Quote requests answered and loads built from the inbox, priced by your reps
Shippers send spot quote requests and awarded loads by email, often with a PDF or a spreadsheet attached. A rep reads each one, checks lane history and the rate tools, replies, and then retypes the awarded load into the TMS. The agent takes the reading and the retyping off the rep, and your reps keep every price.
Examples use invented names and figures.
What the agent does
- Step 1Reads the request
From the shared inbox or a customer portal export: origin, destination, equipment, weight, commodity, dates, appointments, references and any accessorial terms, including the ones buried in an attachment.
- Step 2Pulls the history
Lane history from your TMS and the rate sources you already pay for, plus any customer rule that applies, such as a contract rate or a required appointment type.
- Step 3Drafts the reply or the order
For a quote, a reply with a suggested range and the reasons behind it. For an awarded load, a draft order in your TMS, with missing or uncertain fields flagged.
- Step 4Queues it for the rep
The rep checks the price, edits and sends, or confirms the order in one click. Missing appointments or accessorial terms are flagged at the top.
Price and acceptance stay with your reps. Customer commitments, hazmat, high-value freight and unusual terms go to a person. So does any request from a new or changed sender address, because spoofed email is a common way into a brokerage.
- Minutes per quote and per order, before and after
- Quote response time
- Orders entered without correction
- Quote win rate by lane
Questions about this agent
Our TMS already turns emails into orders. Why add this?
Use that feature where it works. Several TMS vendors now ship inbox and order entry AI. A build makes sense when the work spans your TMS and the rate tools it does not read, or when your TMS version does not offer the feature yet. The sprint tells you which case you are in.
Does the agent set our prices?
No. It shows lane history and your rate sources with a suggested range and the reasoning. The rep sets the price and sends the quote.
What about customers who tender by EDI?
An EDI 204 load tender already arrives structured, and your TMS handles it. The agent works on the email and portal tenders that still get retyped.