Kuehne+Nagel, one of the world's largest freight forwarders, deployed AI agents to handle overnight calls to carriers across five languages—English, French, German, Spanish, and Mandarin. Previously, the Healthcare HyperCare control tower in Costa Rica spent nights dialing carriers one by one to confirm temperature readings on pharmaceutical shipments and track status updates across time zones. In the first deployment, the agents completed more than 10,000 status checks, processed over 6,000 emails, and handled 78% of connected calls end to end, raising team capacity by 47%.
The success prompted approval for rollout across Kuehne+Nagel's global air operations, with more than 10 use cases on the roadmap including milestone tracking, spot quoting, and invoice reconciliation. The deployment reflects a broader pattern in supply chain logistics: companies like CMA CGM, DHL, Encompass, and WWEX Group have all launched AI agents to automate high-volume, transactional workflows—from sales outreach to customs duty collection to customer support. Each company started with a single, measurable problem and judged the agent on resolution rather than activity, then expanded only after the pilot held.
For commerce practitioners, the implication is that AI agents are most effective when deployed against routine, high-volume tasks that tie up skilled labor. By removing that repetitive burden, teams shift focus to exceptions, escalations, and customer-facing decisions that require judgment—transforming operations from reactive to proactive.