choosing between outsourcing and automation – they’ll be leveraging both. They’ll use AI to enhance their outsourced teams’ capabilities while maintaining the human touch that’s essential in freight brokerage.

The key is finding the right balance and implementing technology that supports rather than replaces your people. When done correctly, this combination creates a powerful operational engine that can scale efficiently while maintaining service quality.

Remember: The goal of automation isn’t to replace your workforce – it’s to empower them to do more, better, and faster than ever before. By thinking of AI as an enabler rather than a replacement, you can build an operation that combines the best of both worlds: the cost-effectiveness of outsourcing with the efficiency of modern automation.

Book a Drumkit demo today or follow us on LinkedIn to learn more.