FourKites unveils AI agents Tracy & Sam for efficiency boost

FourKites has unveiled Tracy and Sam, their first digital workers designed to revolutionise supply chain orchestration through AI agents capable of operating independently.

The firm has announced that its Digital Workforce aims to increase shipment handling capacity by 40% and can automate up to 80% of routine tasks. These AI agents are programmed to enhance collaboration and take autonomous action on specialised tasks, thereby allowing human workers to focus on more impactful matters.

This digital workforce initiative is integral to FourKites' Intelligent Control Tower, which also boasts a comprehensive network of real-time supply chain data and digital twins providing detailed insight into operations. By utilising real-time data, these AI agents can automate execution, with Tracy and Sam being the first entrants in this line of digital workers.

Shwetha Balagali, Senior Manager Logistics NA - Capabilities & Excellence at Unilever, reported, "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. Tracy provides useful information and streamlines processes for our teams by proactively identifying risks, coordinating with carriers, and taking immediate action. This allows our people to focus on strategic initiatives."

Tracy, specifically designed for Track and Trace functions within supply chains, automates repetitive tasks 24/7. This AI agent is said to surpass standard AI assistants or chatbots by providing expertise and context to complex workflows, traditionally requiring human judgment. Tracy can proactively contact carriers, ensure data accuracy across systems, and generate actionable reports, thereby improving business results over time.

Tracy's functionality includes automatic shipment updates, data verification for claims, and management of tracking inquiries, which has reportedly saved early users hours of manual coordination daily while reducing penalties and expedition costs.

Sam, the digital worker focused on Supplier Collaboration, processes documents such as purchase orders and invoices across a firm's supplier network, eliminating the need for IT changes or standardisation templates. This AI agent enhances instant supplier onboarding, reducing integration costs significantly, while maintaining visibility on inbound shipments.

"Today's launch of the FourKites Digital Workforce for supply chain orchestration represents a sea change in how software will serve the supply chain industry," stated Mathew Elenjickal, Founder and CEO of FourKites. "The era of humans managing software is coming to an end. Tracy and Sam are highly sophisticated digital workers who are trained on the world's best supply chain data to autonomously perform specialised supply chain workflows. They learn, they get smarter and they work together to manage the many routine-but-critical tasks that bog down our human workers."

These AI agents can be purchased individually or as part of FourKites' Intelligent Control Tower packages, which aim to assist organisations in achieving specific strategic goals. Supplier Connect AI, for instance, extracts and centralises data from supplier documents to preclude supply disruptions.

FourKites continues to expand beyond transportation visibility solutions to encompass a comprehensive supply chain solution. This includes order-level insights which aid in tracking from purchase to delivery, assisting teams in averting stockouts and reducing operational costs, thereby offering companies complete oversight and control of their supply chain operations.