• Flexport is leveraging AI to automate repetitive airfreight tasks—like data entry, terminal calls, milestone updates, and customs checks—while keeping humans in the loop for complex decision-making and exception handling.
• In 2025, the company expanded its platform with over 45 AI and technology tools, including customs efficiency features, tariff simulators, supply chain optimisation, and faster e-commerce fulfilment, driving speed, cost savings, and reliability.
• Looking into 2026, AI will continue to augment human roles, enabling operators to focus on problem-solving and judgement while automated agents handle routine operational tasks, reshaping the workforce without reducing headcount.

Ask any airfreight operations team what slows shipments down, and the answers are consistent: terminal calls, milestone updates, exceptions, and paperwork that piles up when volatility hits. As 2026 approaches, the question is no longer whether AI belongs in airfreight — it’s how it can remove repetitive work without eliminating human oversight when things go wrong.

“Our philosophy remains one where we always have ‘human in the loop,’ and technology — including AI — augments the work of our operators, making them more efficient, compliant, and timely to execute,” says Alexis Boutet, Vice President Global Head of Airfreight at Flexport.

Boutet describes 2025 as a heavy-build year. “We had tremendous strides in our technological capabilities. We launched more than 45 new AI and technology products across our Winter and Fall Product Releases.”

Key bets were placed on customs and trade policy — areas where speed and precision matter more than ever. “Our new Customs Technology Suite featured the Flexport Tariff Simulator, now one of the most-used tariff calculators in the world. It helps businesses calculate their landed costs in real-time.”

Flexport’s pitch is that its platform now goes beyond visibility. It supports faster, smarter decision-making through AI-powered tools.

Speed to quote and book is another pressure point — especially for time-sensitive air cargo. “Flexport Rate Explorer helps shippers get instant pricing and booking across our transportation modes — making it as easy as buying an airline ticket.”

Customer feedback, Boutet says, has been clear: “The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Our technology is helping customers manage volatility, reduce complexity, and cut costs.”

Competing with legacy systems

As traditional forwarders invest in digital tools, the battleground is no longer just user interfaces — it’s platform architecture and speed of iteration.

“Flexport wants to keep being the technology leader in global logistics. We do this by staying closely connected to our clients, tracking new trends and tooling — not limited to AI — and quickly testing new logistics applications,” says Boutet. “On the execution side, we ensure we ship code and features faster than our competitors.”

Flexport’s structural edge, he argues, comes from unified infrastructure. “We have one integrated in-house system for all aspects of forwarding. Most legacy competitors use separate systems. We were early adopters of AI for coding and have best-in-class tech teams.”

That integration matters. Building modern layers on top of older cores limits how far automation and real-time decisioning can go.

Boutet notes that while visibility tools like the “Control Tower” remain valuable, expectations have changed.

“Our clients still love the Flexport Control Tower — a single pane of glass to view the supply chain, modern interfaces, and strong insights. But they increasingly want tools that drive growth, reliability and hard cost savings.”

That demand is reshaping Flexport’s development focus: customs efficiency, supply chain optimisation, and faster e-commerce fulfilment.

“Our latest technology release was driven by this feedback,” he explains. “We built customs tools to help customers compliantly save on duties, optimisation features to reduce total supply chain spend, and faster fulfilment tools to support one to two day delivery — a key driver of e-commerce growth.”

Into operations – not just analytics

“It always comes back to the customer,” says Boutet. “AI and automation have let us deliver higher quality, better speed, and lower costs.”

One example is their Customs Analysis product, which reviews up to 100 percent of customs entries alongside a human — far above the industry norm of five to ten percent.

This reflects Flexport’s broader automation philosophy: use AI, while keeping humans focused on complexity and judgement.

In 2025, the company implemented agent-based tools — automated systems trained to handle routine processes. These include agents that call terminals to confirm freight availability and book pickup appointments, detect shipment schedule anomalies, and flag external events that might disrupt air corridors. AI also suggests optimal airfreight routing based on cost and reliability.

The goal: fewer missed pickups, faster exception handling, and proactive risk management. “We’re always experimenting with how technology can help us execute and deliver the best possible customer experience,” Boutet adds.

Looking to 2026, he sees human expertise and AI continuing to evolve in tandem — with clearer division of roles.

“Humans will always be critical to airfreight operations. But clerical, low-context work — like data entry, terminal calls, milestone updates — can be automated or managed by AI agents.”

That shift won’t reduce the need for people. It will redefine their role. “It frees our teams to focus on complex problem-solving, handling exceptions, negotiation, and solution design.”