The global logistics management company C.H. Robinson announced February 7 that it would be deploying a new type of technology that digitizes the organization’s appointment scheduling processes. As a result, C.H. Robinson will begin offering touchless appointment scheduling to over 2,500 customers at more than 25,000 facilities around the world.

C.H. Robinson said that the touchless appointments allow customers to load its carrier network faster, saving some users up to 7.4 hours on average in terms of being able to deliver products to market.

“The trucking industry has been hungry to digitize everything from load-matching to booking to real-time visibility while freight is in transit,” said Arun Rajan, C.H. Robinson’s former chief product officer and current chief operating officer. “Giving people better digital tools to use is great progress; actually automating the complex processes of logistics is another frontier. That’s why automation has largely not yet reached appointment scheduling. It’s a big focus for us – in terms of driving efficiencies in our customers’ operations and our own – and we’re proud to be paving the way for the industry.”