Predictika · Parcel shipping

An AI shipping agent's rate quote, checked before it goes out

An AI shipping agent prepares a parcel rate quote for a customer: service, destination, package, options and any negotiated incentive. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the service rules and returns a verdict, every reason and the charges it computed, including the line-item quote.

Scope: a generic, illustrative small-package carrier (no named carrier), covering domestic and international quotes: services, lanes, package limits, surcharges, declared value and incentives. See everything this validator covers

This validator models a generic, illustrative small-package carrier's domestic and international shipping quotes — not just the scenarios shown below. It is not based on any named carrier; every rate, surcharge, fuel percentage and limit is an illustrative placeholder sized to typical parcel-industry ranges.

  • Services — Ground, 3-Day Air, 2-Day Air and 2-Day Air AM, Overnight, Overnight Saver and Overnight Early, International Express, International Saver, International Expedited, and Standard to Canada and Mexico.
  • Lanes — US zones 2 to 8, Alaska and Hawaii, and international lanes including Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Australia, China, India, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, and embargoed destinations.
  • Package rules — Billable weight from actual and dimensional weight, weight and size limits, dimension entry order, additional handling and large package surcharges.
  • Service availability — Which services reach which lanes, Saturday delivery by service and zone, and transit time against the delivery date the customer needs.
  • Charges — Transportation by zone and weight, fuel surcharge by service, residential, delivery-area, remote and demand-period surcharges, signature options, declared value, and earned and incentive discounts.
  • International — Embargoed destinations, customs and export-filing flags, and country-specific fees.
  • Approvals — Declared value above review thresholds, incentives beyond what a rep can grant, and the approval path for each.

Any small-package quote across these generic services, lanes and options is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. It does not cover freight, supply-chain or returns services, any real carrier's published rates, or contract-specific rate tables; the list rates used here are illustrative placeholders.

The AI shipping agentBuilds the rate quote from the conversation and says it is ready.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, and the computed figures.

7 scenarios in 3 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI shipping agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI shipping agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where rules-based CPQ gets it wrong
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Our assessment of what a typical rules-based CPQ (product rules, price rules and validation rules, as in Salesforce CPQ) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.

    
What the validator caughtTypical rules-based CPQPredictika
Embargoed destinationsEasy
A lookup on the destination country.		Same, from the lane table.
Which service reaches which lane, and Saturday delivery by service and zoneOnly with care
A grid of service, lane and option; each cell is a rule or a table row. It grows with every service and zone and drifts out of date.		The grid is data in the catalog; the check follows from it.
Transit time against the date the customer needsOnly with care
A comparison between a table value and a customer field; fine when both are always present.		Checked together with everything else.
Billable weight, surcharges, fuel and discounts into one totalOnly with workarounds
A long chain of price rules where order matters: dimensional weight, rate lookup, surcharges, fuel on the sum, then discounts. It works, but one misordered rule changes the answer.		Computed by the model and checked against an independent calculation.
Incentive cap that depends on the account, with approvalsOnly with care
An approval rule keyed to account tier; every tier is more rules.		Cap comes from the account data; approvals are listed with their reasons.
A quote total that does not match the chargesOnly with care
A validation rule can compare a stated total with a calculated field, but only if the stated total is a field on the quote, which it rarely is.		The stated total travels with the quote and is compared with the computed one on every call.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as the quote is saved, so a rep often fixes one error and meets the next.		All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
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Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the quote; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.

    
13-Day Air serves the contiguous 48 states only; it is not available to Alaska.
2Saturday delivery is not offered on Overnight Saver to US zone 3.
3Ground takes about 5 business days to US zone 8; the customer needs delivery within 3.
4Iran is an embargoed destination; this carrier does not accept shipments to it.
5declared value $60000 exceeds the $50000 per-package maximum.
6dimensions must be entered longest side first; got 8 x 12 x 6 in.
7declared value $15000 is above $10000 and needs loss-prevention review before tender.
8declared value $12000 is above $10000 and needs loss-prevention review before tender.
920 percent extra incentive is above the 5 percent a rep can give; approvable up to 25 percent for this account.
10an international shipment needs a customs value above zero for the commercial invoice.
11the quote states a total of $21.0; the validator computes $18.61.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. Declared value: Declared value above the maximum

