Chain

American Logistics, a Chattanooga-based freight brokerage operating through 57 independently owned and operated agent offices, had grown nearly 30x in two years — but its track and trace process hadn't kept pace. Every agent owned their own visibility, manually calling through active loads each morning with no centralized system to scale. When a previous tracking vendor failed mid-implementation at the Tai Software conference, American Logistics moved immediately to Chain. The results were swift: 79% of loads now require zero human intervention, Chain's AI handles over 91% of all carrier messages, and 56 of the company's 57 agent offices are live on the platform.

"It just did not go well. It was terrible. So thank God we're at the Tai conference and I had Chain kind of on my radar. It just so happened that one tracking technology failed while another option was right there." — Bob Poulos, President, American Logistics

Problem

American Logistics didn't grow gradually. The company acquired the brokerage in 2020 as part of a larger deal, ran it quietly for a few years, then relaunched in October of 2023 with a clear mandate to scale. In roughly two years, volume went from a couple hundred loads a month to nearly 6,000. That kind of growth at that speed creates a specific operational problem: your infrastructure must keep up with your sales engine, and track and trace is one of the first things that breaks.

The challenge at American Logistics was structural. With 57 independently owned and operated agent offices, there was no centralized track and trace team to scale. Every agent owned their own visibility, which meant every agent had their own version of the same morning routine: get coffee, pick up the phone, and spend the first hour calling through active loads to find out where things stood. One agent in Wisconsin was doing nothing but check calls for the first hour and a half of every morning. It was time that wasn't moving freight, and there was no way to get it back without changing the underlying process.

The situation came to a head at the Tai Software conference, where American Logistics was mid-implementation with a different tracking vendor when that product failed outright. The team needed to move immediately.

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Challenges

Track and trace fell entirely on individual agents. With 57 offices operating independently, there was no centralized visibility function. Each agent managed their own loads manually, with no consistency across the network and no way to absorb volume growth without proportional effort increases.

Scaling meant asking agents to do more, not work smarter. At nearly 6,000 loads a month and climbing, the only path forward was automation. Telling agents to hire more staff for tracking wasn't viable. The model required a solution that could handle volume without adding headcount to every office.

A previous vendor failed during a live rollout. The urgency of switching to Chain wasn't theoretical. American Logistics was in active implementation with another provider when the product stopped working during a major industry conference. There was no time for a structured evaluation. They needed something working immediately.

Driver app adoption required patience across a decentralized network. As a newer entrant relative to established names like Macro Point, getting drivers to download and use Chain's app required persistence across dozens of independent offices with varying levels of tech comfort. One agent held out entirely over adoption concerns, the only meaningful friction in an otherwise complete rollout.

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Solution

American Logistics committed to Chain at the Tai conference and rolled it out in waves across their agent network, moving fast given the circumstances. Chain's direct integration with Tai Software gave agents a familiar entry point and smoothed a transition that happened under real operational pressure.

Once live, Chain took over the routine outreach that had been consuming agents' mornings. Drivers were contacted automatically on a consistent cadence, exceptions surfaced to the right people, and agents moved from a high touch manual process to simply managing the exceptions. Of 57 agent offices, 56 are now active on the platform.

Bob also quickly recognized something beyond the operational value. When prospective agents evaluate American Logistics as a place to build their book of business, the tech stack is one of the first things they ask about. Chain became part of the answer that closes them.

"When we show Chain, it helps us sell American as a solution to prospective agents. It's a free track and trace representative that never gets sick, doesn't take holidays, doesn't take vacation. They work around the clock and the agent doesn't have to pay for it." — Bob Poulos, President, American Logistics

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Key Improvements

Exception management replaced the morning check call marathon. Agents who previously spent the first hour or more calling through active loads now wake up to a filtered view of only the loads that need them. Chain handles the rest overnight.

Consistent automation across a decentralized network. With 52 independent offices, enforcing a consistent track and trace process manually was never realistic. Chain applies the same cadence to every load across every office automatically, regardless of how each agent runs their business day to day.

Chain became a recruiting advantage. As American Logistics continues bringing on new agent offices, Chain is now part of the pitch. Prospective agents ask about the tech stack, and showing Chain helps close them on American as the right place to land.

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Impact

79% of loads completed with zero human intervention Nearly four in five loads move through the entire post-booking lifecycle without a single manual touchpoint, freeing agents to focus entirely on exceptions and new business.

91% of all carrier messages handled by Chain's AI Out of nearly 6,000 shipment chat messages in the measured period, Chain's AI authored more than nine in ten, covering check-ins, status updates, and driver outreach without agent involvement.

56 of 57 agent offices converted and active Despite natural resistance to change across a decentralized network, all but one agent office is now running on Chain, an adoption rate that reflects both the product's ease of use and the direct time savings agents experienced once they were live.

An hour and a half reclaimed every morning, per agent One agent alone recovered 90 minutes each day that had been consumed by manual check calls. Across 52 offices, that compounding return represents a substantial daily reclaim of capacity redirected toward booking, carrier relationships, and growth.

A platform built for where American Logistics is going With a goal of reaching $300 million in revenue within 18 months, American Logistics is scaling fast. Chain's tight integration with Tai Software and its ability to absorb load volume without adding operational overhead makes it a core part of how that growth gets supported. "I envision Chain as the technology that we're going to ride into the future," Bob said.

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57 Agent Offices, One Tracking Process: How American Logistics Scaled on Chain

79%

30x

Problem

Challenges

Solution

Key Improvements

Impact

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