Logistics & Supply Chain

14 Manual Workflows Automated. 3× Volume. −75% Ops Cost Per Shipment. In 90 Days.

How we replaced Meridian's manual dispatch and exception-handling workflows with intelligent automation — allowing them to triple shipment volume without adding headcount to their operations team.

3× volume

Shipment capacity (same headcount)

−75%

Ops cost per shipment

−82%

Exception resolution time

0 hires

Additional ops staff needed

Executive Summary

Meridian Logistics had grown rapidly to 12 depots and £28M in annual revenue — but their operations team was running on manual workflows designed for a company half their size. Dispatch coordination, shipment exception handling, carrier communications, and client status updates were all managed via email threads, WhatsApp groups, and spreadsheets updated by hand.

We audited all 14 operational workflows and automated the 11 that were fully systematisable, while building human-in-the-loop gates for the 3 requiring judgement. Within 90 days, the team was handling 3× their previous shipment volume with the same headcount, ops cost per shipment fell 75%, and exception resolution time dropped 82%.

At a Glance

IndustryLogistics & Supply Chain

Revenue£28M

Depots12 UK locations

Workflows automated14 pipelines

90-day ROI~28× project cost

Engagement typeProject + Retainer

Before vs After

The Operational Transformation

Before · Manual Operations

Dispatch coordination. Manual · email chains · 2–4h average response

Exception handling. WhatsApp threads · no SLA · frequently missed

Client status updates. Manual calls and emails · batched daily

Carrier communications. Individual emails per shipment · no templates

Ops reporting. Weekly spreadsheet · 8h to build · always stale

After · AI-Automated

Dispatch coordination. Automated routing · <4 min trigger-to-assignment

Exception handling. Auto-classified · SLA tracked · escalated in <15 min

Client status updates. Real-time automated updates via preferred channel

Carrier communications. AI-drafted + auto-sent · logged to CRM

Ops reporting. Auto-generated daily · delivered 7am to depot managers

Client Snapshot

Meridian Logistics

B2B Freight & Distribution · 12 depots · £28M revenue

12 UK Depots£28M Revenue200+ carrier relationships

Meridian had built a genuinely strong operational reputation — on-time delivery above industry average, strong carrier relationships, and a client base that valued their personal service model. The problem was that personal service at scale required automation, not more people. The MD had resisted technology for years, worried it would erode the relationships that differentiated Meridian. Our engagement started with a clear constraint: automate the admin, not the relationships.

The Challenge

Four Manual Systems, One Operational Ceiling

Meridian's growth had stalled not because of demand, but because the team couldn't process more shipments without proportionally more people. Every new depot added another layer of manual coordination.

Dispatch routing done entirely by humans

Each shipment required a dispatcher to manually select the optimal carrier, check availability, calculate routing, and send booking confirmation. With 400+ daily shipments across 12 depots, this consumed the entire capacity of the dispatch team. Result: Team at ceiling — no growth headroom.

Exceptions handled via WhatsApp and email chains

Delayed shipments, damaged goods, refused deliveries, and address failures were all reported by drivers via WhatsApp and resolved through email chains involving depot managers, clients, and carriers. Average resolution time: 4.2 hours. SLA adherence: 61%. Result: £180k in penalties and lost contracts in 12 months.

Client visibility was reactive, not proactive

Clients could only find out shipment status by calling or emailing. Updates were batched and sent end-of-day. High-value clients expected real-time visibility — and were increasingly demanding it as a condition of contract renewal. Result: 3 major contract renewals at risk.

Reporting built weekly in spreadsheets

Depot performance, on-time rate, exception volumes, and carrier reliability were compiled manually every Friday. Eight hours of analyst time to produce a report that was already 5 days stale. No daily visibility, no anomaly alerts. Result: Management flying blind on performance.

The Solution

Eleven Automated Pipelines. Three Human-in-the-Loop Gates.

After auditing all 14 workflows, we automated 11 fully and designed human-in-the-loop gates for the 3 that required operational judgement — relationship management, contract dispute resolution, and novel exception types.

