Flexport trains employees in AI to build custom workflows

Flexport, a freight-forwarding company, is prioritizing AI upskilling to enhance operational efficiency and address a growing skills gap in the logistics industry. Alex Nederlof, VP of Engineering, introduced a 90-day in-house training program in January 2025, designed for employees across various departments, including HR, legal, and operations. The program teaches participants to leverage Large Language Models (LLMs) like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude, along with AI agents, to build custom automated tools for tasks such as sending emails, extracting information from PDFs, and filling out forms. Participants are required to commit to automating a specific part of their workflow, learning to 'vibe code' by prompting AI systems rather than traditional coding.

Nederlof's goal is to train non-engineers to think and act like product engineers, emphasizing the importance of security, proper testing, and ensuring human input remains integral to the process. Recent projects developed through the program include an automated customs form checker and an HR Q&A chatbot, which help reduce the company's reliance on external software-as-a-service products. The curriculum is continuously evolving, with updates made in January 2026 to include two levels of training for all departments, incorporating new AI tools and techniques as they emerge. Nederlof advises other companies to identify employees with an aptitude for automation, provide them with good technology, and implement guardrails to ensure responsible development. He also believes that this AI fluency will equip employees with valuable skills, enabling them to demonstrate their productivity and value even if their roles change.