MANIFEST VEGAS 2024 — Flexport is using machine learning to plan container vessel movements more efficiently, resulting in shorter transit times and lower costs, CEO and Founder Ryan Petersen said Feb. 6 at the Manifest Vegas 2024 conference.
The CEO used an example of a container moving from Yantian port in Shenzhen, China, to Los Angeles. While a seemingly straightforward feat, Flexport has thousands of customers every week that postpone their cargo ready date due to production lags, delaying container movements.
Of all containers booked with ocean carriers, nearly a third are canceled, Petersen noted. “What do you do if 30% of containers that come from your customer get canceled — you’ve got to overbook your ship. It’s a vicious cycle.”
Petersen said that Flexport would have to cancel the container as a past strategy. With machine learning technology, the forwarder can plan movements more efficiently without overbooking or canceling.
The technology works by finding the sailing that best matches the “must arrive by” date for a customer and the cheapest possible price, Petersen said. “Now if the customer on [week] 28 cancels, I pull someone forward from week 29.”
The technology helped Flexport improve transit times by 20% and save on costs, according to Petersen who further noted that the forwarder “cancels much less than any other freight provider.”
Correction: The spelling of Ryan Petersen has been corrected.
