Why AI Agents use OpenTrack APIs

OpenTrack is now powering many of the new generation of AI Agents inside TMS platforms.  That’s because agents need reliable data.

When agents access the OpenTrack API, they are tapping into battle-tested visibility assembled by the vast network of machine and human agents that make up the OpenTrack system.

When we started out several years ago, we weren’t thinking about “AI agents.” The term didn’t even exist yet.  Our goal was to build a system that could query hundreds of data sources, reconcile conflicting information, reason about which version of the truth to believe, and make predictions about the future. Over time, those systems evolved into what the industry today calls agents — independent, asynchronous, multi-step processes that collaborate to maintain a shared understanding of the supply chain.

Those same principles are built into the OpenTrack API.  Behind every response is a network of agents continuously verifying, predicting, and explaining global logistics data — so developers can build intelligent visibility experiences without rebuilding the infrastructure behind them.

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The Agents That Power OpenTrack

Long before “AI agent” became the phrase of the year, we were building autonomous, event-driven systems that did more than just track containers. They interpreted data, resolved conflicts, and filled in gaps that no single source could explain.

Today, that architecture has evolved into a multi-agent network. Each agent specializes in one part of the logistics ecosystem, but together they maintain a unified model of global freight activity.  For example:

Track & Trace Agent

Continuously monitors container movements through carrier APIs, EDI feeds, terminal systems, AIS data, and even unstructured sources like emails and PDFs. It reconciles conflicting data to pinpoint where a container actually is and when it will arrive.

Data Quality Agent

Detects anomalies in tracking data and surfaces them to a team of. human analysts for investigation

Exception Detection Agent

Detects exceptions in the shipment lifecycle:  delays, rolled cargo, extended dwell times, customs holds, etc

Customs Agent

Interfaces directly with Customs and Border Protection systems to determine entry status, identify holds, and detect early compliance issues

Arrival Notice Agent

Uses pre-trained models with computer vision  to extract pickup numbers and release details from carrier-issued arrival notices

These agents operate autonomously but share state through event-driven pipelines. Together, they form a cooperative multi-agent system that keeps the world’s containers accurately represented in real time.

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The Next Generation: Explainability Agents

Our newest agents focus on explainability — making logistics data not just accurate, but understandable.

When something looks wrong, the Explainability Agent investigates:

• Was there a last-minute schedule update?
• Is there congestion or a customs hold impacting multiple shipments?
• Did a carrier feed go stale or drop an event?

These agents correlate anomalies with operational events, historical trends, and live system signals. They don’t just report problems — they reason about them.

For example:

“ETA increased by 18 hours due to vessel skipping next port call (confirmed at 09:32 UTC via carrier schedule revision).”

By pairing these agents with Track & Trace, we’re building visibility systems that can explain why things happen, not just what happened.

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How Developers Build on Top of OpenTrack

Every OpenTrack API endpoint is powered by these agents. Each data point you fetch carries context — metadata, source attribution, confidence levels, and causal explanations.

That means your TMS or customer-facing AI agent can do more than display shipment status. It can think in context, using OpenTrack as its reasoning layer.

You can build agents that:

• Answer user questions (“Why is my shipment delayed?”)
• Anticipate changes (“The vessel experienced congestion in Rotterdam; ETA updated.”)
• Explain anomalies (“Customs clearance pending due to document mismatch.”)

OpenTrack’s agents handle ingestion, verification, and prediction — freeing you to focus on the interaction layer and create intelligent logistics experiences that feel human-level responsive.

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From Data to Reasoning

The next wave of logistics software isn’t about aggregating data — it’s about understanding it.

We’ve been building that foundation for years: systems that read, interpret, and now, explain.

What the world calls “AI agents” today, we’ve had in production all along.

If you’re building agents inside a TMS, digital forwarder, or logistics co-pilot, OpenTrack’s APIs give you access to the same agentic intelligence we use internally — the reasoning layer of global supply chain visibility.