Earlier this week, Chicago-based FourKites, a provider of real-time tracking and visibility solutions across transportation modes and digital platforms, introduced what it called a supply chain visibility first, in the form of its new offering, Dynamic ETA for Air.
Company officials explained that this offering enables shippers, carriers, and 3PLs to track 100% of air freight with highly accurate and automated estimated arrival times (ETA), which it said empowers supply chain partners to do things like optimize downstream planning, reduce the time and expense of manual track-and-trace efforts, and also increase customer satisfaction, too.
The company added that this offering is being released at a time when estimates from The World Bank indicate that airfreight shipping is four-to-five times higher than road transport and up to sixteen times more costly than ocean shipping, even though it is viewed as key for shippers’ most critical and also time-sensitive freight for goods like pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, perishable agriculture and seafood products, emergency shipments of spare parts, as well as goods requiring fast delivery. And it added that many shippers in different sectors are using air cargo as a way to move freight, with the supply chain continuing to be hampered by inventory delays.
FourKites CEO Mat Elenjickal told LM that Dynamic ETA for Air was a customer-driven effort, with the company having a history of customer-led innovation, having released more than 126 new features over the last 12 months, with more than 50% of them coming directly from customers.
And he added that Zebra Technologies spearheaded this effort with FourKites, noting that Kimberley Segel, Director of Global Transportation, said: “FourKites’ Dynamic ETA for Air has provided the visibility needed to help reduce turn times on urgent product requests for fulfilling critical customer orders, while also eliminating nearly 75% of shipment tracking email inquiries to our global logistics team.”
What’s more, he noted that Air was also one of the last remaining modes of transit to which FourKites needed to apply its patented Dynamic ETA technology.
As for the main customer benefits of this new offering, he explained that businesses now have predictive visibility where they were previously in the dark on their most critical freight.
“Due to the complexity of the global air network, ETAs for air shipments have only been available 40% of the time, and could be off by as much as two days, creating many downstream logistical and customer service issues,” he said. “FourKites’ Dynamic ETA for Air provides ETAs on 100% of air freight, and it is accurate to within nine hours. This high degree of accuracy enables customers to better plan for downstream activities in their supply chain and to focus on better serving their customers instead of resolving issues with freight delays. FourKites Dynamic ETA technology has been shown to double our users’ customer satisfaction scores.”
In terms of how customers can leverage this technology, he said that FourKites leverages its Dynamic ETA machine learning algorithms and cutting-edge graph technology to make industry-leading ETA predictions.
“With 97% growth in air loads tracked on the platform over the last year, and now supporting over 100 airlines and 17,000 airports, FourKites Dynamic ETA for Air algorithm will continue to ingest more data and trends, and will continue to become increasingly accurate,” said Elenjickal. “When it comes to rapidly transporting critical goods, no other mode can compete with air. Dynamic ETA for Air means that shippers, carriers and 3PLs can now enjoy greater ROI —not to mention peace of mind—from their significant investments in this critical mode of transport. When it comes to air freight, FourKites is the first to the market with this advanced predictive ETA technology. As brands are increasingly turning to air cargo to expedite freight, this will be another differentiator for us in the market, highlighting our deep data science capabilities and our commitment to innovate alongside our customers to address their biggest pain points.”