250!

We're only three releases into 2026 and the Matrix team has already delivered over 250 individual change requests. We're not just cruising, we're making tweaks and dropping new features while running at full throttle. Usually, there's a slight downshift at the start of the new year while new priorities and projects get hashed out. But when you're in the middle of a multiyear project like Gran Turismo with looming deadlines for its multiple subprojects, we're keeping our foot on the gas, fine tuning what’s already live while pushing new capabilities forward.

Updating how Matrix handles shipment scheduling is the biggest feature in April’s release and it’s a great example of how we’re learning what’s worked (and what hasn’t) to build what’s needed now.

The U.S. Ground Network is dynamic and complex, operating at a speed and fluidity that many other Matrix customers simply don’t require. At the same time, one of the platform's greatest strengths is its flexibility and configurability which gives us the ability to adapt when a business calls for it.

Once the team fully understood what makes the U.S. Ground Network tick, two purpose built features came into focus to support future growth: myDock and flexible shipment scheduling in Matrix. Designed to work hand in hand, the new shipment scheduling logic introduces a different way of thinking — and like any major change, is worth a closer look.

Release v2026.04 deploys on Sunday, let's dive into what's new ...

~Jennifer DeCamp, Knowledge Management

Project Gran Turismo | Scheduling + Manifesting

Flexible shipment scheduling
arrives in Matrix for NORTAM

Scheduling a typical Matrix order follows a set shipment path from ultimate origin to destination. For most businesses, the flow from Point A to Point B is established and expected. For example, parts can flow from a distribution center to warehouse, from warehouse to a linehaul station, from linehaul station to retail store, and then vice versa. Each point usually is a known entity. The path static. For an order to be successfully scheduled, the path and all points in between are assigned in Matrix before the first move even happens.

Now try to apply that same logic to the scheduling a shipment for a ground network in Matrix. It should be easy, right?

Matrix already handles first and final mile delivery for NORTAM — and has for 14 years. The only new piece would be inserting the linehaul routes (aka the movement between origin and destination stations). Again, easy.

Or not. Which brings us back to three sentences that sum up where the original go-live went wrong. "A perfect shipment is a shipment that gets delivered complete, intact and on time to the customer," said Laura Samford who manages loss prevention for CEVA. "It doesn't mean that it had a perfect trip, right? There can be things that happen in route."

Bingo! The U.S. Ground Network is a dense spiderweb of complexity with routes that weave through cities, states and regions. For every known entity, like that retail store that receives multiple deliveries each week, there's also a one-off, home delivery deep in the mountains of Appalachia. If we applied the same logic that Matrix uses for other businesses, each stop must be predetermined.

⬇️ Matrix All-Or-Nothing Scheduling Logic

Let's look at a real-world example. You live in Jacksonville, Florida (of course) and have a wine shipment coming from Yakima Valley in Washington. Enter America's P&D from stage left. They're responsible for making sure the wine travels from Yakima to the origin station in Seattle based on the 59 postal codes and regions supported by the Seattle station.

Once in Seattle, the GTC business unit enters from stage right to handle the linehaul route to the Jacksonville station. Based on service level (aka number of days), there are over 4,500 station combinations that the wine could travel along the 3,000 miles to the destination station. But we're still not done ... The wine is in Jacksonville and still needs to be delivered to a home address, signature required. America's P&D reenters from stage left to set the appointment and deliver the freight.

Now imagine trying to predetermine a path in Matrix from thousands of variables mentioned above. Chaos. There are over a million different ways that wine could travel. A preestablished path leaves no room for human error. But even more importantly, it leaves ground operations with no wiggle room to make better decisions while a shipment is in route.

Instead of helping, the scheduling logic used effectively by other Matrix businesses actually hindered the U.S. Ground Network. NORTAM ground ops, chiefly those operating the linehaul routes, need flexibility. For every perfect shipment, there is another that follows a more exceptional route. Maybe a shipment enters the network at the origin station, skipping the first mile. And then it suddenly needs to be expedited while traveling along the linehaul route. What if the delivery leg changes while the shipment is in route?

In the end, looking for an answer to each of those questions led to a different kind of solution for the U.S. Ground Network — the introduction of flexible scheduling in Matrix. Gone is the predetermined path from ultimate origin to destination. Instead, each shipment gets managed in three bite-sized chunks allowing the shipment to enter the network at any point along the route.

⬇️ NEW! Matrix Flexible Scheduling Logic

Step 1 | First Mile (aka pickup setup)
Once the pickup and delivery team receives a new shipment request, the new Matrix scheduling logic takes the pickup location to determine the origin station based on postal code and regions serviced by that station.

Step 2 | Final Mile (aka delivery setup)
Next, the same logic uses the delivery address to determine the destination station based on supported postal codes and regions. Again, P&D will handle the transportation to the ultimate destination.

Step 3 | The Linehaul
Spoiler alert: This is where things get interesting! Now that a shipment has an origin and destination station in the U.S. Ground Network, the existing scheduling logic kicks in to determine the best path within the linehaul network. Based on the contracted service level, the shipment can travel one of those 4,500-plus paths from station to station to station.

Imagine trying to do all three of these steps at once. It created gridlock in Matrix. Shipments wouldn't get scheduled which would mean they would fail to enter the network.

Hence the need for flexibility, especially along the linehaul routes.

