Israeli company Windward, which uses its AI solutions to transform global maritime trade, launched its Ocean Freight Visibility solution on Tuesday.
Amid well-documented supply chain disruptions exacerbated by COVID-19 pandemic-related issues – ocean freight rates are up 1500% over the last two years and a mere 30%-40% of ocean freight has arrived on time – Windward’s new solution enables freight forwarders to improve efficiency and scalability with automated data collection and analysis, which provides real-time ETA (estimated time of arrival) predictions, disruption risk predictions, reasons for delays, and location-based data insights for containerized freight.
Windward’s Ocean Freight Visibility solution is currently being used by global freight giants DSV, Metro Shipping, and Cargo Amerford.
“The supply chain today is facing a combination of factors that have been long in the making: the rise of consumer demand, lagging infrastructure, labor shortages, and a constant eruption of local disruptions. Put these together and you have a butterfly effect,” said Ami Daniel, Co-Founder & CEO of Windward. “We don’t know when the supply chain crisis will end, yet creating solutions to help manage supply chain risk is critical.”
Freight forwarders can equip the solution into their freight operations, giving them the information necessary to respond to constantly changing conditions – be it shifting weather, workforce shortages, or port backlogs.
The solution includes daily alerts and insights via email and is available through API integration with existing transportation management systems or via a web application.
“Freight forwarders are the key to making the supply chain more efficient, but without the proper tools they are constantly reacting to evolving situations as opposed to initiating protective and proactive steps,” Danie explained.
Windward – which issued their IPO on the London Stock Exchange in December 2021 – leveraged 11 years of deep maritime expertise, military-grade insights, and Maritime AI to provide the most accurate ETA updates and predictions for their new AI solution.
“Windward is proud to bring our years of expertise in deep learning, Maritime AI, and big data to give freight forwarders real-time visibility and provide actionable insights for their shipments – helping them manage ocean freight in real-time,” Daniel declared.