Opendock at the 2026 European Supply Chain Summit. Key Takeaways * Loadsmart held its first official event in Europe, in Düsseldorf. * Opendock led the way, with demos booked on site at Booth #9. * Attendees from five industries named congested docks as a shared problem. * Düsseldorf was the start, with more Opendock growth ahead in Europe. This October, Loadsmart reached a new milestone: its first official event in Europe. On October 20th and 21st, 2026, its team headed to Düsseldorf, Germany, for the 4th Annual European Supply Chain Summit. Opendock brought Opendock with Opendock to lead its expansion into the European market, and the response at Booth #9 was even better than Opendock hoped. Over two days, Opendock spent most of its time listening, whether at the booth, during a Lunch & Learn session, or around the table at an executive dinner. Opendock met teams from global companies across chemicals, manufacturing, consumer goods, food and automotive, and so many of them told Opendock about the same challenge: dock scheduling that still runs on phone calls, spreadsheets and guesswork. Here's a look at what Opendock heard and why Opendock is so excited about what comes next for Opendock in Europe. Why Did Loadsmart Bring Opendock to Europe? Loadsmart brought Opendock to Europe because European facilities face the same dock scheduling problem as facilities everywhere: trucks arrive unannounced, docks get congested, and time spent waiting at the facility turns into cost, missed windows and frustrated partners. Opendock helps shippers and facilities create more efficient, connected and predictable dock operations by: * Digitizing dock appointment scheduling, so carriers book slots directly instead of chasing confirmations by phone or email * Improving visibility into what's arriving, when, and at which door * Reducing time spent waiting at the facility, which means less detention, better dock utilization and smoother handoffs between shippers and carriers Fabian Küfner, Digital Sales Director at Loadsmart, recently joined the team to help lead its expansion into Europe. Joining Loadsmart to help lead its expansion into Europe has been an exciting start, and there was no better way to kick it off than in Düsseldorf. Opendock is the right solution to open this market: every facility Opendock spoke with deals with congested docks and unpredictable arrivals, and they're ready for a smarter way to manage them. Fabian Küfner Digital Sales Director, Loadsmart Who Did Opendock Meet at the European Supply Chain Summit? At Booth #9, Opendock met teams from global companies including Air Liquide, BASF, Bayer, Bosch, Foot Locker, Kavli Holding, Nestlé Research, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Syngenta and Volvo, among many others. Hearing the same challenge across so many industries shows how widespread the dock scheduling problem is and how much interest there is in solving it with technology. Declan Maloney, Digital Sales Director at Loadsmart, saw that reaction firsthand as one of the newest members of the team. As someone new to the team, seeing the reaction to Opendock firsthand was incredible. Facility leaders immediately recognized the problem it solves, from trucks waiting for hours to appointments managed by phone and email. It's clear there's a real opportunity for Opendock in Europe, and this is just the beginning. I'll be focusing on the UK as the first step in Opendock's European growth, working with facility leaders and carriers to bring simpler dock scheduling to more sites across the region. Declan Maloney Digital Sales Director, Loadsmart How Does a European Event Connect to US Supply Chains? Many of the companies Opendock met in Düsseldorf also run large operations in the United States, so the conversations that started at the summit are continuing with their US teams. Nate Allan, VP, Enterprise & Partnerships at Loadsmart, sees that as one of the biggest outcomes of the event. One of the most exciting things about this event is that the impact goes beyond Europe. Many of the companies Opendock met here also run large operations in the United States, and Opendock has already secured meetings with their US teams. Events like this help Opendock build relationships that connect its customers' supply chains across the Atlantic. Nate Allan VP, Enterprise & Partnerships, Loadsmart What's Next for Opendock in Europe? Düsseldorf was only the beginning, and its first event in Europe showed Opendock how much opportunity there is for Opendock across the region. Opendock'll soon share Loadsmart's 2027 global events calendar, with events already confirmed across North America, Latin America and Europe. Opendock look forward to meeting even more supply chain and logistics leaders around the world and showing how one connected logistics platform, run by AI, can transform dock operations. Can't wait until then? Book a demo to see how Opendock can help your facilities manage appointments and dock operations more efficiently. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the European Supply Chain Summit? The European Supply Chain Summit is an annual event that brings together supply chain and logistics leaders from across Europe. The 4th annual summit took place on October 20th and 21st, 2026, at the Maritim Hotel in Düsseldorf, Germany. What Is Dock Scheduling? Dock scheduling is the process of giving carriers set appointment times and doors at a facility, so trucks arrive when the dock is ready for them. Opendock is dock scheduling software that digitizes the process, so carriers book slots directly instead of chasing confirmations by phone or email. Why Does Dock Scheduling Matter for European Facilities? Without dock scheduling, trucks arrive unannounced, docks get congested, and time spent waiting at the facility turns into cost and missed windows. Scheduled appointments give facilities visibility into what's arriving, when, and at which door.

