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April 2024
Supply Chain News to Know

 
 
APRIL 2024

News To Know

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With spring in full swing and Earth Day just around the corner, we're reminded to do our part to help the planet. But in supply chain, that can be a tricky task — especially when disruptions and crises are constant… Let’s dive in.
 
 
 

  The Lead: AI in Supply Chain
 
 
 
 
 
According to The Wall Street Journal, companies are increasingly incorporating the latest AI tools into their supply chains to cut costs, accelerate distribution and get ahead of potential disruptions.

While companies like ThredUp are optimistic about AI’s implications, noting that it can improve operations and margin, others are pointing out that, for now, AI’s limitations are relegating the tools to relatively isolated corners of their supply chain.

However, those corners of the supply chain can still have meaningful impacts. For example, the article also shares how German pharmaceutical and agricultural conglomerate Bayer has used FourKites’ Fin AI platform to navigate disruptions in the Red Sea as attacks by Houthi rebels on containerships have pushed many carriers and shippers to reroute shipments.

“You can see what is the container, what is the roadblock, what is the reason. It’s real time so you can make decisions,” said Johnny Ivanyi, supply-chain senior director at Bayer Crop Science, an agricultural division of Bayer.

That critical data has helped Bayer keep tabs on shipments en route to its manufacturing plants so it can better plan production, he said.
 
 

  In View
 
 
 
 
 
technologist_1f9d1-200d-1f4bb.png Speaking of AI, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang thinks that there will soon be a super-AI capable of taking the mission you give it and breaking it down into an execution plan. FourKites’ CTO Bo Tao writes for AJOT about what, exactly, that could mean for supply chains.

construction After the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, supply chain operators and the Port of Baltimore have been working overtime to reroute shipments and keep goods flowing. On a recent episode of Logistics Matters, DC Velocity’s Ben Ames and FourKites’ Stephen Dyke discuss the impact of those disruptions and what comes next.

green truck Despite signs of improving U.S. industrial activity, truckload and freight brokerage companies “face lingering excess capacity in the market, and the recent signs of net capacity gains only add insult to injury,” analysts at J.P. Morgan wrote in an April 9 report. The Wall Street Journal's Paul Berger reports that analysts and industry executives say longer-term contract prices are declining as shipping customers focus on keeping inventory lean and logistics spending tight.

 
 

  Numbers to Know
 
 
 
 
 
FourKites Baltimore Loads Heatmap April 2.png
 
 
FourKites data shows nearly 11,400 truckloads and 2,400 ocean and intermodal loads that were scheduled to start, end, or pass through Baltimore.

According to FourKites data, 92 vessels and more than 2,000 shipments had current or upcoming voyages into or out of the Port of Baltimore and 380 loads were re-routed to the following ports:
  • 64% to Norfolk, Virginia (USORF)
  • 21% to Newark, New Jersey (USEWR)
  • 8% New York, New York (USNYC)
On average, diversions and delays are adding 6 days to the estimated time of arrival.
 
 

Words of Wisdom
 
 
From a cost optimization standpoint, the hardest part of inventory management is getting the right inventory in the right location for customer orders. And when stockouts occur, teams need real-time insights to efficiently and effectively reroute inventory.

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SETH FREDERICKSON
FOURKITES VICE PRESIDENT OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

 
 

  ICYMI
 
 
 
 
 
  • Learn how Kimberly-Clark reduced the time spent on booking appointments by 80%, with zero emails and only one system to access across corporate, site and carriers.
  • FourKites and BuyCo, a top-tier container shipping platform, announced a strategic partnership to provide Fortune 500 shippers with comprehensive visibility and control throughout the entire container shipping process. BuyCo CEO Carl Lauron told the Journal of Commerce, “What we’re building is more like apps on an iPhone, with the data flowing between them using the same datasets between apps. There is an appetite in the market to get true door-to-door planning, execution and tracking.”
  • For the fourth consecutive year, FourKites has been recognized as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Real-time Transportation Visibility Solutions for its Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision. Download your copy of the report.
  • A recent FourKites blog post shares how to create a seamless data experience for your frontline employees, giving them a more comprehensive picture of operations without having to track down order information on an ad hoc basis.
 
 
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