AI is improving the use of data and changing how we work
Let’s face it, despite massive technology investments, supply chains are still stuck in manual coordination mode. Teams are juggling an average of five disconnected systems just to make decisions, and it takes four hours or more to assess disruptions. That means supply chain teams spend their days processing emails and reacting to surprises instead of driving real progress.
Working alongside our customers, we’ve seen firsthand how challenging it is to actually put supply chain data to work. While some organizations manage through significant investments in headcount and robust change management, that approach simply isn’t scalable for most. Thanks to incredible co-innovation with our Fortune 500 customers who’ve invited us to join them in that journey, we realized that a Digital Workforce could provide an answer to how AI can be harnessed in a practical way to meet real operational challenges.
With the launch of FourKites’ Digital Workforce, we’re finally bridging the analog-digital divide without needing to add more people, and ending the fragmentation that has kept supply chains reactive. By combining our Digital Workforce with our Intelligent Control Tower solutions, we’re putting supply chains in proactive mode by automating order and shipment exception handling, supplier document processing, customer service inquiries, and more.
You might wonder why we chose “digital workforce” when everyone’s talking about “AI agents.” The reality is that these AI systems do much more than act as chatbots or automation tools. They’re specialized digital colleagues who deeply understand your business and work alongside your existing teams, automatically resolving challenges such as detention issues and supplier delays. Just as they collaborate with humans, digital workers can additionally collaborate with each other to automate more complex workflows, share information and coordinate actions as situations evolve.
At its core, our Digital Workforce automates processes by introducing AI specialists who work right alongside your team. They plug into your existing workflow and communication channels, handling everything from document processing to customer service inquiries, 24/7, and are designed to work collaboratively with human supply chain professionals.
We’re starting with two key specialists:
Tracy, our track and trace specialist, monitors shipments around the clock, proactively investigates exceptions, coordinates with carriers, and automates shipment inquiries, keeping teams and customers aligned.
Sam, our supplier collaboration expert, brings suppliers online by automating document processing and shipment creation while pursuing any missing information needed to keep orders on track.
Here’s how they work together in the real world: Sam spots a critical order at risk because of missing shipping details. Right away, he reaches out to the supplier, asks for and receives their ASN, processes it, and creates the shipments. Tracy takes it from there, confirming pickup appointments and aligning delivery windows. At 4 AM, she catches a route deviation. She immediately contacts the driver and learns about a mechanical failure that’ll take 24 hours to fix. Within minutes, Tracy has updated the ETA and flagged the need for spot capacity — all while your human team sleeps!
By using FourKites to connect previously siloed data, these digital workers understand what new information means and take appropriate actions automatically. This frees your human team to focus on high-impact challenges, like sourcing that replacement tractor for the delayed load.
Digital Workers represent a fundamental shift in how supply chains operate. They combine human-like capabilities — collaborating with others, communicating through existing systems, following rules and guidelines, and learning — with unique digital advantages:
Digital Workers are eliminating the burdens of data silos and manual coordination that have long constrained supply chain teams and kept them reactive.
The impact? It’s both rapid and substantial. Just ask Shwetha Balagali, Senior Manager of Logistics North America at Unilever: “Co-innovating and implementing the digital worker, Tracy, has helped Unilever teams in the U.S. make our supply chain management more efficient. Within four weeks, we observed notable improvements to exception management and tracking quality.”
Other organizations are saving 2-3 hours per person daily on track and trace coordination, and their teams are happier, too — now they can focus on high-impact decisions and strategic initiatives.
The days of supply chain teams spending hours coordinating across disconnected systems are ending. FourKites is just getting started on this journey: we’re expanding our Digital Workforce to include specialists for appointment management, detention and demurrage management, and other critical processes — each designed to reduce manual effort and ensure seamless coordination. As you consider what AI-augmented supply chain management means for your organization, here are four steps you can take today:
With digital workers supporting them, supply chain teams are realizing much greater efficiencies, and are able to focus on strategic forward-looking priorities. By taking these preparatory steps now, you can position your organization to fully capture the benefits of an augmented workforce where digital and human capabilities combine to achieve industry-leading performance.
Want to learn how to harness AI for supply chain orchestration?
