The modern supply chain is a data game — the more data a company has, the better it’s able to avoid and react to local and global disruptions.
The problem for many companies, though, is access to that data.
On Thursday, supply chain visibility platform FourKites launched a product designed to share its catalog of insights more easily. The new offering, Data Connector, allows customers to leverage the firm’s data directly through their own business intelligence systems, whereas in the past they would need to add the FourKites platform to their tech stack.
Key to the new service is its low implementation time, which requires minimal developer resources from the customer. FourKites said that within minutes, users can begin building custom dashboards leveraging the company’s hundreds of data points.
Data Connector also eliminates the need for customers to manually upload data — as new information comes in, the service automatically integrates it into their business intelligence systems.
The offering is now available to FourKites customers worldwide, across all industries.
“Business leaders are realizing that trusted, high-quality supply chain data goes far beyond trucks and trains; it is relevant to all corners of the enterprise,” said Priya Rajagopalan, chief product officer of FourKites. “The more accessible that data is across their organization, the more they can optimize their operations.”
According to FourKites, several customers are already making use of Data Connector. A news release announcing the service’s launch highlighted 3M, which is using it to enhance its massive supply chain with more relevant business insights.
Watch: What was the goal for FourKites when expanding visibility?
“Data Connector has enabled our company to integrate additional data points into internal reporting for better traceability,” said Kaitlyn DeSpiegler, logistics manager for strategic projects at 3M. “This, in turn, has helped us gain insight into our export process as it relates to delays and handoffs. The data feeds into a larger end-to-end view that our export and import teams use to track goods processing through 3PL warehouses and the exporting country. The team has seen great efficiencies in being able to integrate all tracking data into one report.”
FourKites’ launch of Data Connector follows a major platform update that synchronized visibility data across shipments in transit and orders waiting in the yard or warehouse rolled out in August.
Shortly after, the firm secured a $10 million investment from Tokyo-based global trading and investment company Mitsui to expand its presence in Asia and the Pacific.
Next up for FourKites, according to founder and CEO Mathew Elenjickal, is adding visibility at the SKU level, which could help businesses better predict delays and merchandising opportunities for individual products.
“In 2023, we look forward to helping our customers take the next leap forward in their logistics operations, expanding their insight further into their network and at the SKU level. Together, we will build a more resilient and agile supply chain,” Elenjickal said last month.
Click for more FreightWaves articles by Jack Daleo.
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