Case StudyLOGISTICS & SUPPLY CHAIN

Automating Shipment Booking in C3 Dock Scheduling for a Nationwide Temperature-Controlled Healthcare Transporter

IDW Reads Shipment Files from Outlook, Books Appointments in C3, Optimizes Dock Schedules, and Syncs to Internal Systems

Client Overview

One of North America's leading providers of temperature-controlled transportation delivering pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and biologics that require strict temperature management. The organization operates a nationwide network of almost 18+ temperature-managed facilities with 24/7 tracking across distribution centers and time zones.

The Challenge

Understanding the operational bottlenecks

50-100+

Daily shipments to book per location

10+ Hours/Day

Manual processing across locations

Error Rate Duplicate bookings, scheduling conflicts, etc.

~3 Hour

Booking window after list receipt

Manual Booking Process

For each location, staff received shipment details by email in an excel file, requiring consistent inbox monitoring. They downloaded the files, and logged into the C3 portal, an industry leading solution for dock appointment scheduling. For every shipment, they copied information like PO numbers, skid counts (number of pallets), and delivery windows from excel into C3. They checked existing appointments for amendment or created a new one, chose the right dock and time based on the shipment type, and completed the booking. They then emailed respective locations teams, and updated the status in their internal appointment manager to update the status of every booking.

Errors and Scalability

The process could not keep up with demand. Common mistakes included double-booking (requiring them to start over), wrong dock assignments, incorrect shipment types, and data entry errors. Since shipments were time-sensitive and delivered across multiple time zones nation-wide, even a single booking error could disrupt the entire delivery chain for critical medical products, causing discrepancies downstream and requiring investigation and correction.

Business Impact

Staff lost significant time entering data, switching contexts and updating systems, instead of exception handling, warehouse coordination, and peak demand planning. Mistakes like double-bookings and wrong dock assignments caused issues throughout the temperature-controlled supply chain.

The IDW Solution

Intelligent automation across the entire workflow

Automated Shipment Intake

The IDW logs into Outlook, reads incoming emails, and identifies the daily shipment instruction file. It reads the Excel attachment containing purchase order numbers, pallet counts, and delivery windows for the day's medical shipments.

Intelligent Dock Scheduling and Optimization

The IDW launches the C3 Portal and checks the shipment list against dock schedule. It combines multiple shipments into one time slot where possible, and updates appointments with new order numbers and pallet counts. This optimizes dock utilization and reduces truck turnaround time. For shipments needing a special delivery window, the IDW creates a new booking, enters the order number and shipment type, and picks the best date and time based on warehouse rules.

Update Each Location's Team

After processing all bookings in C3, the IDW sends a summary email with confirmation details for each booking to each location's team. Finally, the IDW updates the internal appointment manager with booking information from C3 so finance and operations have accurate records.

Visual Process Breakdown

IDW takes over the E2E process, performing exactly as a human would

Smart Validation Logic

Enterprise-grade rules engine ensuring absolute accuracy

Shipment File Detection

The IDW monitors Outlook inbox for incoming shipment instruction emails. Identifies and downloads the correct Excel attachment for the day's bookings.

Data Extraction

IDW extracts PO numbers, pallet counts, shipment types, and delivery windows from Excel files for each location.

Schedule Analysis

IDW analyzes the current C3 dock schedule against incoming shipments. Identifies existing time slots that can accommodate additional orders.

Consolidation Logic

IDW detects consolidation opportunities by combining multiple shipments into a single appointment to optimize dock utilization and reduce turnaround time.

Dock and Time Selection

The IDW uses rule-based logic about warehouse capacity, shipment type (standard vs. refrigerated), and location time zone to select optimal dock and time slot.