BeyondTrucks this week launched RateAgents, a first-of-its-kind generative AI tool designed to transform how carriers manage complex rate tables. While traditional transportation management systems (TMS) often require decades of engineering to handle the nuances of specialized hauling, the new embedded tool allows non-technical users to translate natural language contracts into working software code instantly, the company reported.
For tank truck fleets, rating is rarely a simple “dollars-per-mile” calculation. As BeyondTrucks CEO Hans Galland explained to Bulk Transporter, the industry’s approach to rate formulas requires a high degree of flexibility that standard systems often lack. “In bulk in particular, but also generally in transportation, these rate formulas can become very creative … because every shipper calculates rates differently,” Galland noted. “So, in bulk, it’s often by payload. It could be gallons loaded or tons delivered—everyone has a different format. It could be a certain rate within a certain radius around the pickup location.
“There are all kinds of different ways to structure it.”
Historically, carriers have had limited choices: pay for custom code, use manual spreadsheets, or build expensive in-house engines. But Galland emphasizes that precision is a matter of survival for specialized fleets: “If you’re running at 2% or 3% margins, getting something wrong on rates can really kill you. That’s one of the things that we’ve seen people do [building in-house engines] to solve this very unique rating problem.”
How RateAgents works
The RateAgents tool utilizes large language model (LLM) technology to act as a coding agent, Galland said. A carrier can simply copy and paste the rate logic from a shipper’s contract or an RFP document into a text window, which the AI then translates into efficiency-boosting code. And, to combat the risk of “hallucinations” common in generative AI, the platform includes a built-in verification environment.
“The problem with generative AI is it comes up with a lot of random things, including hallucinations,” Galland explained. “So, you need to provide the user an environment to verify and test it. You can test the math. If the math makes sense, you can deploy this code that the LLM generated on your behalf in the TMS and have it function like a custom rate functionality.”
First up: fuel surcharges
The initial rollout of RateAgents focuses specifically on fuel surcharges, as they are notoriously inconsistent across the industry, Galland asserted. He describes this as “one of the most unique and complicated” applications because no traditional TMS has been able to cover every possible permutation.
BeyondTrucks also intends to expand the capability beyond surcharges to include:
- Line-haul rates
- Accessorial charges
- Driver pay settlements
A shift away from custom engineering fees
Unlike legacy providers that rely on service revenue from custom engineering, BeyondTrucks is offering RateAgents as a standard feature within its platform—at no additional cost.
“Traditional players heavily rely on service revenue and custom engineering revenue,” Galland stated. “It’s something that the traditional players would never be able to or would never want to build because it would kill that revenue stream. We don’t like custom code. We don’t like engineering services as a revenue stream. We like to build something that the customer can use as a tool ... putting power directly in the hands of the operators themselves.”
