Third party logistics provider (3PL) Dupré Logistics LLC is using the FourKites Inc. real-time tracking platform as part of a modernization initiative to increase supply chain visibility, the companies said Tuesday.

Lafayette, La.-based Dupré Logistics adopted FourKites three months ago as part of its effort to improve visibility over the transportation and logistics services it provides to customers in the energy transportation, dedicated contract carriage, logistics, and freight brokerage sectors.

Dupré's goal is to cut back on the delays, missed appointments, and extra phone calls to customers and carriers that cost time and money, the company said in a statement.

FourKites can provide that service by outfitting trucks with GPS-enabled electronic logging devices (ELDs) and apps on individual owner-operators' smartphones, which can bypass existing supply chain visibility standards that rely on phone calls and electronic data interchange (EDI), the Chicago-based company said. The result is real-time tracking across transportation modes and digital platforms, allowing the shipper, the broker, and the carrier to share the same, real-time truck location and shipment status information.

"Everyone here has accurate tracking information and digital logs, so there's no calling the drivers and distracting them with ETA requests, and we can use FourKites delay notifications to quickly correct and minimize exceptions," Dupré's vice president of SCS, Mike Weindel, said in a release. "We're also able to build better carrier relationships by getting billed, settled, and paying them faster than before, without the extra cost of third-party factoring."