FourKites has enhanced its automated Appointment Manager solution, a no-touch scheduling tool for warehouses, plants and distribution centers. With these enhancements, shippers can specify the desired delivery date for both full truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments, and Appointment Manager will automatically select optimal appointment times, securely share appointment data across partner networks, and allow teams to proactively reschedule appointments based on FourKites’ predictive ETAs.
The updates to Appointment Manager include:
AutoBooker, a new feature that integrates with users’ load planning platforms to intelligently select the best appointment time based on the planned delivery date, enabling completely automated scheduling and carrier notifications based on real-time data. AutoBooker is highly configurable to shippers’ business rules, and accommodates the creation of calendars by commodity, carrier and more.
LTL Scheduling. Appointment Manager now allows the scheduling of LTL shipments, including the ability to split appointment times into smaller blocks to accommodate shorter unloading times, schedule appointment slots with shipments spread among multiple trailers, and schedule outbound shipments with multiple order numbers in a single trailer.
Comprehensive Reporting. Shippers can now drill into granular details regarding carrier appointment compliance, facility metrics, capacity utilization, arrival success and more to better inform carrier selection and drive continuous operational improvements.