Matrix myDock's role

We like to tease that the U.S. Ground Network operates like the "wild, wild west". Anything goes, or gets scanned, quite literally. The NORTAM freight handlers are so good at their jobs that they inherently know the best path for package to take along the linehaul, even if it's different than the recommended path. myDock is the first kicker that makes flexible scheduling possible.

myDock, Matrix's new 4-Walls Management app, doesn't just help NORTAM manage the flow of goods in and out of every station along the linehaul routes, it provides end-to-end visibility. Each time a package is scanned — Check In/Unload, Check Out/Load, Dock Check, and Out for Delivery — it provides a literal touchpoint for a shipment along its journey that gets recorded in Matrix TMS. These time, date and location stamped scans give the P&D and Fleet teams visibility. It also provides exception tracking when the shipment's path is not quite as "perfect".

myDock View, pictured above, transmits all the work occurring in the myDock scanning application to Matrix TMS. These scans are organized into a series of tabs that provide the ops team and station managers with access to key data associated with each scan.

Flexible scheduling's second kicker is the new ability to add manifesting in Matrix. Currently, myDock tracks all scans. Manifesting ties each scan to a trailer. Say, you're a freight operator scanning goods to a trailer that's going from Atlanta to Orlando. Once all packages are scanned on that trailer, a manifest for that shipment leg is created. That manifest includes all the packages assigned to that trailer. The new functions also allow users to close out trips and "seal" the trailer, allowing a user to assign a trailer and seal number to the manifest in Matrix.

With both of these pieces set to go live with the April release, myDock and manifesting are a one-two punch that make flexible shipments a reality in Matrix. Where myDock scans show the fixed points of a shipment's journey, manifesting gives insight into how it actually moves from station to station. Similar to myDock, the new flexible scheduling process and manifesting will roll out in a station-by-station approach.

Matrix TMS

Dynamic Carrier Selection:
Smarter choices, better visibility

In simple terms, Dynamic Carrier Selection (DCS) in Matrix works a lot like rate shopping. When a shipment is planned or scheduled, DCS automatically identifies and evaluates eligible carriers based on the load and required service level. While DCS itself isn’t new to Matrix and already leverages the powerful rate quoting engine in Matrix FSS, the U.S. Ground Network asked for enhancements that better support real world decision making, especially when the lowest cost option might not be the correct one.

Those enhancements introduce smarter controls and visibility. If a higher cost carrier is selected, the user is now prompted to explain why. That explanation becomes part of the audit trail, helping document the business rationale behind the decision. On top of that, Matrix records a date and time stamp whenever a carrier is manually selected, adding even more transparency and accountability.

Now, let’s be honest, it might sound like choosing the lowest cost carrier should always be the obvious choice. But as we covered in our first update on scheduling logic, managing a dynamic ground network doesn’t always work that way. There are legitimate exceptions, like expediting freight to meet new customer commitments or handling regional pickups and deliveries between stations.

Once local pickup and delivery teams are involved, relationships matter. In those cases, it can make more sense to rely on trusted regional or local carriers to handle smaller, time sensitive moves rather than defaulting to a lower cost carrier whose contract was negotiated centrally by CEVA’s brokerage team. DCS now makes room for those smarter, situational decisions without losing visibility.

With the U.S. Ground Network moving to Matrix FSS for myCash, enabling and enhancing DCS was a natural next step. The result is a centralized tool that delivers up to date rate visibility while still allowing teams to apply business judgment when it matters most.

myAccelerate | Intelligent Document Processing

Intelligence that delivers: Matrix
scales invoice automation

As we gear up to go live with automated invoice processing powered by Matrix IDP (Intelligent Document Processing) for BAE, one of our lead logistics businesses, Matrix hasn’t just been keeping pace — it’s been getting smarter. Over the past several months, we continue to layer in new enhancements designed to support AI driven invoice processing to create a smoother experience as more businesses either choose to tap into using Matrix for AI-driven document workflows to ramp up how they're already using it.

From a business perspective, this translates into real, tangible gains: faster document turnaround, fewer manual touchpoints, and greater financial consistency.

Let's quickly discuss the two different use cases.

Use Case #1 | U.S. Ground Network

The U.S. Ground Network was the first Matrix business to put IDP to work for invoice ingestion for good reason. NORTAM supports a massive, fast moving ground operation, and that complexity shows up quickly in how invoices flow in. Over the past two quarters alone, invoices were received from 125 carriers. Many of those are small players sending fewer than 30 invoices — and sometimes just one — where automation simply doesn’t make sense. But for major carriers like Landstar, which represents 11% of total invoice volume, IDP is an easy win. That’s why the U.S. Ground Network is dialing things up, completing AI training to onboard six additional carriers for automated invoice ingestion. By the end of April, nearly half of all invoices (47%!) will flow through Matrix IDP.

Use Case #2 | BAE

The lead logistics customer BAE presents a different, but equally interesting IDP story. This business has never used Matrix FSS for invoice processing, so this isn’t about slowly easing in. It’s about going all in from day one. Many of the IDP enhancements delivered in February were built specifically with lead logistics needs in mind, and BAE is a great example of that coming to life. Today, they work with a single carrier, CEVA FM, covering ground, air, and ocean transport needs, which means only one invoice format. That consistency made it much easier to train Abby, our IDP engine, what to look for. Since this is a brand new process, BAE is taking a smart, hands on approach for this month's go live: IDP will read and input every invoice into Matrix, and for the first three months, a team member will double check each one to ensure accuracy and build confidence.

▶︎ For a complete list of the Matrix changes in Release v2026.04, click here to view the Matrix Transportation & Supply Chain Platform Release Notes on the MatrixWiki.