Supply Chain
FourKites | September 11, 2023
FourKites, a renowned leader in supply chain visibility solutions, has unveiled a groundbreaking innovation with the launch of Fin AI, a natural language interface. FourKites is ushering in a new era of supply chain visibility and decision-making. This cutting-edge technology is designed to empower supply chain professionals by surfacing invaluable insights, identifying optimization opportunities, and automating critical tasks. The launch signifies a pivotal step in addressing the prevalent issue of data silos and transforming supply chain management from a reactive to a proactive paradigm.
Leveraging the power of generative artificial intelligence, Fin AI offers users an intuitive natural language interface, enabling them to assess the impact of disruptive events, diagnose tracking anomalies, and access product guidance seamlessly across the FourKites suite. This transformative solution aims to elevate real-time, data-driven decision-making in supply chain management.
With its extensive capabilities and access to a vast supply chain data network, the company is well-positioned to continue driving innovation in the industry. FourKites provides even more value to its customers by tracking over 3 million shipments daily and providing a wealth of supply chain data, including estimated arrival times and miles tracked. Fin AI's potential extends beyond insights into optimizing labor, transportation, and inventory to automating various workflows, providing a comprehensive solution for supply chain management. The announcement of Fin AI at Visibility 2023, attended by supply chain leaders from renowned brands worldwide, highlights the company's commitment to shaping the future of supply chain visibility and efficiency.
Mathew Elenjickal, FourKites Founder and CEO, commented,
FourKites is proud to be building at the leading edge of supply chain data and AI. With Fin AI, we are giving our customers greater depth and breadth of actionable insights across their supply chains, further empowering them to focus on information and decisions that will move their businesses forward. Over time, automation through Fin AI will act as a direct extension of the capabilities of those who use it.
[Source – Business Wire]
Brett Frankenberg, Senior Vice President, Technology, Process, & Systems at Coca-Cola Consolidated, emphasized that the most significant advantage for logistics professionals is the ability to streamline time-consuming processes and harness data for quicker, more informed choices. He noted that FourKites' introduction of Fin AI makes a wealth of data readily accessible to users, enabling them to prioritize more valuable responsibilities and initiate proactive transformations within their supply chains.
About FourKites
FourKites, a leading global supply chain visibility platform, is renowned for its expertise in extending visibility throughout the supply chain, encompassing yards, warehouses, retail locations, and beyond. With a daily tracking capacity exceeding 3 million shipments, spanning road, rail, ocean, air, parcel, and last-mile deliveries, FourKites operates in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company leverages real-time data and advanced machine learning techniques to enable organizations to digitize their end-to-end supply chain operations. Trusted by over 1,200 of the world's most prominent brands, including nine of the top-10 Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and 18 of the top-20 food and beverage companies, FourKites empowers businesses to achieve greater agility, efficiency, and sustainability within their supply chains.
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Supply Chain
PR Newswire | October 19, 2023
Relay Payments, the fintech company modernizing payments for the logistics and trucking industries, is unveiling its freight payments solution for brokers: RelayDirect. The new solution lets brokers automate their carrier and factor payments, offer flexible payment terms, improve cash flow, and reduce administrative burdens. Initial customers have already increased revenue and reduced operational inefficiencies by moving their carrier settlement process to RelayDirect.
"Prior to RelayDirect, the payment process for our carriers and factors was dated and outgrown due to our rapid growth, and had become a cumbersome and time-intensive process for our accounting team," said TransLoop CEO Nicholas Reasoner. "By automating our payment workflow, we now have greater transparency over projected cash flow and improved our carrier experience, which enhances our customer service and leads to repeat business."
To date, RelayDirect customers represent more than $1.5 billion dollars in annual freight payments. Brokers integrate RelayDirect into their existing workflow, allowing them to offer flexible payment terms, generate additional revenue streams, and streamline their payments to existing factoring companies. Carriers also benefit from instant payments and the ability to immediately use those payments within Relay's network.
"Moving money in the trucking industry has always been unnecessarily complicated," said Relay co-founder and CEO Ryan Droege. "Brokers are paying carriers billions of dollars each year, and RelayDirect modernizes these transactions. Brokers can better manage their cash flow while carriers receive payments instantly and securely. It's a win-win."
Relay first introduced its fast, secure digital payment solution in 2019 to eliminate long delays that forced drivers to wait hours for payment approvals and authorizations. Fleets eagerly adopted the industry-leading platform, gaining increases to hours of service as well as efficiencies throughout the supply chain. Relay's payment network has continued to expand rapidly, allowing fleets nationwide to make fast and secure over-the-road payments including diesel fuel and unloading fees. Relay is now trusted by more than 300,000 drivers, 90,000 carriers, and 1,500 truckstops across the US.
About Relay Payments
Relay Payments is building a modern digital payment network to revolutionize the trucking and logistics industries. Trusted by more than 300,000 drivers, 90,000 carriers and 1,500 truckstops nationwide, Relay has brought efficiency and automation to an industry historically reliant on cash, checks and cards. Relay has joined forces with industry leaders like Pilot Company, AMBEST, J.B. Hunt, Schneider, Coyote Logistics, Lineage Logistics, and others to provide secure, reliable over-the-road transactions. Founded in 2019, the Atlanta-based fintech includes more than 150 team members and has won awards for product innovation, customer service, and organizational culture.
