Project44 unveils AI-driven freight procurement to transform cost management and efficiency

Project44’s new AI Freight Procurement Agent aims to revolutionise freight sourcing through continuous, data-led decision making, promising significant cost savings and efficiency gains within its Intelligent Transportation Management System.

Project44 has introduced an AI-driven freight procurement capability inside its Intelligent Transportation Management System that it says will shift sourcing from episodic tendering and spreadsheet work to continuous, data-le...

d decision making. According to the company, the new AI Freight Procurement Agent automatically benchmarks contracted rates against live market conditions, evaluates carrier performance by lane, and either recommends or executes awards so negotiated rates flow directly into execution.

The firm claims the agent replaces slow, periodic bid cycles with near-instant market engagement, running digital mini-bids and renewal negotiations within customer-set policies and approval gates. Project44 said early deployments have delivered a 4.1% reduction in freight spend through continuous benchmarking and carrier competition, and customers report up to a 75% reduction in sourcing cycle times and a 70% decline in manual coordination effort. The feature is being made available within Project44’s Intelligent Transportation Management System beginning March 2026, the company said in a press release.

Project44 underlined the scale of data the agent uses, noting its logistics data graph connects more than 259,000 carriers and covers around 1.5 billion shipments annually across 186 countries, with the platform processing in excess of 700 million logistics events each day. According to the company, that high-frequency dataset enables rapid validation and enrichment of carrier and lane performance metrics so the agent can weigh cost, transit time and service reliability when suggesting or enacting awards.

The vendor also highlighted integrations designed to sharpen market visibility. According to Project44, coupling its procurement analytics with market intelligence from SONAR supplies dynamic, real-time rate insight that lets shippers compare contract terms against prevailing spot and market rates, helping pinpoint lanes with savings potential or weak contract coverage.

Project44 positioned the capability as operating under customer-defined guardrails: organisations may initially deploy the agent in recommendation-only mode, then expand authority to allow autonomous negotiation within pre-set rate thresholds, carrier eligibility rules and approval structures. SupplyChainDigital reported that all actions are auditable and backed by transparent data inputs, with the system offering scenario analysis and procurement-ready recommendations for new carriers or expanded lanes.

Industry-facing materials from Project44 argue that data-driven carrier selection and targeted mini-bids can reduce full truckload spend by an estimated 2–3% and improve on-time-in-full performance by up to 20% for lanes where higher-performing carriers are prioritised. The company also says its analytics can cut exposure to spot markets by identifying gaps in contract coverage and sourcing reliable partners from its network.

“Freight procurement is one of the largest controllable cost drivers in the supply chain,” said Jett McCandless, founder and CEO of project44. “Intelligent TMS laid the foundation for continuous optimization. The AI Freight Procurement Agent turns analytics into autonomous action within defined guardrails, delivering measurable savings while maintaining full control.”

Project44’s announcement comes as logistics teams look to reduce manual workflows and sharpen cost control while preserving governance. The vendor frames the agent as a way to scale consistent procurement decisions across large networks of lanes and carriers, but notes customers retain the ability to determine the pace of automation and the scope of the agent’s authority.

Source: Noah Wire Services