India’s digital freight forwarder Freightwalla has launched a free-of-cost supply chain automation platform to help exporters and importers combat risks related to shipment delays and improve supply chain efficiency based on historical distribution.
The Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered cargo navigation service aims to resolve the current global logistics challenges in the export-import (EXIM) industry through its predictive analytics system, with a tracking system able to record multiple data points over the complete shipment journey.
Furthermore, the platform which will deploy machine learning (ML) algorithms capable of predicting shipment delays based on satellite tracking, port congestion, and other signals, can be available to all micro, small and medium-sized (enterprises) (MSME) businesses and shippers, including local and global exporters and allied parties, not only the cargo owners booking shipments through Freightwalla.
Hence, according to the Mumbai-based company, businesses will have the ability to track up to 20 containers per month at zero cost.
Currently, shippers have to deal with multiple uncertainties such as space constraints, equipment shortage, port congestion, higher freight rates, shipment delays and limited visibility into the movement of goods.
Meanwhile, Sea-Intelligence’s Global Liner Performance (GLP) report, has shown that “Global shipping line schedule reliability has dropped to 34.9% in January 2021, the lowest in history,” and by 22% in September.
These hardships have necessitated managers and cargo owners to consolidate data from multiple sources such as phone calls, browsing websites and e-mail communications. “Without real-time insights on cargo movement, handling these challenges is extremely difficult and negatively impacts the entire business,” noted the digital freight forwarding start-up.
Besides offering real-time tracking and the estimated time of arrival (ETA) through a single dashboard, the shipment tracking service will also provide additional services such as carrier performance evaluation, predictive analytics to combat risks, and carrier schedule plan, according to a statement.
The service will offer a unified and real-time view of all shipments, including transhipment carrier tracking for advanced supply chain planning and eliminating manual tracking, according to Freightwalla, which said the service will also capture several data points such as shipment departure, arrival time, and ports visited.
Commenting on the development, Sanjay Bhatia, Co-founder and CEO of Freightwalla, said, that the pandemic has completely changed the dynamics of world trade whereby the need for real-time tracking and intelligent post-shipment solutions have become even more crucial.
“Tracking as a Service is a new-age disruptive technology that will enable smart tracking and offer advanced predictive analytics, thus empowering exporters to undertake intelligent and informed decisions. It is now more critical than ever to be able to pre-empt logistics challenges so that the buyer-supplier relationship is not hindered by the uncertainties of today’s shipping industry,” added Bhatia.
