The program’s inaugural partners include Astrata, Ruptela, SafeFleet, Webfleet Solutions, and ZF (through its Transics FMS).
In a statement outlining what the program would bring to carriers, project44 cited research from industry and its value engineering initiatives with customers.
According to the supply chain visibility giant, a lack of visibility is costing the industry up to €50/$68 per load in operational effort and administration in the form of inefficiencies – such as the ability to plan and manage exceptions. This is, in turn, is said to be hindering digitalization efforts.
The company claims that carriers that use these technologies to navigate supply chain disruptions can save over 10% of their operating costs through more efficient utilization of fleets.
“project44 continues to lay the groundwork for the most data-intensive global transportation ecosystem yet,” said Jett McCandless, CEO and founder of project44. “The Preferred Telematics Program opens a new path to digitalize the trucking industry, transforming it into a truly efficient space with visibility software at the core of global road freight tracking.”
Through the Preferred Telematics Program, project44 says the carriers on its network can take advantage of “exclusive solutions and discounts” offered only by program partners.
One such technology solution, labelled by project44 as One-Click OnboardingTM, is said to accelerate integrations between leading telematics systems and project44’s global supply chain visibility platform via native integration. This, it is said, shall allow carriers to get connected in a single click instead of relying on manually generated API keys to establish connections. As result, project44 believes carrier integration times can be cut from from weeks to seconds.
Anjuli Steffen, vice president of global networks at project44, says that the program will allow small and medium-sized fleets to access “similar solutions and pricing as large fleets”:
“Through the Preferred Telematics Program, project44 can get carriers connected and send their customers high-quality data by giving small and medium-sized fleets access to similar solutions and pricing as large fleets. Telematics vendors are an essential part of the project44 ecosystem, and we are excited to deepen our collaboration with these strategic partners to simplify the data sharing experience for carriers and instantly meet the visibility requirements of leading LSP and shipper customers.”
Taco van der Leij, vice president of Webfleet Solutions Europe, believes the partnership will bring “additional value in shipment visibility” to transport customers. Claudiu Suma, CEO of SafeFleet, is also quoted as saying the programme will offer “unmatched value”, while Martijn Koch, Global OEM sales at Astrata, states that Astrata’s mobile workflow management application Mission Planner will bring value to project44’s offering.
In addition, project44 boasts that carriers can take advantage of industry-leading fleet management, driver performance, and workflow automation solutions.
The announcement from project44 is just the latest development in the fast-growing supply chain visibility market, in which Gartner places project44 and Fourkites as the clear leaders. The likes of Transporeon, Shippeo and CH Robinson are also seen as strong ‘challengers’ in the sector according to Gartner.