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Renault Group Acquires a Supply Chain Control Tower to Manage Transportation in Europe and Beyond
In 2020, Renault teamed up with Shippeo, a provider of software for multimodal transportation visibility, along with Google’s artificial intelligence model, to create the first control tower for the automotive industry in Europe. The application employs AI modules fed by real-time traceability data from logistics providers and production stock, along with other sources of news. The resulting support tool gave operational teams end-to-end coverage of operations on a global basis.
By the first half of 2021, 80 of Renault’s carriers had connected to Shippeo’s transportation visibility platform. The first version of the control tower for inbound deliveries went live in October of 2022, covering parts transportation by truck throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Outbound carriers were added shortly thereafter. As of January 2023, Renault had also integrated the tracking of 100% of its maritime transport services.
The control tower allows for a real-time link between parts transportation and vehicle production. Drawing on AI and machine learning from Google, the system calculates accurate estimated times of arrival, accounting for variables such as weather, strikes, border-crossing delays and traffic levels. The analysis helps it to detect potential disruptions early on, sharpening Renault’s crisis-management strategies and making possible mitigating efforts such as truck rerouting and acceleration, and transshipment of critical parts.
According to the automaker, the Shippeo application has led to “remarkable enhancements” in service levels for the transportation of parts from suppliers to the plants, while also improving safety and fostering global collaboration with supply chain partners. Tracking accuracy is based on a detailed analysis of GPS data, and weekly animation of the automaker’s 10 major carriers in the European region. At the factory, the tool has taken 15 minutes out of an average waiting time of 90 minutes for trucks, Renault added.
Shippeo Announces Record $40m Funding Round to Accelerate Global Supply Chain Resilience
All existing investors took part in the new round, including Battery Ventures, Partech, NGP Capital, ETF Partners, Bpifrance Digital Venture and SAP.io, alongside new strategic investors Hong Kong-based LFX Venture Partners and Japan-based Yamaha Motor Ventures, whose investment will help to ramp up operations across Asia-Pacific.
The investments will support Shippeo’s mission to help shippers and carriers run more collaborative, automated, sustainable, profitable, and customer-centric supply chains, leveraging global partner networks, real-time data and AI to enable greater ecosystem collaboration. Regarded by many companies as the heart of their operations, supply chains can now benefit from highly accurate, real-time operational visibility and perfect workflow orchestration, which have become crucial for overcoming the unprecedented challenges, uncertainty, and financial fallout from disruption that organizations continue to face.