FedEx, FourKites Partner on 'Smart' Supply Chain Platform

FedEx is collaborating with FourKites to increase the visibility of multi-modal and multi-carrier operations and make supply chains “smarter.”

FourKites will be using its machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities with data insights from the FedEx network to create a new end-to-end supply chain intelligence platform called FourKites X.

FourKites X will provide tools and insights to help large shippers and logistics providers mitigate the impacts of sustained supply chain challenges via a suite of offerings ranging from dynamic planning and pre-shipment, to enhanced visibility and proactive alerts, to supply chain optimization insights.

FourKites’ platform supports 2.5 million shipments a day, connecting the supply chains of 50% of Fortune 500 companies, while FedEx’s network reaches more than 220 countries and territories, linking more than 99% of the world’s GDP, through more than 16.5 million shipments daily.

To support this alliance and the launch of FourKites X, FedEx has made a strategic investment in FourKites.

FedEx Dataworks, a business unit in FedEx focused on making supply chains smarter through a data science approach and machine learning capabilities, will support FourKites’ development of the new platform, which will help give customers deeper actionable insights, more accurate ETAs, and more intelligent supply chains to reduce supply chain volatility, and improve top-line growth.

“The collaboration between FourKites and FedEx is exceptional in both the volume of data that it will aggregate, and in the degree to which it could improve predicted times of arrival, planning, and more,” said Steve Banker, vice president of supply chain services at ARC Advisory Group.

Customers of FourKites X will be able to integrate the platform with existing systems, and they will be able to receive new capabilities in a modular way with support from data engineers, data scientists, and user experience experts. The FourKites X solution will include pre-built applications and a dashboard, which will allow customers to unlock things like pre-shipment weather advisories and supply chain insights.