The Saudi Ports Authority has struck a strategic partnership agreement with Saudi Post to boost its best-in-class solutions and optimize service delivery in line with the objectives of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy.

The deal was signed by Dr. Majid Al Malik, Mawani’s VP for Shared Services and Digital Transformation, and Mr. Rakan Al-Daifallah, government sales general manager.

The collaboration between the public sector entities is set to deploy the latest technologies and modern capabilities in developing a high-performance and cost-efficient logistics sector in the Kingdom in support of national efforts that seek to enhance Saudi Arabia’s ranking in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index.

A key step towards bolstering digital government services, the partnership will see the nation’s trusted logistics provider manage Mawani’s postal needs through its Express Mail Service, a customized solution for the Kingdom’s government and non-government sectors that offers a reliable and low-cost distribution channel both locally and internationally.

Descartes Systems Group, the global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, announced that it has acquired the assets of Localz, a technology platform to help engage with customers on the day they’re having goods or services delivered.

The Localz platform combines real-time vehicle location tracking and communications to deliver safe, transparent, customer-centric SaaS solutions that transform the customer delivery experience. End customers can schedule services and deliveries through an online portal, and then follow the progress of their order in real-time with advanced notifications built in. Localz also helps retailers provide a premium, highly efficient “click-and-collect” solution that improves the in-store collection process.

“Descartes continues to invest in final-mile solutions to help our customers offer cost-efficient delivery services that transform the end customer experience,” said Ken Wood, EVP of Product Management at Descartes. “By combining with Localz, we’ve expanded our capabilities so our customers can further differentiate themselves in a highly-competitive final-mile delivery market where delivery excellence is a must-have.”

“A great delivery experience is essential and expected by customers,” said Edward J Ryan, Descartes’ CEO. “End customers demand visibility and choice. Localz has a highly complementary solution to Descartes that dramatically improves the scheduling and day-of-service customer experience. We’re thrilled to welcome the Localz employees, customers and partners into the Descartes family and we look forward bringing this new technology to our wider customer base.”

Localz is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. Descartes acquired the assets of Localz for approximately $US 6.2 million, satisfied from cash on hand.

WARP, a tech-powered freight network specializing in middle-mile solutions, announced DirecTrack, its new suite of tracking tools that enables shippers with the highest level of visibility of their freight at the truck, pallet, and parcel level including temperature monitoring.

GPS location via latitude and longitude has been table stakes in last-mile logistics for several years now. But freight has been far behind. Typically a shipper only receives updates about the whereabouts of their shipment when it leaves a facility and when it arrives (static events). WARP is bringing real time location updates to the movement of goods throughout the shipment’s entire journey as part of their fully managed solution. What makes WARP’s DirecTrack suite unique is the interconnected nature of our platforms. Shippers using WARP receive this information at no additional cost as part of the WARP platform.

Real Time Temperature Monitoring

Using a small tag that can be applied directly to a box or pallet within a shipment, real-time temperature monitoring of fresh freight is available directly in the WARP platform. Even if goods change trucks or carriers three different times during a shipment’s route, the same tag remains with the load throughout the entire journey giving shippers insight into temperature data from origin to destination. Users can receive notifications if a refrigerated or frozen product’s temperature is outside of the optimal temperature zone, allowing drivers to investigate issues as needed and alert customers of any issues in advance. In addition to safety and quality control, the data also helps shippers maintain an audit trail for compliance needs.

Cross Dock Tracking

All cross dock facilities that partner with WARP are provided with cross dock software available on both mobile and desktop devices accompanied by a zebra scanner & printer. Using the software and hardware provided, WARP is able to provide real-time updates as freight is scanned into the facility, loaded onto a truck, and when the freight exits the facility for its destination. All status events are available in WARP’s platform, eliminating the need for time-consuming phone calls and emails to get an update on where freight is in the shipping process.

Driver App

WARP’s driver app provides shippers with the exact location of where their load is along the expected route. Statistics including how long a driver took to complete a route, delays, and expected delivery time based on location. In addition to the statistics, shippers are also able to view status event timestamps of when a driver is en route, arrives, and departs pickup and delivery locations. Shippers can also view BOL & PODs for shipments. This information helps shippers communicate better with their logistics team and equips them with a clearer picture of where their freight is.

Electronic Logging Device Integrations

Through an API integration with TruckerCloud, WARP has aggregated information from over the top 30 leading ELD platforms. With information from a carrier about what vehicle they are using in their fleet, WARP can provide shippers with driving activity such as engine hours, ignition status, GPS location, and miles driven.

Final Mile API Connections

Normally a freight provider’s services end when the shipment is injected into a last-mile carrier. WARP enables shippers with visibility on not only a pallet or truck-level, but now individual parcels as well, with select last-mile carriers. Status events include the first parcel scan as well as injection time. Shippers can now see how their middle mile injection times impact last mile performance from a given last mile sortation center. With this integration, shippers will have greater insight and control into their freight’s entire journey from warehouse to the end consumer.

“With WARP you’re not just getting the transportation service and technology. You’re also gaining access to our always-on team, the people making sure that everything runs smoothly behind the scenes,” said Daniel Sokolovsky, WARP co-founder and CEO. “Unless you’re shipping your goods through Amazon, this level of customer service and visibility for the middle-mile doesn’t exist. We are pioneering a new generation of transport tech that we want to be available to every shipper out there.”

As an end-to-end solution for shippers, WARP handles all the communication throughout the shipping process. Customers not only receive transportation as a service but all of the technology integrations as part of their partnership agreement.