Trimble launches Arc Agent to automate logistics workflows

Trimble has launched Arc Agent, an artificial intelligence tool designed to automate manual workflows in transportation and logistics. The product is available to Trimble customers worldwide.

The software connects with transportation management systems and third-party applications such as Gmail and Outlook. It extracts and validates information from emails, PDFs and spreadsheets, then converts it into data for use in core business systems.

Arc Agent addresses a long-standing operational problem in logistics back offices, where staff often manage large volumes of unstructured information across separate software tools. Research cited by Trimble, based on a survey conducted with FreightWaves, found that 70% of transportation and logistics organisations identified manual, repetitive tasks as their main pain point.

Arc Agent uses a single-agent model rather than multiple specialised agents. It is offered as subscription software and includes an expanding catalogue of pre-built and customisable skills for common office tasks.

Safety focus

The system includes human-in-the-loop controls and governance measures intended to make AI-driven actions explainable and auditable. Those features are designed to ease concerns over inaccurate outputs and support service and compliance requirements.

That emphasis reflects broader hesitation in logistics around using generative AI in operational processes, particularly where errors can affect pricing, customer commitments and shipment execution. By adding review workflows to automated tasks, Trimble is positioning Arc Agent as a tool for supervised automation rather than a fully autonomous system.

Jonah McIntire, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Transportation and Logistics, at Trimble, said the company sees fragmentation in the current market for AI tools. "The market is flooded with disconnected AI tools that require constant babysitting and manual management. We built Trimble Arc Agent to break that cycle by introducing a single, high-performance agent powered by a skills catalogue," McIntire said.

He added: "Arc Agent delivers the predictable, explainable automation the industry has been waiting for and allows an organisation's hard-earned operational knowledge to be retained and executed consistently."

Skills catalogue

A central part of the product is a catalogue of skills that users can deploy or adapt for specific tasks. Users can modify existing skills or create new ones through a conversational interface without needing engineering resources.

Initial examples include a Market Insights skill for full truckload rate intelligence and benchmarking ahead of negotiations. Another, Customer Support, uses product documentation and support knowledge to help users troubleshoot issues and create tickets in service systems such as Jira or Salesforce when human intervention is required.

Trimble also described a Personal Assistant skill that pulls together information from emails, calendars, messages and project management tools into a prioritised overview. The aim is to reduce the time office staff spend switching between applications to gather updates and decide what to address next.

Commercial model

Arc Agent is sold on a single-tier subscription without seat limits or feature restrictions. Customers receive 10 hours of agent working time, with additional hours available if usage exceeds that allowance, as well as access to new skills as they are added.

That pricing structure suggests Trimble is trying to lower barriers to adoption in logistics organisations, where AI tools are often tested by small teams before wider deployment. Removing seat limits may also make it easier for companies to trial the system across operations, customer support and commercial functions at the same time.

Trimble already has a broad presence in transportation technology, and the launch adds AI workflow automation to its existing logistics software portfolio. Arc Agent can be deployed across its transportation and logistics network as well as a range of back-office systems and external applications.

For operators, the practical test will be whether the product can reduce manual data entry and email handling without introducing new layers of oversight that offset the time savings. The logistics sector has no shortage of software promising automation, but many businesses still rely on staff to move information between inboxes, spreadsheets and transport systems.

Trimble's survey finding underlines the scale of that issue, with 70% of transportation and logistics organisations citing manual, repetitive tasks as their leading pain point.