Schneider taps AI to give shippers real-time data on load arrival times

Dive Brief:

Schneider will use artificial intelligence (AI) technology and an application programming interface (API) to provide shippers with estimated load arrival times updated in real time, according to a press release. "Customers and drivers are in lock-step from the first mile to arrival," Schneider CIO Shaleen Devgun said in a statement.
The company piloted its technology, known as ETAi, earlier this year. "Our results showed a 39% improvement in our [estimated times of arrival] when ETAi was utilized," Brian Stuelpner, vice president of strategy, planning and architecture at Schneider, told Supply Chain Dive.
Schneider said 79% of its fleet currently uses ETAi. It expects deployment across the entire fleet by the end of the year and the tracking API will be available to all customers "over the course of the next year." There is no extra cost for shippers to have access to the ETAi data through the API, though shippers may face some integration cost, Stuelpner said.

Dive Insight:

No matter the freight mode, visibility and real-time tracking are among the top concerns for shippers. In ocean freight, shippers often lose visibility into their shipments during the docking and unloading process of the vessel. Rail shippers have lamented a lack of visibility from the Class I's, which some railroads are attempting to solve through precision scheduled railroading (PSR), although this model carries its own issues for shippers.

In trucking, a lack of visibility can result in delayed shipments and detentions for truckers, creating problems with hours of service (HOS) compliance. In a survey by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), drivers cited detention as the number one reason for running out of available driving hours. In addition, ATRI noted similar causes of delays in its 2014 survey compared to its 2018 one, indicating "shipping and receiving facilities have made little to no improvements to run more efficiently."

Schneider's technology and API seek to improve some of the longstanding issues with inefficiency in trucking and supply chains, which have particularly come into the spotlight with the mandate of electronic logging devices.

The technology also takes the onus off of truck drivers to update shippers or receiving facilities of their status. Schneider said ETAi creates automatic updates without driver intervention.

Armed with the knowledge of a shipment's status, shippers can plan better and adjust supply chains accordingly to maintain efficiency.