Predictika · UPS parcel shipping

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

An AI shipping agent prepares a UPS 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: UPS small-package domestic and international quotes: services, lanes, package limits, surcharges, declared value and incentives. See everything this validator covers

This validator models UPS small-package domestic and international shipping quotes — not just the scenarios shown below.

  • Services — UPS Ground, 3 Day Select, 2nd Day Air and 2nd Day Air A.M., Next Day Air, Next Day Air Saver and Next Day Air Early, Worldwide Express, Worldwide Saver, Worldwide 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 UPS small-package quote across these services, lanes and options is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. It does not cover UPS freight, supply-chain or returns services, or contract-specific rate tables beyond the illustrative list rates used here.

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
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.

    
1UPS 3 Day Select serves the contiguous 48 states only; it is not available to Alaska.
2Saturday delivery is not offered on UPS Next Day Air Saver to US zone 3.
3UPS Ground takes about 5 business days to US zone 8; the customer needs delivery within 3.
4Iran is an embargoed destination; UPS 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. Dimensions and total: Dimensions and total both wrong

    
The agent's request. Please quote UPS 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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2. Dimensions and total: Dimensions fixed, total still wrong

    
The agent's request. Please quote UPS 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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3. Dimensions and total: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote UPS 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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4. International shipment: International shipment with no customs value

    
The agent's request. Please quote UPS Worldwide 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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5. International shipment: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote UPS Worldwide 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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6. Declared value: Declared value above the maximum

    
The agent's request. Please quote UPS 2nd 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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7. Declared value: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote UPS 2nd 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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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 UPS 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 UPS 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. The rest of the request is on screen.
    4. 
      
  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
    5. 
      
  5. Blocked, with two findings, all in one answer. The quote states a total of $21.00; the validator computes $18.61. Dimensions must be entered longest side first; got 8 x 12 x 6 in.
    6. 
      
  6. The validator returned two blocking findings 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 and against the stated total.
    7. 
      
  7. What this shows: for a quote total that does not match the charges, a rules-based CPQ is error-prone for this.
    8. 
      
  8. Now the agent resubmits.
    9. 
      
  9. The corrected request. It changes the dimensions to 12 x 8 x 6.
    10. 
      
  10. It calls the validator again.
    11. 
      
  11. Still blocked, with one finding, all in one answer. The quote states a total of $21.00; the validator computes $18.61.
    12. 
      
  12. One finding cleared. Still blocking: quoted total does not match.
    13. 
      
  13. The agent resubmits once more.
    14. 
      
  14. The revised request. It changes the quoted total to $18.61.
    15. 
      
  15. It calls the validator once more.
    16. 
      
  16. This time the validator clears it.
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  17. The validator also returns the line-item quote. It starts with UPS Ground to US zone 3 and Fuel surcharge; the other line is on screen.
    18. 
      
  18. The earlier finding is cleared, and the validator's total, $18.61, matches the quote.
    19. 
      
  19. Two problems caught in one call, fixed in two passes, and a clean $18.61 quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer. Now you can try the other scenarios yourself.
    20.