Shipment visibility platform provider FourKites today said it has joined the Scheduling Standards Consortium (SSC), a group of supply chain firms forging solutions to challenges in freight scheduling.
The SSC in 2023 published an industry standard for shipment appointment scheduling, creating an application programming interface (API) for transportation management system (TMS) developers. According to the SSC, that move gives shippers, carriers, and brokers a common language for handling scheduling workflows, allowing them to become more efficient, reduce empty miles and waste, lower costs, and improve service.
Chicago-based FourKites joins other organizations involved with the SSC, including trucking companies, third-party logistics services providers (3PLs), and logistics and supply chain technology providers. Those members include: Arrive Logistics, BlueYonder, Coyote Logistics, DHL, e2open, Echo, J.B. Hunt Transport, Lineage, Mastery, One Network Enterprises, Oracle, Ryder, TI NTG, Uber Freight, Werner and Worldwide Express.
The SSC says its main objectives are to define the API standard for sharing scheduling information, eliminate manual processes by automating interactions where possible, implement standardized interfaces and integrations across core platforms, and advocate the standard across the industry.
“We’re thrilled to participate in this consortium of industry heavy-hitters,” Mathew Elenjickal, founder and CEO of FourKites, said in a release. “A single API between our Appointment Manager solution and our shippers’ carrier networks will create a frictionless operating environment for everyone involved, and will make FourKites customers Shippers of Choice, with lower cost to serve and a reliable, reputable integration.”
