Shipping & Freight News

Freight tracking softwate FourKites claims to provide end-to-end visibility across your entire supply chain, and is used by major brands such as Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Walmart. With over 2.8 million shipments tracked daily in 200+ countries on FourKites, this and similar platforms are having a big impact on the way freight is managed. What exactly do these systems offer to account for such widespread adoption?

Nathan Helms, Director of TMS for the food and beverage services company Organic Valley, sees two primary advantages to the FourKites system. The first is enhanced customer service.

“On-time delivery is always preferred, but we work in the world of logistics and things happen,” says Helms. “We try to make sure that we’re satisfying the customer’s needs and serving the carrier as well, making life easier for them when things do go awry.”

Second, Helms views FourKites as a useful tool for reducing expenses from unwarranted deductions. Thanks to the platform’s detailed tracking, it is easy to determine the location of a load at any given time during the delivery process.

“When we get deduction reports, we can go through and track where the driver was. He may have been 20 miles down the road, or he may have been sitting in line at the gate. So that helps us mitigate [deductions].”

How do platforms like FourKites achieve accountability in the shipping process? Watch the full review on the latest episode of the Stay In Your Lane Podcast.

Organic Valley’s transportation team were initially interested in FourKites for the platform’s potential to enhance on-time service. While considering return on investment for the product, the team concluded that the potential to help refute deductions with GPS locator information could help justify the cost and get the platform approved for use within their company.

“We had to build up the ROI for the tool. Everybody likes the soft costs and likes the feel of the on-time delivery, but you’ve really got to show that you can get savings out of it,” explains Adam Lovelace, Transportation Sales Manager at Organic valley. “A lot of that came through the validating the legitimacy of customer deductions.”

The power to beat deductions and convert those savings into ROI for FourKites is twofold. First, GPS data gives the shipper the ability to dispute a potentially frivolous claim with the customer. Secondly, when a carrier’s negligence results in a legitimate claim, the evidence exists to transfer the financial burden onto the carrier themselves. Through robust tracking, accountability is assured through each step of the delivery process.

Lovelace singles out the quality of the data provided by FourKites in their team’s decision to move forward with the platform. The highly accurate arrival and departure data provided by FourKites has been instrumental in helping the company hit goals for continuous improvement and on-time delivery. Carriers who are willing to embrace the system can also benefit from its features.

Why are some drivers reluctant to adopt tracking tools such as FourKites? Find out in the latest episode of the Stay In Your Lane Podcast.

“It’s been a good platform to work with since I’ve been with Organic Valley, and we’re finding that the carriers who are willing to work with us on it are the carriers who are performing well all around,” says Tyler Bauer, Loss Prevention Specialist at Organic Valley.

Tools like FourKites’ truck tracking software creates seamless deliveries with real-time data available to all stakeholders. Shippers no longer need to contact their freight broker to confirm check-in and check-out times for every shipment. This seamless flow of data can help save on labor costs and streamline communications. The system’s compatibility with a wide range of common industry tools is another advantage.

“You’ve got their ELD, their TMS, and the way they assign trucks to loads. You could have any sort of combination, so keeping a handle on that and being able to help each carrier in each one of those situations is really big,” says Lovelace.

Systems like FourKites are all about taking the stress out of the shipping process through transparency and traceability. To make your shipping experience as smooth as possible, it’s also important to find partners with extensive expertise and strong industry connections. For a brokerage partner with these qualities and more, trust the transport experts at Triple T. Find out more about our full range of services here.

Thank you to Nathan, Adam, and Tyler from Organic Valley for their assistance with this article. To learn more about Organic Valley, visit their website at OrganicValley.coop.