All Episodes

June 19, 2025 40 mins

Ever wonder how companies like DHL Express manage to deliver thousands of packages efficiently every single day? The secret lies in sophisticated AI-powered routing and dispatch automation - and today's guest is at the forefront of this revolution.

Join me as I sit down with Erin Blair, VP of Global Partnerships at Wise Systems, an MIT-born company that's transforming how businesses handle their last-mile delivery operations. WISE Systems processes 20,000-30,000 routes daily using machine learning to capture the "tribal knowledge" of experienced dispatchers and drivers, turning it into automated systems that optimize operations in real-time.

In this fascinating deep-dive, Erin reveals how AI is solving one of logistics' biggest challenges: turning reactive dispatch operations into proactive, data-driven systems that can identify when trucks are running 30% empty and immediately alert sales teams to fill that capacity.

Key Takeaways

  • AI-Powered Route Optimization: How machine learning captures dispatcher preferences, driver patterns, and service times to optimize 20,000+ routes daily
  • Turning Operations into Sales Opportunities: Real-time visibility into truck capacity creates immediate revenue opportunities for sales teams
  • The Power of Field Research: Why WISE Systems sends engineers and founders on actual delivery routes across different countries to understand real user needs
  • Proactive vs Reactive Operations: How AI is transforming dispatchers from firefighters into strategic planners with data-driven insights
  • Tribal Knowledge Capture: How machine learning preserves and scales the expertise of veteran dispatchers and drivers
  • Real-Time Business Intelligence: Moving from quarterly reports to instant feedback on route performance and capacity utilization


Sound Bites

  • "I talked to a national carrier recently - they're running 30% full on half their trucks. How does the salesperson know that?"
  • "We want to automate and give that dispatcher more time to deal with the exceptions, not the rules"
  • "One of our founders will sit in a truck with somebody and deliver with them. That's impressive."
  • "You plan to do 1800 miles today with 12 trucks - how did you actually do? I'll find out in a couple months when my quarterly report comes in. Well, that doesn't help them for next Tuesday."
  • "If you're not in the game, you can't lose it - but you can't win it either"


Chapters
00:00 - Introduction to WISE Systems and Last-Mile Logistics
02:16 - What WISE Systems Does: Routing & Dispatch Automation
04:15 - Scale and Major Customers (DHL Express, Anheuser-Busch)
05:34 - AI and Machine Learning in Route Optimization
09:32 - Turning Empty Truck Capacity into Sales Opportunities
12:18 - Being Proactive vs Reactive in Operations
15:51 - AI Tools and Technology Stack at WISE Systems
18:57 - Internal AI Tools for Support and Engineering
24:22 - Field Research: Engineers on Delivery Routes
29:41 - The Future: Changing the Role of Dispatchers
33:40 - Personal Values and Family as Greatest Achievement
38:59 - How to Connect with Erin and WISE Systems

Connect with us
Where to find Erin:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-blair/
Website: https://www.wisesystems.com/

Where to find Sani: 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sani-djaya/
Get in touch: sani@gridgoals.com

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

The Joe Rogan Experience

The Joe Rogan Experience

The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.