How FourKites Helped A MAJOR 3PL Enhance Customer Service

Technology Category

Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Connectivity Platforms
Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
Sensors - GPS

Applicable Industries

Oil & Gas
Transportation

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation
Business Operation

Use Cases

Track & Trace of Assets
Fleet Management
Supply Chain Visibility

Services

System Integration
Training

The Challenge

A global 3PL with multi-billion dollar annual revenues wanted to better manage its customers’ freight and differentiate its offering from the competition. Because this 3PL worked with a large number of major national shippers, better visibility into each load meant that the 3PL could manage a larger volume of customer loads with more efficiency, leading to higher customer satisfaction, delivered with greater efficiency. The 3PL's main challenge was improving visibility across operations within the oil and gas industry. Because it worked with a mix of large national carriers and small local carriers in that industry, achieving a unified visibility solution across all carriers was a difficult proposition. To help solve this challenge, the company brought in FourKites.

About The Customer

The customer in this case study is a global third-party logistics (3PL) provider with multi-billion dollar annual revenues. This 3PL works with a large number of major national shippers, managing a significant volume of customer loads. The company operates within the oil and gas industry, dealing with a mix of large national carriers and small local carriers. The 3PL aims to enhance its customer service and differentiate its offerings from competitors by improving visibility and efficiency in managing freight. The company sought a solution that could provide a unified visibility platform across all carriers, thereby increasing customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

The Solution

FourKites began by implementing an integration with the 3PL's existing Transportation Management System (TMS), seamlessly unifying the company's data into a single, intuitive interface. As FourKites worked to bring the 3PL's customers onto the platform, it leveraged its strong relationships with local and national carriers to get those customers’ carrier networks online and tracking as quickly as possible. To ensure that the 3PL's teams could operate the platform autonomously with minimal need for assistance from FourKites, key 3PL personnel were trained as superusers, and taught to take advantage of FourKites' many tools and capabilities. This comprehensive approach ensured that the 3PL could manage its operations more efficiently and effectively, leading to improved customer satisfaction and operational performance.

Operational Impact

The 3PL has used its partnership with FourKites to differentiate its offering to major shippers, attracting large new customers and securing larger volumes from its existing customers.
Its track-and-trace teams take advantage of FourKites' direct integrations with every major transportation management system to keep eyes on their assigned shipments without having to leave their TMS environment.
This reduced strain on track and trace personnel enabled the 3PL to re-prioritize resources that were previously being devoted to check calls and manual track-and-trace procedures.