India’s leading digital freight forwarder Freightwalla has launched a free supply chain automation platform, an intelligent shipment tracking service for MSME businesses. An advanced predictive analytics system will help exporters/importers to combat risk associated with shipment delays and improve supply chain efficiency free of cost. The intelligent cargo navigation service backed by the latest ML algorithm will be available to all shippers, including local and global exporters and allied parties. Businesses can avail of the service at zero cost for tracking up to 20 containers per month.
According to the Maritime Executive, on average, “Four out of every ten containers (39 percent) missed their scheduled sailing. At the same time, some significant carriers and ports reported rollover rates of over 50 percent.” Whereas according to Sea-Intelligence’s Global Liner Performance (GLP) report, “Global shipping line schedule reliability has dropped to 34.9% in January 2021, the lowest in history.”
Today, shippers deal with multiple uncertainties like space constraints, equipment shortage, congestion at origin/destination ports, higher freight rates, and shipment delays. Furthermore, limited visibility into the movement of goods has also made tracking the shipment cumbersome and time-consuming. This has necessitated managers and cargo owners to consolidate data from multiple sources through process-intensive tasks 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.
Armed with a host of advanced tech features, the tracking service aims to resolve the challenges logistics managers face in the wake of the current global crisis in the EXIM industry. The tracking system records multiple data points over the complete shipment journey. The platform will employ ML (Machine Learning) algorithms capable of predicting shipment delays based on satellite tracking, port congestion, and other signals. It will thus offer access to predictive analytics to combat risks related to shipment schedules based on historical distribution.
Besides offering real-time tracking and ETA through a single dashboard, the tracker will also provide additional services such as carrier performance evaluation, predictive analytics to combat risks, and carrier schedule plan to optimize the supply chain. The service will be available to not only the cargo owners booking shipments through Freightwalla, but also the exporters/importers who wish to avail an intelligent tracking tool to plan and execute shipments effectively, regardless of the service provider they choose to work with.
Commenting on the development, Mr. Sanjay Bhatia, Co-founder & CEO, Freightwalla, said, “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. Enhanced visibility and real-time intelligence will help drive transparency and sustainability across supply chains, thereby paving the way for healthy business ties.”
Freightwalla has partnered with 60+ shipping lines to enable exporters and importers to track containers across multiple carriers seamlessly from a single platform. The service will offer a unified and real-time view of all shipments, including transshipment carrier tracking for advanced supply chain planning and eliminating manual tracking. Besides, the platform will capture several data points such as shipment departure, arrival time, and ports visited.
The digital freight forwarder aims to bring transparency and visibility in the shipping and logistics sector, modernize the operations across the supply chain and contribute to the government’s Ease of Doing Business in India.