Third party visibility market heats up

MacroPoint announced its partnership with API provider Banyan, while FourKites unveiled its enhanced integration with supply chain software provider JDA.    Two more examples of the fiercely competitive market for domestic transportation visibility have emerged this week.
   On Tuesday, MacroPoint said it has established a partnership with Banyan Technology, a Cleveland-based developer of less-than-truckload (LTL) application programming interfaces (APIs).
   The partnership integrates Banyan’s connections with LTL carriers to MacroPoint’s platform, which provides real-time visibility into load status.
   “The increasing expectation for full visibility of freight, and consequently the use of direct links with carriers, is rapidly shifting to replace batch processing methods like EDI as the industry standard communication method,” said Dave Halsema, executive vice president at MacroPoint.
   MacroPoint’s cloud-based solution provides load monitoring and tracking software by aggregating the location information from driver cell phones, in-cab electronic logging devices, GPS devices, or trailer and container tracking systems to provide real-time load location visibility to third parties.
   MacroPoint has an existing partnership with transportation and logistics API platform provider project44, which integrated MacroPoint’s load status data into its visibility solution for shippers, 3PLs, and freight brokerages.
   According to its website, Banyan has an existing partnership with MacroPoint rival 10-4 Systems.
   Meanwhile, another provider in the third party visibility space, FourKites, said this week it has enhanced an existing integration with supply chain technology provider JDA Software’s transportation management system.
   FourKites will now offer JDA users access to LTL visibility via a partnership with SMC3 and trucking and mapping tools from a separate partnership with HERE Maps, as well as third party status on rail and parcel.
   FourKites also indicated it will integrate visibility across truckload, LTL, rail, parcel and ocean for JDA users in the third quarter of 2017.
   “With numerous JDA Transportation Management integrated customers, we have listened carefully to their needs and worked closely with the JDA team to deploy immediate omni-modal functionality without any custom integration work,” said Craig Fiander, senior vice president of global business development at FourKites.
   FourKites is one of a number of third party systems to partner with JDA over the last 18 months as JDA builds a growing ecosystem of visibility providers to supplement its robust transportation, warehouse, and inventory management solutions.
   More broadly, backbone software providers and 3PLs offering technology solutions have become much more amenable to the concept of partner ecosystems and strategic partnerships to build a network of users and capability.