Case study · Kestrel Freight · Phoenix, AZ
Dispatch that thinks a day ahead
A live operations platform and driver app for a 640-truck regional carrier, with AI-assisted load matching that cut empty miles by more than a quarter.
Industry
Logistics
Services
Dispatch web platform, Driver app (iOS & Android), Route & load optimisation, Customer tracking portal
Platforms
Web · iOS · Android
Timeline
6 months to v1, ongoing
Year
2024–2025
27%
Fewer empty miles
2.4h
Saved per dispatcher, daily
640
Trucks live on the platform
99.95%
Uptime since launch
The challenge
Kestrel ran dispatch on a legacy TMS, three spreadsheets and a lot of phone calls. Dispatchers could not see the whole board at once, so backhauls were missed, drivers waited on confirmation, and customers called in for updates. Growth had stalled because every new truck meant another dispatcher.
What we did
Four decisions that made the difference.
One board for the whole fleet
A real-time dispatch board that shows every load, driver and lane, with drag-to-assign and conflicts surfaced instantly. Built on WebSockets so forty dispatchers see the same truth.
AI that suggests, humans that decide
An optimisation service ranks reassignments by saved miles, hours-of-service and customer priority. Dispatchers accept with one click and the model learns from what they override.
A driver app that works in dead zones
Flutter app with offline queueing for load acceptance, documents and proof of delivery. Photos and signatures sync the moment a signal returns.
Migration without a cut-over weekend
We ran the new platform alongside the old TMS for six weeks, reconciling data nightly, so the switch happened lane by lane instead of all at once.
The outcome
Empty miles fell 27% in the first full quarter and each dispatcher now handles roughly 40% more trucks. Customer service calls dropped once the tracking portal launched. Kestrel has since added two acquired carriers to the platform without hiring additional dispatch staff.
“The board paid for itself inside a quarter. Our dispatchers would riot if we took it away.”
Marcus Whitfield
VP Operations, Kestrel Freight
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