FourKites, a real-time supply chain visibility platform, has launched Slot Manager, its universal time slot booking solution, across Europe. The cloud-based solution aims to help warehouses, distribution centres and manufacturing facilities collaborate efficiently on pickup and receiving time slots, saving significant time and improving daily operations and partner relationships. The highly configurable solution is said to allow shippers and carriers to eliminate excess dwell time on site, eliminating detention fees and significantly reducing carbon emissions.
Slot Manager is claimed to improve facility productivity and reduce carrier wait time by more than 50.0%. By enabling shippers and carriers to collaborate in real time and allows carriers to self-book their preferred time slot based on real-time transit conditions, FourKites says it can eliminate hours of daily administrative work and error-prone manual processes.
Slot Manager is an extension of FourKites’ Appointment ManagerSM, launched over two years ago in North America. The solution is now also available in several new Asia-Pacific markets, including Australia, New Zealand, and India.
FourKites states Slot Manager offers the following benefits:
Labour optimization: Leveraging FourKites’ Dynamic ETA to provide the most accurate times of arrival, teams can better allocate labour and resources based on real-time data and shifts in expected arrival time.
Ease and compliance with carrier scheduling: Slot Manager creates a single appointment layer accessible to both shippers and carriers to streamline communication and facilitate collaboration. Slots are created by the facility to ensure adherence to preferred scheduling, business rules and specific commodity requirements.
True end-to-end visibility: Powered by real-time supply chain visibility data from FourKites, Slot Manager extends visibility even further into the facility via one streamlined interface. With FourKites, stakeholders receive a comprehensive end-to-end view of shipments from point of origin to predictive insights that help orchestrate activities in the facility.
Diminished carrier detention costs: With optimized scheduling, carrier dwell on site can be virtually eliminated, helping shippers avoid detention fees and fines for truck queues on public roads.
Reduced carbon emissions: Scheduling and operational efficiencies driven by Slot Manager reduce time carriers spend in the yard by up to 50.0%, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by an average of 54.0%.
Source: FourKites
