Ryder System Inc. has launched a supply chain software platform it said would provide customers with one point of real-time visibility and event management, even if the customer operates its own transportation management system (TMS) and utilizes multiple shipping modes.

The software, called "NaviShare," provides Ryder with a tool to address increasing shipper demand for supply chain visibility and optimization. It will be rolled out in three phases over the next 18 months, Miami-based Ryder said yesterday. Phase one will provide real-time visibility for truckload customers in Ryder's supply chain and dedicated contract carriage businesses. The software is available for loads originating in the U.S. and Canada. It will be expanded in the third quarter to support loads originating in Mexico, Ryder said.

Phase two will expand the software to Ryder's intermodal, less-than-truckload (LTL), and parcel customers, as well as its vehicle-leasing customers. The third phase will incorporate advanced planning and analytics features to enable freight capacity sharing, as well more effective shipment management through predictive alerts for weather and traffic delays, Ryder said. All three phases should be operational during 2018, according to Gary R. Allen, Ryder's vice president of supply chain excellence.

The software is system-agnostic, meaning it will run in conjunction with a customer's TMS, Allen said. Ryder's five largest "dedicated customers"—businesses that commit to using Ryder drivers and vehicles for a contractually specified level of service—are currently using NaviShare, with the 20 next-largest customers expected to join by the end of the year. The 250 largest truckload carriers in Ryder's Transportation Management program are enrolled, with that number expected to increase to 350 by the end of May, Allen said.

The visibility component of the platform was developed in partnership with Chicago-based shipment-tracking technology firm FourKites, Inc. The platform itself was designed along with a managed-services provider that Allen declined to identify.

NaviShare provides real-time information of load status, tracking status, carriers, shippers, customers, origins, and destinations. A user, which can be a shipper, carrier, driver, or dispatcher, can toggle among multiple features for each load, including stops, maps, updates, and messages. If there is a shipment delay, NaviShare alerts the shipper and recipient, and provides the shipper with a list of re-routing options. The software application also has the capability to track shipments at the SKU/part level, and to monitor the load's condition, Ryder said. In conducting a year's worth of research, Ryder said it found potential users were drawn to the platform's ability to integrate data from 3PLs, carriers, brokers, and private fleets into a centralized visibility and decision tool. The typical Ryder customer is a large business with a complex network supported by disparate systems and carriers, Allen said. For them, the ability to integrate multiple data points into a single point of use will add tremendous value, he predicted.