Pipeline 01

Intelligent Dispatch Routing

New shipment booking triggers carrier availability check, route optimisation, cost calculation, and automated booking confirmation — all within 4 minutes. Dispatcher notified only if no carrier meets criteria.

n8nShipBob APIGoogle Maps APISlack

Pipeline 02

Exception Detection & Triage

Driver app events and carrier API webhooks feed a classification model. Exception type determined in <30 seconds. Auto-response triggered, client notified, SLA clock started, depot manager alerted via Slack with full context.

Claude AITwilion8nAirtable

Pipeline 03

Proactive Client Status Updates

Real-time shipment events trigger automated client notifications via their preferred channel — email, SMS, or portal. Milestone updates sent at pickup, in-transit, out-for-delivery, and delivered. Exception updates sent instantly.

TwilioSendGridZapierHubSpot

Pipeline 04

Automated Ops Intelligence

Daily 7am report to all depot managers: previous day's volume, on-time rate, exception count, SLA adherence, and carrier performance. Weekly executive summary generated by Claude AI with anomaly flags and trend analysis.

n8nClaude AIAirtableSlack

Results

Verified at Day 90. Confirmed by MD and Operations Director.

All figures extracted from Meridian's TMS and reviewed with the MD and Ops Director before publication.

3×

Shipment volume
same headcount

−75%

Ops cost/shipment
fully measured

−82%

Exception resolution
4.2h → 45 min avg

98%

SLA adherence
was 61% pre-launch

Performance vs Pre-Engagement Baseline

Dispatch automation rate94%

Exception auto-resolution rate78%

Client notification delivery rate99.8%

Ops cost per shipment reduction−75%

ROI Breakdown

Full ROI

Revenue from volume increase (same headcount)+£2.1M/yr

Cost saving: ops staff not hired (3 FTEs)~£180k/yr

Penalty elimination (SLA breaches)~£180k/yr

Total annualised value~£2.46M

Engagement cost (project + 12mo retainer)~£88,000

Implementation Timeline

Discovery to Live

Operational Audit

Days 1–5

Shadowed dispatch team across 3 depots. Mapped all 14 workflows. Interviewed depot managers, client success leads, and carriers. Produced automation readiness matrix.

Architecture & Carrier API Integration

Days 6–14

Integrated with 8 carrier APIs. Designed routing algorithm with cost and SLA weighting. Exception classification taxonomy defined with ops team. All designs reviewed and signed off.

Build Phase — All 11 Pipelines

Days 15–35

3 Professional engineers built in parallel. Dispatch routing live day 22. Exception triage day 28. Client notifications day 31. Reporting day 35.

Parallel Running & Calibration

Days 36–55

3-week parallel run with human oversight. Routing decisions reviewed daily by senior dispatcher. Classification model retrained twice. Exception auto-resolution threshold tuned.

Full Handoff & Scale

Day 56+

Automation running at full autonomy. Monthly performance review with ops director. Volume scaling begins — from 400 to 1,200 daily shipments over following 6 weeks.

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Quick Facts

IndustryLogistics & Supply Chain

Depots12 UK locations

Pipelines11 production systems

Time to live22 days (first)

Measured at90 days post-launch

ROI~28× project cost

Client Testimonials

I resisted automation for years because I thought it would make us feel like every other courier. What This platform built actually made us more responsive to clients, not less — they get real-time updates now instead of an end-of-day email. Our biggest client renewed at a 15% uplift because of the visibility improvements.

Robert Harrison

Managing Director · Meridian Logistics

The exception triage pipeline alone saved us from losing two major contracts. When a shipment fails, clients now get an automated update with a resolution plan within 15 minutes. Before This Platform, they'd be waiting hours for a callback.

Sarah Kwan

Operations Director · Meridian Logistics

Your Operational Ceiling Has the Same Solution.

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3.2×

Median client ROI

48h

First workflow live

40+

Companies automated

99.97%

System uptime