Across logistics, freight forwarders—including major digital players—are deploying AI agents to handle quotes, track shipments, and answer everyday inquiries. This is more than a brief trend; it’s the beginning of a fundamental shift in how the industry operates.

Proactive innovation is standard at FGN; we foresaw the transformational impact of AI and began planning for it. In 2024 we started by co-developing an industry-specific freight forwarding platform with our technology partners, serving as the pilot customer. Our biggest design goal was to build a platform that was ready for AI as soon as AI was ready for real freight work.

Two years of groundwork

The platform was built in 2024 and operational beginning in 2025. We phased the deployment which allowed our team to make minimal, but necessary tweaks along the way. We also built integrated modules for finance, marketing, rating and routing, quotes, bookings, invoices and reporting. These modules all draw upon the same records, eliminating the need for separate spreadsheets and inboxes.

Today the platform runs across all of our FGN offices within the US and globally. Every office works on one system, with the same data and the same processes.

This groundwork matters as AI is only as useful as the data and processes underneath it. Ours are already structured, connected, and proven in daily use, so we can add intelligence on top instead of starting over.

What’s next: an AI layer across our worldwide operations

We are now adding a secure AI harness on top of our platform. It is a coordinating layer of AI agents that works across every part of freight processing, including quoting, booking, documentation, tracking, billing and reporting, in every FGN office. Our target is to have it in place by the beginning of 2027.

A few principles guide how we are building it:

• Your data stays in a closed environment. The harness runs inside a closed environment around our platform, so shipment and customer data are not scattered across outside tools.
• People stay in charge. Agents handle routine work and bring exceptions to our team. Anything unusual, high-value or new, such as a special routing, a new customer or a payment release, goes to an experienced FGN professional for approval.
• Every action is traceable. Each step an agent takes is logged against the shipment, which gives a clear audit trail.
• One standard in every office. Local rules for carriers, depots, documents and customs are kept as regional playbooks that the agents follow. A shipment handled in Singapore gets the same discipline as one handled in Charleston.

For you, this means faster answers on quotes and shipment status, fewer document errors, proactive updates when something changes, and an FGN team that spends its time solving problems instead of re-keying data.

Built around bulk liquid

Moving bulk liquids by flexitank across rail, truck, transload and ocean often involves more handoffs than a standard container move. That is where our platform was designed to be strongest.

• Intermodal bulk liquid cargo management. We plan and manage the full move, from the loading point through rail or truck, transload and ocean, to final delivery.
• Order management. Each shipment is tracked as one order from the customer’s request to delivery.
• API integrations. We connect the customer, the railroad, the transload site, the forwarder and the ocean carrier through APIs and deliberate process design. Status and documents move between parties automatically instead of by phone and email.
• Transload management. Our transload management system ties into the same flow, so transload activity is visible alongside the rest of the shipment.

With the AI layer in place, these connections become even more valuable. Agents can watch every handoff at once and flag a problem early, before it becomes a delay.

Modern controls and settlement

Our AI harness will include internal financial controls built in from the start, so pricing, invoicing and payments follow clear rules and approvals. We are also building stablecoin settlement into our operations. Over time, we plan to make these settlement options available to our customers and vendors alongside traditional payment methods.

Ahead of the curve, on purpose

Many in our industry are now asking how to add AI to systems that were never designed for it. We made that decision two years ago, built the foundation, and proved it in live operations globally. The next step is already underway.

Our commitment to customers doesn’t change: experienced people who know bulk liquid logistics, backed by technology that makes them faster and more reliable.

Talk to us

Want to see how FGN can move your bulk liquid cargo, or how our platform could connect with your systems? Contact the FGN team today. We’d be glad to walk you through it.