Temperature-controlled carrier Frozen Food Express (FFE) recently selected FourKites as its exclusive partner and supplier of visibility data.
FourKites, which specializes in supply chain visibility solutions, said FFE will benefit from “the world’s largest network of shippers (380-plus), and their carrier and 3PL partners,” by receiving real-time predictive data for in-transit loads, and FFE’s customers will gain insights that improve supply-chain traceability, efficiency and accuracy.
“LTL shippers around the world are adopting FourKites’ platform, and we are honored that FFE selected us to meet their unique challenges with hauling dual-temperature refrigerated loads,” said Craig Fiander, senior vice president of global business development for FourKites. “End-to-end visibility has never been more important for carriers to stay one step ahead of the competition, and real-time temperature monitoring is a crucial piece of delivering superior customer service to the world’s largest shippers.
“The driving value is in keeping both sides on the same page for on-time performance criteria, reduced disputes and fines, and proactive transportation management.”
FourKites combines real-time LTL shipment information from electronic logging devices (ELDs) and trailer tracking, and pulls in LTL service center information, along with truck-specific traffic, weather, temperature and more than 150 additional data points to provide granular, real-time visibility throughout the lifetime of FFE’s active loads. By synthesizing these data points into a centralized dashboard, FFE is able to streamline communication for customer service and proactively manage service center disruptions, thereby delivering improved on-time performance, reduced dwell times and superior customer experience.
The partnership between FFE and FourKites enables both parties to jointly meet the expectations of mutual customers. By providing a custom, data-driven “digital twin” of its entire LTL network, FFE is able to differentiate its transportation services with smart-forecasted, predictive ETAs driven by machine learning techniques, which enable it to enhance customer experience and prevent service center disruptions before they occur.
FFE also will leverage FourKites’ Temperature Tracking solution to minimize spoilage throughout the lifetime of its temperature-controlled shipments. By automatically triggering an alert as soon as a load’s temperature falls outside a predefined range, FFE will be able to take early action to remedy potential temperature issues before jeopardizing safety or freshness, while reducing loss, food waste and ensuring FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) compliance.
In addition, FFE utilizes FourKites Insights, a supply chain analytics product, to improve operational efficiency and oversight, as evidenced by its recent inclusion on FourKites’ Premier Carrier List, which showcases hundreds of carriers, brokers and 3PLs that have achieved the highest standards of visibility-related operational excellence.
“We’re managing more than 400,000 active, temperature-controlled loads annually,” said Nick Cook, FFE’s chief information officer and VP of operations. “To continue to be a trusted partner, we needed cutting-edge technology to help us better manage and measure our performance. FourKites enables us to identify and mitigate inefficient processes, unexpected delays, equipment failures and more as they occur.
“Now, we’re able to troubleshoot the loads that are predicted to be late, rather than focusing man-hours on shipments that we know will deliver on time.”