    
The agent's request. Please quote 2-Day Air to US zone 4 for an 8 lb box, 14 by 10 by 6 inches, declared value $60,000, delivery within 2 days. The quote states a total of $1,077.67. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Declared value above the maximum. Declared value $60,000 exceeds the $50,000 per-package maximum.
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2. Declared value: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote 2-Day Air to US zone 4 for an 8 lb box, 14 by 10 by 6 inches, declared value $12,000, delivery within 2 days. The quote states a total of $261.67. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Declared value needs review. Declared value $12,000 is above $10,000 and needs loss-prevention review before tender.
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  • Quote summary. Total $261.67: list transportation $49.36, less earned discount $5.92, plus surcharges and fuel $14.23. Billable weight 8 lb.
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3. International shipment: International shipment with no customs value

    
The agent's request. Please quote International Express to Brazil for a 60 lb box, 30 by 20 by 16 inches, with Saturday delivery and adult signature, delivery within 4 days. The quote states a total of $1,041.88. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Customs value missing. An international shipment needs a customs value above zero for the commercial invoice.
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4. International shipment: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote International Express to Brazil for a 60 lb box, 30 by 20 by 16 inches, declared value $2,500, with Saturday delivery and adult signature, delivery within 4 days. The quote states a total of $1,084.38. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Quote summary. Total $1,084.38: list transportation $749.70, less earned discount $89.96, plus surcharges and fuel $320.44. Billable weight 70 lb.
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5. Dimensions and total: Dimensions and total both wrong

    
The agent's request. Please quote Ground to US zone 3 for a 6 lb box, 8 by 12 by 6 inches, delivery within 3 days. The quote states a total of $21.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Quoted total does not match. The quote states a total of $21.00; the validator computes $18.61.
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  • Dimensions in the wrong order. Dimensions must be entered longest side first; got 8 x 12 x 6 in.
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6. Dimensions and total: Dimensions fixed, total still wrong

    
The agent's request. Please quote Ground to US zone 3 for a 6 lb box, 12 by 8 by 6 inches, delivery within 3 days. The quote states a total of $21.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Quoted total does not match. The quote states a total of $21.00; the validator computes $18.61.
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7. Dimensions and total: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote Ground to US zone 3 for a 6 lb box, 12 by 8 by 6 inches, delivery within 3 days. The quote states a total of $18.61. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Quote summary. Total $18.61: list transportation $15.29, less earned discount $0.92, plus surcharges and fuel $4.24. Billable weight 6 lb.
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI shipping agent prepares a parcel rate quote for a customer: service, destination, package, and more. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the service rules and returns a verdict, every reason and the charges it computed, including the line-item quote.
    2. 
      
  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
    3. 
      
  3. The agent says. Please quote 2-Day Air to US zone 4 for an 8 lb box, 14 by 10 by 6 inches, declared value $60,000, delivery within 2 days. The quote states a total of $1,077.67. The rest of the request is on screen.
    4. 
      
  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
    5. 
      
  5. Blocked, with one finding, all in one answer. Declared value $60,000 exceeds the $50,000 per-package maximum.
    6. 
      
  6. The validator returned one blocking finding in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the quote are checked against each other.
    7. 
      
  7. What this shows: for transit time against the date the customer needs, a rules-based CPQ is error-prone for this.
    8. 
      
  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the declared value to $12,000 and the quoted total to $261.67.
    10. 
      
  10. It calls the validator again.
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  11. Not blocked, but held for a person.
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  12. The validator also returns the line-item quote. It starts with 2-Day Air to US zone 4 and Fuel surcharge; the other two lines are on screen.
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  13. The one blocking finding is cleared; one approval remains for a person: declared value needs review.
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  14. One problem caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and the corrected quote now goes to a person for approval. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer. Now you can try the other scenarios yourself.
    15.