In an industry where speed of response can mean the difference between winning or losing a customer, artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to emerge as a tool to transform the competitiveness of the freight transportation sector . However, this need to make operations more efficient is not new, and for Alejandro Carpinteyro Chávez, founder of Inducta , it began long before this technology achieved its current prominence.
It was 2019 when Carpinteyro began to familiarize himself with one of the challenges facing freight transport companies: acquiring new clients. His father, long involved in the industry, asked him to help make sales calls, a task that, at just 17 years old, led him to wonder if there wasn’t a more efficient way to connect carriers with those who needed their services .
With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional ways of doing business began to transform. Visiting companies, knocking on doors, or traveling to different areas to find clients was no longer such a simple alternative, which paved the way for new tools to keep business activity going .
From that concern arose Inducta, a Mexican company that began by offering commercial prospecting services specialized in freight transport and that, over the years, evolved towards the development of artificial intelligence agents capable of intervening in different stages of the logistics operation.
Today, at 23, Carpinteyro is at the helm of a company whose proposal seeks to address a need that goes beyond simply securing loads: reducing the time that transport companies spend on manual and repetitive processes, in a market where speed of response and quality of service can make the difference against the competition.
In an interview with T21, Carpinteyro explained that the company developed four teams of AI agents focused on commercial prospecting, quoting, dispatch and monitoring of units , which can be integrated into the systems already used by carriers.
Unlike query tools that answer questions or generate information, these agents are designed to perform tasks within the operation, from identifying business opportunities to tracking a trip or activating protocols when an out-of-program situation occurs.
However, the purpose is not to displace staff, but to support them in activities that require constant attention and that, in many cases, end up consuming time that could be allocated to other decisions.
“We aim to be the right hand,” he said, referring to the relationship these tools should maintain with human teams.
To explain how it works, he presented a common situation in the trucking industry : a customer requests information about a stopped vehicle after hours. Although the carrier has GPS systems to track its location, responding promptly may depend on a coordinator reviewing the messages, consulting the information, and establishing communication with the driver.
It is precisely in these types of tasks that the company seeks to incorporate artificial intelligence.
From desktop to roadside monitoring
But the need for a quick response doesn’t end when a load is secured or a quote is finalized. Once the truck hits the road, another stage begins where communication and follow-up are crucial, especially given the risks faced by the Mexican trucking industry.
In this area, Inducta developed agents capable of integrating with GPS positioning systems and transport management systems (TMS), as well as with the communication channels used by companies, including WhatsApp groups.
When a unit makes an unscheduled stop or presents a situation outside of the established parameters, the system can identify the event and activate the protocols previously defined by the carrier.
This includes contacting the coordinator, establishing communication with the operator, and escalating the information to the appropriate managers, according to the structure of each company.
“The moment an incident or something outside the program happens, the entire chain of command finds out at that moment,” he said.
Carpinteyro clarified that the agents initially require a learning and configuration process, during which the carrier determines which activities they can perform autonomously and which must remain under human supervision.
Another aspect he considered relevant is the protection of information , since commercial and operational data represent one of the main assets of transport companies.
Carpinteyro noted that he has recently identified a greater interest in monitoring solutions, and pointed out that the difference lies not only in incorporating technology, but in its ability to adapt to the particularities of an industry he has known since childhood.
His experience began by listening to conversations about freight and transportation operations within his family. Years later, that initial task of making sales calls evolved into a project that grew as he identified new opportunities to automate processes.
After approximately a year of working alongside his father, he landed his first client and began to expand the scope of the solution, first in the commercial area and later into other operational activities.
Currently, Inducta maintains its focus on Mexican freight transport companies, although it does not rule out taking its developments to other markets in Latin America and the United States.
Beyond its growth plans, Carpinteyro considered that the adoption of artificial intelligence could become a competitive element for the sector , particularly in a context where carriers face pressure to reduce rates and respond to greater demands from their customers.
From their perspective, while manufacturing companies are moving forward with incorporating technologies to improve their efficiency and reduce costs, transportation providers also need to transform their processes to remain competitive.
“The first carriers to adopt artificial intelligence, not as a chat or a parent search engine, but as employees or colleagues within their own operation, will make a difference in terms of customer service,” he stated.
The challenge is not simply to use AI, but to make this tool part of the daily activities of companies and allow their employees to concentrate on tasks that require judgment, creativity and human attention.
Over the next five years, the founder sums up his proposition in one sentence: “Your transportation operation responds in seconds.”
This vision began with the need to find customers without relying on endless calls and today seeks to transform the way transport companies quote, dispatch, monitor and respond to the demands of an operation that never stops.
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