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Supply Chain
FourKites | September 20, 2023
FourKites, a leading supply chain visibility provider, has introduced a groundbreaking innovation in Fin AI, a natural language interface poised to transform supply chain management. This revolutionary technology empowers customers to unearth hidden insights, optimize operations, and streamline time-consuming tasks, such as event impact assessment across their shipment network. By harnessing the extensive supply chain data network, Fin AI significantly shifts from reactive to proactive decision-making, offering automated supply chain orchestration at scale.
Mathew Joseph Elenjickal, Founder and CEO of FourKites, said,
“FourKites is proud to be building at the leading edge of supply chain data and AI.”
[Source – Business Wire]
The company provides customers with a more comprehensive range of actionable insights across supply chains with Fin AI. Mathew added that this would empower the company to concentrate on the information and decisions and drive businesses forward. Additionally, over time, automation through Fin AI would serve as a direct extension of the capabilities of those who used it.
Supply chain managers face the challenge of navigating complex data silos and managing tasks efficiently. FourKites recognizes these hurdles and responds with Fin AI, designed to empower professionals with actionable insights, event impact assessments, and the ability to address tracking issues promptly. Leveraging generative artificial intelligence, this innovation paves the way for a paradigm shift in supply chain data exploration and decision-making. Focusing on real-time, data-driven choices, FourKites positions Fin AI as a transformative solution to industry challenges.
Fin AI's natural language interface, built on an industry-leading language model, draws on FourKites' extensive data network to provide users with the tools to:
Assess the impact of disruptive events on supply chain, allows to identify affected shipments and take remedial actions swiftly.
Diagnose tracking issues efficiently, enhancing visibility across their network.
Access product guidance spanning FourKites' suite and distill the most relevant insights into concise, actionable sentences.
FourKites combines powerful machine learning and real-time data to help companies digitize their end-to-end supply chains. More than 1,200 of the world's most recognized brands — 9 of the top-10 CPGs and 18 of the top-20 food and beverage companies — trust FourKites to transform their business and create more efficient, agile and sustainable supply chains.
About FourKites
FourKites, a globally acclaimed supply chain visibility platform, has set a new logistics and supply chain management standard. With a commitment to extending visibility throughout the entire supply chain, FourKites goes beyond mere transportation, encompassing yards, warehouses, stores, and beyond. This cutting-edge platform offers unparalleled insights, tracking over 3 million shipments daily and reaching over 200 countries and territories. FourKites leverages real-time data and advanced machine learning to empower businesses to digitally transform their end-to-end supply chains.
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Freight, Supply Chain
Echo Global Logistics | September 13, 2023
Chicago-based Echo Global Logistics, Inc., has introduced automated carrier negotiations to its online carrier platform, EchoDrive. This new feature enables carriers to bid on available loads and receive instant notifications of acceptance or counteroffers, streamlining the freight booking process.
Dave Menzel, President and COO at Echo, stated,
Echo continues to pursue innovative transportation technology with our automated carrier negotiation system. This new process, combined with our advanced load-matching algorithm, allows carriers to now find available freight and book it in an automated manner within seconds, eliminating inefficiencies associated with the time carriers spend gaining access to freight.
[Source: PR News Wire]
Jay Gustafson, EVP of Brokerage Operations, highlighted the real-time feedback provided to carriers and the seamless booking experience powered by algorithmic intelligence.
Echo's automated negotiation system enables dispatchers to digitally book available shipments even if the listed price doesn't align. The platform swiftly evaluates carrier bids using a unique algorithm and responds with automated acceptances, counteroffers, or rejections. This feature operates through EchoDrive, the web portal offering real-time load access for carriers.
EchoDrive's algorithm determines bid acceptance thresholds, ensuring swift responses. This feature enhances efficiency for carriers using Echo's web portal. Echo Global Logistics is a Fortune 1000 provider of transportation and supply chain management services, leveraging technology to simplify transportation management for clients.
EchoDrive enhances freight booking efficiency by enabling automated carrier negotiations. It saves time, improves the supply chain, and provides real-time insights. However, reliance on algorithms may not always align with market conditions or carrier needs, and rapid automation may reduce personal interactions. Technical glitches are also a potential risk.
About Echo Global Logistics
Echo Global Logistics, Inc. is a leading provider of technology-enabled transportation and supply chain management services. With its headquarters in Chicago and more than 30 offices nationwide, Echo offers a range of services, including freight brokerage, managed transportation solutions for all major modes such as truckload, partial truckload, LTL, intermodal, temperature-controlled shipping, warehousing, and expedited services.
Echo's proprietary web-based and mobile app technology compiles and analyzes data from a network of over 40,000 transportation providers. This technology helps its 35,000 clients simplify the critical tasks involved in transportation management. Echo has been named one of Newsweek's Most Trusted Companies in America.
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