In a statement, FourKites said the new tools were designed in direct response to the ongoing disruptions in ocean shipping that have delayed shipments, causing fees and related expenses to soar. In particular, the company made reference to the fact that demurrage and detention fees are reaching thousands of dollars per container per day.
According to the supply chain visibility provider, its new Dynamic ETA for Ocean provides “real-time, automated and predictive ETAs that are 20% to 40% more accurate than carrier-generated ETAs.”
The new AI-driven capability is based on FourKites’ patented Smart Forecasted Arrival technology, and brings together voyage and routing data and captain data, alongside more than 5TB of historical Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel data and 6 million port-to-port trips across 100,000 lanes worldwide over the last two years.
FourKites says it has also introduced a suite of new demurrage and detention tools that provide customers with an “early warning solution and actionable insights” that can replace the excel approach still used by some shippers.
According to the company, these tools include:
- Exception Dashboards that monitor the containers that are (or likely will) incur detention and demurrage fees, and provide real-time rerouting alerts and dwell time notifications for all ocean shipments. Customers can prioritize containers that are currently accumulating fees or that are at risk of incurring penalties, and estimate the costs that are being incurred to minimize transportation fees.
- Notifications and Alerts for containers that are (or soon will be) incurring demurrage and detention fees, giving customers the ability to minimize their impact on transportation costs and proactively manage customer satisfaction.
- Analytics Dashboards that provide performance trends by lane, carrier, stop and other areas, so customers can identify systemic problems, improve strategic decision-making, and minimize detention and demurrage costs.
Commenting on the new Dynamic ETA for Ocean, as well as the D&d tools, Chris Stauber, Vice President of Product – Ocean/Air at FourKites, said:
“Ocean shipping is an indispensable mode of transport that comes with a great deal of uncertainty and risk. Today’s release of the industry’s most accurate predictive ETAs for ocean freight, together with our new monitoring and management tools for detention and demurrage, gives shippers the powerful capabilities they need to effectively manage and mitigate rising transportation costs during a time of constant upheaval.”
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