Taking Cobalt's freight booking from quote to confirmedTaking Cobalt's freight booking from quote to confirmed

Cobalt matched shippers with carriers across four continents, and did it well. What it could not do was close. A quote arrived by email, was negotiated by phone, re-keyed into a portal by an operations coordinator, and only then became a booking — a chain with five places to stall and no single place to look.Cobalt matched shippers with carriers across four continents, and did it well. What it could not do was close. A quote arrived by email, was negotiated by phone, re-keyed into a portal by an operations coordinator, and only then became a booking — a chain with five places to stall and no single place to look.

Nearly two thirds of quotes never converted. The company had assumed a pricing problem for two years. The instrumentation said otherwise: shippers were dropping out between steps, not at the number.Nearly two thirds of quotes never converted. The company had assumed a pricing problem for two years. The instrumentation said otherwise: shippers were dropping out between steps, not at the number.

We collapsed the chain into a single booking surface where the quote, the negotiation and the confirmation are three states of one object rather than three systems. Carriers respond in place; shippers watch the price firm up without leaving the page.We collapsed the chain into a single booking surface where the quote, the negotiation and the confirmation are three states of one object rather than three systems. Carriers respond in place; shippers watch the price firm up without leaving the page.

Behind it, an event log made every state change replayable — which is what let operations keep their existing phone-and-email path running alongside the new flow for a full quarter, with nothing to reconcile afterwards.Behind it, an event log made every state change replayable — which is what let operations keep their existing phone-and-email path running alongside the new flow for a full quarter, with nothing to reconcile afterwards.

Abandoned quotes fell 61% in the first two quarters, and the coordinators who had spent their mornings re-keying moved onto exception handling. Support volume halved without a single new article being written.Abandoned quotes fell 61% in the first two quarters, and the coordinators who had spent their mornings re-keying moved onto exception handling. Support volume halved without a single new article being written.