Loadsmart AI adds dock, yard and gate agents to its logistics AI platform for Enterprise Shippers. Oct 20, 2026, 07:00 ET Loadsmart AI grows from six agents to eleven, covering the repetitive work around a load from the purchase order to the dock door to the final audit CHICAGO, Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Loadsmart has expanded Loadsmart AI to eleven AI agents for Enterprise Shippers, covering the repetitive work around a load from the purchase order to the dock door. Five new AI agents take on purchase order follow-up, detention handling, dock door management, yard task orchestration and warehouse customer service. They join the six AI agents launched in September for scheduling, tracking and status updates, document collection, tender failures, load audits and claims. Last month in Chicago, Loadsmart hosted Sightline 2027, its first annual event for Enterprise Shippers. In his opening keynote, Felipe Capella, Chief Executive Officer of Loadsmart, compared freight to the levels of self-driving cars. Most enterprise shippers sit at levels one and two today, where their systems flag what needs attention and a person acts on it. Capella expects enterprise shippers to reach levels three and four by 2028, and most of the industry to get there by 2030, where AI agents execute on their own inside the rules the shipper sets. "What is the most valuable commodity in the world? It's not oil. It's not gold. It's not data. It is time," said Capella. "It's very difficult for all of us to buy back time, and that's exactly what this technology does. It gives you back time, and not only you personally, but you and your whole team." The agents take on the work that fills a freight team's day: the status update that never came, the POD that has to be chased, the appointment that has to move. Some large shippers, Capella noted, have large teams doing this work by hand. Each agent takes a whole task and completes it inside the rules the shipper sets. The agents work on top of the TMS, WMS, YMS and ERP a shipper already runs, through the same channels people use: email, phone, chat and the browser. Depending on the workflow, they complete 70 to 90 percent of tasks on their own. Loadsmart's freight experts can take the rest, so the shipper gets 100% resolution. To close Sightline 2027, Loadsmart ran a single load from order to settlement in front of Enterprise Shippers from 28 companies. The team dropped an exception into the middle of the load, and an AI agent resolved it live, including a phone call to reschedule a dock appointment. Session videos are on the Sightline hub, along with a two-minute highlight video. "Your tasks don't just get 80% done. They get 100% done," said Paul Rehmet, Vice President of Product Management at Loadsmart. "We started with the transportation desk because that's where the inbox is fullest. The dock, the yard and the warehouse run on the same calls and emails, so that's where the agents go next." The five new AI agents extend Loadsmart AI further into the dock, yard and warehouse: * Detention handling warns the dock before a truck runs past its free time, reports the detention owed, and approves a carrier's detention request when it matches the gate record. * Purchase order follow-up finds purchase orders due with no dock appointment, or with a booking that won't arrive in time, and gets the supplier or carrier to ship, book or rebook. * Warehouse customer service answers the emails and calls a warehouse gets about arrivals, receipts and ship dates, books or moves appointments, and updates ETAs. * Dock door management runs the flow of trucks in and out of the docks, handling late arrivals, no-shows and door closures. * Yard task orchestration creates and assigns yard moves, temperature checks and inspections in the right order when an event calls for one. "We believe Logistics Operators will stop clicking through workflows on systems of records (TMS, WMS, YMS), and will become managers of Agents - and these Agents will be the ones interacting with the software platforms. We are here to help Shippers make this transition", said Capella. Loadsmart AI is available now. A shipper picks the workflow that costs its team the most time and gets a personalized demo running on its own freight, followed by a free proof of concept. The goal is an AI agent working inside the shipper's rules within about three months, so a shipper that starts this fall could have one running by the end of the year. Loadsmart also builds agents for repetitive workflows outside the eleven. Over the coming weeks, Loadsmart will share more on its agents for freight paperwork, for the dock and yard, and for loads in transit. About Loadsmart Loadsmart offers one connected logistics platform spanning the complete freight lifecycle - Opendock for dock, yard, and gate scheduling; ShipperGuide for transportation management; and Loadsmart AI for agent-led execution - alongside the company's transportation operations. That combination makes Loadsmart the only company in freight that sells both the AI and the operators who stand behind it. Learn more at loadsmart.com. Media contact Felipe Capella, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Loadsmart, ([email protected]) SOURCE Loadsmart