Supply chains were never easy to figure out, and they haven’t become any more predictable. Some companies, though, are taking a technology-forward approach to anticipate what could go wrong, and when, and where.
Bangalore, India-based HyperTrack is among them, and the firm Wednesday launched a new solution that will take the last mile into the metaverse. The offering, called Playground, was added to HyperTrack’s BuilderX route optimization platform, announced last month, to allow users to test different last-mile scenarios in a simulated environment.
The news follows a $25 million Series A funding round, which the company said it would use to make improvements to BuilderX. The platform is designed with app developers in mind, helping them build powerful and easy-to-use interfaces for live order tracking.
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“Traditional logistics technology requires months of development cycles and costly engineering resources to build out consumer and driver applications,” said Kashyap Deorah, founder and CEO of HyperTrack.
“HyperTrack provides the most comprehensive APIs [application programming interfaces] for end-to-end order fulfillment, and our new capabilities ensure optimal performance and faster, more affordable application development for teams building logistics solutions.”
With Playground, operators can simulate fleet behavior with a real-time map view, which allows them to experiment with functions like order planning, tracking and assignments in a risk-free environment.
The solution uses HyperTrack APIs, including programs designed for data collection, geofencing and more. The APIs produce what the company refers to as “self-improving routes,” feeding data from previous deliveries back into the system to improve order planning and routing.
Watch: Automating the middle and final mile for retailers.
HyperTrack also introduced a new view to the BuilderX dashboard called Orders-at-Risk, designed to proactively warn operators of potential disruptions and delays. It automatically flags orders that are moving too slow, for example, and notifies operators so they can resolve the issue.
With BuilderX, developers of logistics and delivery apps can add the Playground and Orders-at-Risk features to their own platforms for a per-order price. The APIs are unbundled, so users can pick and choose what they want to add.
In just under a month, HyperTrack will conduct its inaugural Logistics + Tech Summit, which runs from Nov. 15-16. More than 300 companies across 80 countries will attend, including DHL, FedEx, Swiggy, Point Pickup and Ryder. A virtual event, its focus will be on developing new tech for industries like gig work and on-demand delivery.
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