Venture capital-backed firm incorporates road, weather and hours-of-service data to providing real-time tracking.
Project44 announced a new truckload tracking platform, aimed at providing shippers and third-party logistics firms a one-stop shop for surface transportation analytics.
The Chicago-based company, which just came off a fresh round of new venture funding, says U.S.-based chemical distributor Univar (NYSE: UNVR), which runs its own fleet of trucks, will be using the product.
The new tracking platform will be available through either a Web-based portal or fed directly into a shipper’s transportation management software system.
Project44 says the platform utilizes electronic logging device, telematics or smartphone applications to communicate with trucks in the field. The platform then delivers the data along with analytics for arrival, pickup, location, and delivery information.
The platform incorporates traffic patterns, weather and road conditions to assess pickup and delivery times. It will also account for hours of service to gauge driver idle time.
The platform also tracks temperature for refrigerated cargoes, allowing users to receive alerts to ensure freshness and avoid loss. Alerts can also be customized based on location.
“By incorporating dynamic factors like weather and traffic into predictive delivery assessments and allowing for the robust customization of alert messages, the project44 platform delivers real-time insights, enables more proactive business decisions, and is helping us perfect the delivery experience for our customers,” said Dirk Martin, director of transportation at Univar.
The new platform, which is available on a monthly subscription based on shipment volumes, “delivers complete transparency into real-time locations and predictive delivery estimates of Full Truckload shipments, regardless of truck type,” said project44’s chief strategy officer Mike Reed.