More and more often we deal with interesting startups in transport and logistics. Their core competence is innovative solutions for e.g. storage, loading and unloading of goods. The creators of Transmetrics set themselves the task of improving transport, using the possibilities offered by data analytics.
Business Insider ranked Transmetrics among the top five startups related to supply chain management. The company has achieved more similar impressive successes. The solution has gained international recognition thanks to awards, including Forbes Business Award, Startup of the Year BAIT, Berlin Startup Activation EIT ICT Labs, Pioneers Festival, Webit Congress, CODE_n, European Venture Summit, TechAllStars, VentureBeat.
Transmetrics has been operating since 2013. It employs experts in software development, data science, research, customer relationship management, transport and logistics. The Board of Directors and Advisory Board consists of current and former senior managers from logistics companies such as DHL, Panalpina, and TNT Aviation.
The Bulgarian startup specializes in predictive optimization. In essence, this means using advanced analysis involving statistical methods and artificial intelligence. This results in making optimum business decisions, both in terms of efficiency and e.g. security. Data cleansing, forecasting demand and making the best decisions (forecast optimization) are the three key elements of the process.
Companies using the Transmetrics solution can reduce operating costs and gain full visibility of processes and data in just a few months. And all these thanks to the use of data science and enhanced intelligence.
Transmetrics AI algorithms recognize patterns that can help predict fluctuations in transport demand
With more accurate forecasting of logistics needs, transport companies have a better vision of their operations and can make better use of tools to plan operations more easily and efficiently. For example, using proprietary prediction optimization algorithms, Transmetrics has helped NileDutch, one of Africa’s leading transport companies, significantly reduce the overall cost of managing empty containers and reduce the size of its container fleet. Another example is Speedy, a member of the DPD Group, who improved fleet utilization and reduced costs by more than 7%.
The system can be used not only for land transport but also for sea and air transport. Transmetrics was developed with the help of DHL Express, Agility and ECS European Containers. Since then, the team has been working with several of the world’s leading customers, including TIP Trailer Services and Kuehne + Nagel, in addition to DPD and NileDutch.
The solution is based, inter alia, on the analysis of Big Data. This is one of the most important areas on which modern logistics is focused. It enables the company to predict the future market demand (holidays, seasons, industry events) and react accordingly (e.g. by cancelling unnecessary connections). How is data collected and processed? Transmetrics experts say that a secured VPN connection is usually used to transfer data. The company uses PostgreSQL and Mammoth DB management systems for data storage and Pentach Data Integration for data processing. This is sensitive data and the security issue is very important, so only advanced IT tools should be used.
The analysis covers many areas, e.g. cost reduction, minimization of empty mileage, the so-called last-mile deliveries, optimization of storage and fuel consumption, etc. According to Dimitar Pavlov, a business analyst in Transmetrics, whose remarks we quoted in Trans.INFO, data analysis is the most difficult and time-consuming part of the logistics process, but also very profitable. It can help to save ‘from 15% to 20% of all company costs.’
The results of Gartner’s research published in the report “100 Data and Analytics Predictions Through 2020” show that Big Data analytics is becoming increasingly popular. They show that in the next few years 40 percent of the surveyed companies will choose to invest in the Big Data predictive analytics. It is also encouraged by the fact that the forecasts may reach the compliance level of 90-95%.
Innovative start-ups and projects that can change the future of logistics will be presented during the hyperLOG conference on 24th October in Łódź. This is an opportunity to see authentic product demos. More information and the list of companies that will present themselves at the event is available on the event’s website.
Photo: Transmetrics