project44, a tech startup based in Chicago that offers realtime freight visibility solutions for truckload, rail, and less than truckload shipments, this morning announced the launch of its Parcel visibility product. This new offering provides API-based integrations into top domestic and international parcel capacity providers—over 115 major market and regional carriers across the globe, including FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL, Royal Mail, Hermes, and Deutsche Post.
Fitting into the company’s larger mission of delivering a multimodal end-to-end visibility solution powered by data, the newly launched solution further enables project44’s customer base of retailers, suppliers, and logistics providers to strengthen brand loyalty, meet on-demand customer expectations, lower costs while increasing productivity, eliminate stockouts without bloating inventory, and satisfy tight delivery requirements.
Notably, this ambitious international expansion previews the forthcoming global reach of project44’s visibility solutions for all of its other modes.
“To truly achieve visibility across the entire supply chain, all parties involved, including the end consumer, need complete transparency into the real-time location and ETA estimates of Parcel shipments. project44 customers are armed with consistent and accurate data at all times during the shipment process, averaging 99.9% tracking success rates on their international and domestic Parcel shipments,” said project44 CEO and Founder, Jett McCandless in a statement. “Adding this critical mode into our overall portfolio, while also expanding into an international footprint, ensures that project44 customers can execute a truly connected and digital global transportation ecosystem.”
FreightWaves spoke to McCandless by phone.
“Here’s the point: customers may think on the procurement side by mode, but at the highest level at a shipper when they’re thinking about supply chain, they aren’t thinking about mode, they’re thinking about serving the customer and meeting expectations. That’s why we got this push from our customers, ‘when we ship small items to our customers or have them shipped in, we need to see it,’” said McCandless. “Customers want visibility globally, with no boundaries in the mode.”
“Our customers are asking them to help provide analytics and better visibility into their supply chain to improve their customer experience, and we’re excited to help them throughout that journey. Most customers have some kind of digital journey they’re on, and the supply chain is a big component of that. Visibility is great—it’s great to say here’s where the truck is, but then people ask, ‘okay, it’s late, that’s great, but can you tell me further in advance, can you give me a warning, can I get an ETA?’” McCandless said.
“This geographical expansion gives us access to a much wider customer base; it’s a huge accelerator,” said McCandless. “We’re up 500% over the last year, and last year we were up 500% over the previous year.”
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