Why We Built ContainerAI

In over 25 years in logistics, I've worked with various freight forwarders and consistently seen the same thing: unnecessarily complicated processes, systems that don't communicate with each other, and Excel spreadsheets everywhere that eventually nobody can make sense of anymore.

At my own company, ECO Containertrans GmbH, we started implementing AI-powered workflows – initially for small tasks, then for increasingly more areas. Automatic PDF reading, chatbots with data access, using publicly available tracking data. And I realized: most of the work that's still done manually in freight forwarding every day can be done more easily. Much more easily.

The Idea Came from a Conversation

When a friend who had just started his own business approached me, I saw an opportunity: Why not try building forwarding software with AI tools? Not as a gimmick, but as a real tool for everyday work.

From the start, certain things were particularly important to me:

Automatic PDF reading – because dozens of documents arrive every day in logistics that someone has to type in manually. That shouldn't be necessary.

Simple interface integration – because every forwarder uses different systems and nobody wants to wait months for an integration.

A chatbot with real data access – not just a nice FAQ bot, but one that can actually look into the data and deliver answers.

Automatic use of tracking data – instead of manually checking carrier websites.

The Real Problem: Onboarding Costs

And then there's one point that's particularly close to my heart: costs. Large forwarding systems easily cost five or six figures to implement. For a company with 5 or 10 employees, that's simply not feasible. And that's exactly our focus at Structure AI.

We want to make AI accessible to small businesses. Whether it's a small application like a PDF creator or a larger solution like ContainerAI as a complete forwarding system. Every company deserves software that makes their daily work easier – regardless of budget.

What It Became

Today, ContainerAI is a system that can handle container logistics from order entry to invoicing. It reads PDFs automatically, offers real-time tracking, and integrates with existing systems. And it doesn't cost a fortune to implement.

Is it perfect? No. But it gets better every day – because we stay close to our customers and listen to what's actually needed in daily operations. And that, to me, makes the difference: software that comes from practice, not from an ivory tower.

Your contact, Marc