Project44 will extend freight visibility tool with ClearMetal acquisition
Purchase adds artificial intelligence and predictive analytics capabilities as market demands better shipment tracking accuracy, project44 says.
Supply chain data provider project44 has acquired ClearMetal, a provider of supply chain visibility and predictive analytics, saying the move places project44 “on the cutting edge of logistics AI.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
San Francisco-based ClearMetal says its artificial intelligence (AI) platform generate predictive supply chain visibility for manufacturers and retailers.
By adding that capability to project44’s global freight tracking network, the combination will “deliver more accurate, predictable ETAs and visibility into customer orders and inventory in transit,” project44 CEO Jett McCandless said in a release.
Those improved estimated time of arrival (ETA) calculations will be valuable for logistics providers at a time when global supply chains have seen unprecedented levels of disruption in the past 18 months, creating a need for advanced technology to accurately analyze and track orders and shipments across all modes of transportation, McCandless said.
Chicago-based project44 came in to the arrangement with a large bank account, thanks to a $100 million venture capital round it landed at the end of 2020. The company has also been busy building integrations with other supply chain data providers, recently joining a “Digital LTL Council” to support more efficient operations in the less-than-truckload (LTL) sector, providing data to the AI-powered planning and operations platform vendor o9 Solutions, and linking its real-time data network with transportation management system (TMS) vendor BluJay Solutions.
Project44’s most recent move in that area also involved ClearMetal, when the partners joined with a third logistics tech firm, Shippeo, in expanding their relationships with German enterprise resource planning (ERP) software vendor SAP AG’s “Logistics Business Network.”
“Now, joined with project44, there’s zero no question this is the industry’s #1 platform and our combined team, capabilities, and execution deliver remarkable digital transformation for supply chains and the people who rely on them,” Adam Compain, founder and CEO of ClearMetal, said in a release. “We’re delighted to be part of the project44 team.”