project44 Brings Global Supply Chains Real-time Transportation Visibility To intra-China Road Movements

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As the number-one exporter and the number-two importer of goods globally, China is a crucial link in global supply chains. Tracking goods originating in China is essential to well-run global supply chains, as the pandemic-related supply shortages and demand spikes have painfully demonstrated. Until recently, supply chain managers were blind to tracking truck shipments in China’s interior. But thanks to the wide-spread adoption of telematics by Chinese truckers, project44 will begin providing real-time visibility into truck movements in China.

China’s Important Role in World Trade

China exported $2.591 trillion worth of goods worldwide in 2020 with 17.5 percent of those exports going to the United States. China imported 2.055 trillion worth of goods, placing it second to the United States on imports. 

With 90 percent of China’s market composed of independent truckers, China’s road freight transportation is considered to be the largest in the world. However, despite China’s leading role as an origin and destination for freight in world trade, global supply chain operations have not had wide-spread domestic shipment visibility. 

Sizable Adoption of Telematics in China’s Trucking Sector

Chinese trucking fleets began deploying telematics devices in 2012 when the Chinese government required their use on commercial vehicles. Today every truck in China over 12 tons is required to have a global positioning system (GPS) device.

Since a sizable number of Chinese trucking companies have deployed telematics, it’s now feasible to connect those carriers to project44’s visibility platform and provide real-time, over-the-road shipment tracking services in China. project44’s expansion now allows companies operating supply chains in China upstream visibility, connecting origin truck lanes to port gateways.

Excitement for Intra-China Road Visibility

Supply chain executives at leading companies are excited about the prospect of having real-time visibility into truck movements within China’s borders. Gaining better visibility of both domestic and inbound flows going into our Asian manufacturing plants, especially China, could be quite beneficial for us,” says Dror Noach, vice president of Global Logistics, CNH Industrial. We believe project44’s efforts to expand coverage in this region can help us improve assurance of supply and increase our efficiency.”

Renée Ure, Lenovo’s chief operating officer for its Infrastructure Solutions Group, adds: It’s critical to understand when materials are arriving from our suppliers to our factories across the world. project44’s expansion into the Asia Pacific region will give us further end-to-end visibility into our global supply chain to help us deliver on our promises to our customers.”

Research firm Gartner says that there’s been a dramatic increase in interest in having real-time transportation visibility in the Asia Pacific region of the world. The sheer size of the Asia Pacific region combined with the diverse cultures spread across it creates unique challenges for transportation,” said Bart A. De Muynck, research vice president, transportation technology at Gartner. Organizations that operate complex global supply chains often favor visibility solutions that can be implemented and utilized worldwide.”

project44’s expansion in China matches customer needs

project44’s addition of intra-China truck shipments to its real-time visibility platform will enable global supply chains more resiliency and agility. At project44, we want to be wherever our customers need us, which means being connected to carriers all over the globe,” said Jett McCandless, CEO and founder of project44. For the first time ever, shippers can have a truly global view of their supply chain network in a single platform.”