For 30 months, the freight economy has been under pressure. Volumes are down, margins are squeezed, and fleets are being asked to do more with less. Carriers know the story: dispatchers drowning in emails, drivers stuck with empty miles, back offices buried in paperwork.
That’s why September 25 wasn’t just another product release. At our Houston Customer Summit, PCS launched Cortex AI — the built-in intelligence layer inside PCS TMS that helps fleets turn daily chaos into competitive advantage.
Unlike bolt-on tools or generic AI overlays, Cortex is embedded directly into the Carrier TMS thousands of carriers already rely on. It’s not hype. It’s freight intelligence, designed for the realities of trucking.
Dispatch Powered by Cortex
Dispatch has always been the heartbeat of operations. With Cortex, it gets smarter.
- AI Driver Recommendations: Cortex analyzes 36+ data points — from HOS to lane history — to suggest the best driver or carrier for every load.
- One-Click Assignments: Reserve, dispatch, or automate, all from a modern web UI.
- Multi-Mode Support: Handles truckload, LTL, and broker freight.
The payoff: Tender-to-dispatch time drops from hours to minutes, dispatcher workloads shrink, and fleets move more freight with fewer mistakes.
Load Opportunity Manager Powered by Cortex
Freight opportunities pour in by email, EDI, and documents. Most fleets burn hours copying, pasting, and ranking by gut feel. Cortex changes that.
- Smart Load Capture: Auto-ingests from emails, OCR docs, EDI, and load boards.
- Profitability Scoring: Custom metric builder ranks loads by margin, reload fit, and customer priority.
- Natural Language Search: Just type, “show loads where RPM > $3,” and Cortex does the sorting.
The payoff: Dispatchers don’t wade through inboxes. They see a ranked freight funnel, with the most profitable loads at the top.
Backhaul Booster Powered by Cortex
Every fleet knows empty miles are margin killers. Cortex makes backhauls automatic.
- AI Backhaul Matching: Finds profitable return legs based on route, timing, and equipment.
- Automated Outreach: Generates shipper emails and even AI voice calls to secure freight.
- Built-In Margin Analysis: Factors in deadhead, fuel, and driver time.
The payoff: More loaded miles, fewer wasted hours, and higher revenue per truck.
Native Intelligence Everywhere
Cortex isn’t a separate login or a sidecar app. It’s baked into PCS TMS:
- Natural Language Search across modules — no filters, no drop-downs.
- Modern Web UI with drag-and-drop screens, configurable dashboards, and mobile access.
- Enterprise-Grade Automation that finally works for fleets with 25–500 trucks.
The payoff: Teams spend less time on busywork and more time on exceptions, relationships, and strategy.
Why It Matters
AI in trucking isn’t about replacing people. It’s about creating new margin opportunities where they didn’t exist before — fewer deadhead miles, faster dispatching, and loads ranked by profitability.
Beta fleets are already seeing results:
- “Assigning the right driver and truck now happens in seconds.” — Royal Logistics
- “PCS is giving us enterprise-level tech that used to only be for the giants — and making it work for fleets like ours.” — Voyager Express
This is what makes Cortex different. It’s native AI, built into the system of record carriers already trust.
Get the AI Advantage in Freight
Discover how smart fleets are using AI to cut wasted miles, boost margins, and ease dispatch pressure. Our guide shows practical ways to work smarter—not harder—with embedded AI.
The Future Runs Through Cortex
September 25 is just the start. Dispatch Manager, Load Opportunity Manager, and Backhaul Booster are the first Cortex-powered modules. Next up: Maintenance, Safety, HR, and Accounting.
Because trucking doesn’t need more dashboards. It needs a brain. And now, with Cortex AI, PCS has delivered it.
