Why Manual Freight Tracking Is Costing You Money

Ever had a customer call asking about a shipment you thought was on the way… only to realize the tracking info was buried in someone’s inbox? You’re not alone. A recent survey found that 62% of 3PLs still rely heavily on phone calls and emails to manage freight visibility. Sounds old school? It is. And it’s draining your time, money, and relationships.

The Problem: Manual Processes Are Slowing You Down

Here's what’s broken: Freight tracking workflows are often a patchwork of spreadsheets, emails, PDF BOLs, phone calls, and hopeful guessing. This fragmentation causes poor visibility, delayed updates, and constant firefighting.

Dispatch coordinators and freight brokers often waste 40-60 minutes per load chasing updates across carriers, especially in multi-stop FTL or LTL moves. Multiply that by 20 loads a day? That’s 20 hours of manual follow-up. Per day.

When things fall through the cracks, it costs more than time:

• Missed delivery windows mean detention fees
• Outdated status info leads to angry customers
• Inaccurate ETAs throw off warehouse staffing and dock scheduling

Industry Context: The Gap Between Tech Promise and Reality

The industry talks a lot about automation and real-time visibility, but most teams still struggle with system silos. According to the 2025 3PL Benchmark Report, 71% of logistics providers cite “lack of integration” as a key operational challenge.

TMS platforms often don’t fully integrate with every carrier’s system. Not all drivers use ELDs or tracking apps. And paper-heavy lanes like drayage or flatbed? They’re notoriously hard to automate.

In many operations, a TMS might track shipments—until something changes. Then it’s back to emails, calls, and gut instincts.

The Solution Approach: Streamline and Automate

Fixing tracking starts with reducing dependency on manual steps. That means:

• Centralizing communication: Keep BOLs, status updates, and documents in one place
• Standardizing workflows: Templates for check calls and carrier updates reduce friction
• Integrating real-time data: GPS, ELD pings, or app-based check-ins eliminate the back-and-forth
• Assigning priorities: Flag exceptions early—missed pickups, late arrivals, or dwell time overruns

The goal isn’t full automation on day one. It’s layered visibility improvements that reduce the need for constant human intervention.

How Debales.ai Helps

Debales.ai bridges the data gaps that legacy systems leave behind. Instead of waiting for ops teams to track shipments manually, Debales ingests emails, PDFs, and disparate system outputs, extracting shipment updates and check call data automatically.

For example, a 3PL managing dedicated lanes for a retail client used to spend 4 hours daily compiling check call updates. With Debales.ai reading their carrier email threads and parsing BOL attachments, those updates now flow into their TMS and customer portal with 95% accuracy—no human required.

Plus, it spots exceptions like missed pickups or delayed arrivals instantly—even if the message is buried in a long email thread.

Actionable Takeaways for Freight and Ops Leaders

• Audit your manual touchpoints per load – Count how many emails, calls, or file downloads are needed for shipment visibility.
• Prioritize lanes for tracking automation – Start with high-frequency or high-cost lanes like drayage dray-outs or time-critical retail LTL.
• Integrate emails into workflows – Tools like Debales can extract tracking data from unstructured formats you’re likely already using.
• Use data to flag carrier performance gaps – Poor on-time updates often correlate with on-time delivery issues.
• Prep for exceptions, not just norms – Automating standard shipments is a start, but real ROI comes from catching what’s off-track early.

Closing: Stop Accepting Inefficiency as the Norm

If you’re scaling a freight operation or trying to deliver consistent service, you can’t afford to run on manual check calls and inbox monitoring. The time you spend tracking freight is time you could be spending improving margins, customer satisfaction, and carrier relationships.

Manual tracking isn’t just inefficient—it’s a liability. It’s time to let your systems do the heavy lifting, and free your team to focus on what really moves the business forward.