Barilla, the global leader in pasta manufacturing, announced today its successful attainment of 80% visibility throughout the entire life cycle of ocean and road shipments, thanks to the cutting-edge supply chain visibility solutions provided by FourKites®. The end-to-end transparency facilitated by FourKites empowers Barilla to track the precise location of its goods at any point in the supply chain, along with accurate predictions of their arrival at the final destination. In the midst of challenges such as military conflicts in the Red Sea, disruptive weather events, and supply shortages, this comprehensive visibility plays a crucial role in Barilla’s efforts to establish a resilient supply chain. This resilience ensures that products reach customers in the most efficient manner, accompanied by top-notch service, even under challenging circumstances.
Barilla, a world leader in pasta production, manages a sophisticated logistics network encompassing 30 production sites, evenly distributed with 15 in Italy and 15 abroad. The company orchestrates the movement of over 2,000 loads weekly from Italy to more than 120 countries through a combination of over-the-road (OTR) and ocean shipments.
Equipped with FourKites’ AI-enabled predictive estimated times of arrival (ETAs), Barilla empowers its customers to plan operations confidently around scheduled deliveries. Not only do these ETAs receive real-time updates during transit, but FourKites also identifies and rectifies incorrect planned transit times, ensuring shipments commence and adhere to their schedules.
Davide Busato, Logistic Competence Center Innovation Project Manager at Barilla, attests to the transformative impact of FourKites, stating, “Before incorporating FourKites’ platform, our ability to address issues was reactive, often when it was too late. Now, we proactively tackle potential problems before they escalate, saving time, reducing transportation costs, and minimizing fines. This proactive approach significantly enhances our relationships with carriers and customers.”
Recognizing the significance of ocean shipments, constituting approximately 10% of its market, Barilla initially engaged with FourKites for OTR visibility and later expanded coverage to encompass all ocean shipments. Busato elaborates, “FourKites’ ocean visibility was an obvious addition, liberating us from the time-consuming manual checks with carriers. We can now allocate our resources more efficiently, leveraging FourKites data to enhance customer satisfaction.”
Amid global supply chain challenges like conflicts in the Red Sea and drought in the Panama Canal, Barilla relies on FourKites for precise insights. Marc Boileau, Senior Vice President FourKites EMEA, emphasizes the importance of accurate supply chain insights, stating, “We’re delighted Barilla uses FourKites to identify exceptions early, allowing them to take prompt action and prioritize tasks based on impact.”
Busato outlines Barilla’s goals for 2024 with FourKites, aiming to track 90% of shipments, reduce carrier penalties by 5%, and decrease inefficient communication with partners by 10-15%. Barilla is on track to achieve these metrics and continues to strengthen its partnership with FourKites.
FourKites has recently introduced enhancements to its Dynamic Ocean® platform, providing users with improved context, clarity, and control throughout every ocean shipment. These features empower FourKites users to navigate global disruptions, reduce costly fees, and surpass customer expectations.
About FourKites
Leading global supply chain visibility platform FourKites® extends visibility beyond transportation into yards, warehouses, stores and beyond. Tracking more than 3.2 million shipments daily across road, rail, ocean, air, parcel and last mile, and reaching over 200 countries and territories, FourKites combines real-time data and powerful machine learning to help companies digitise their end-to-end supply chains. More than 1,200 of the world’s most recognized brands — including 9 of the top-10 CPG and 18 of the top-20 food and beverage companies — trust FourKites to transform their business and create more agile, efficient and sustainable supply chains. To learn more, visit https://www.fourkites.com/.
About Barilla
The Barilla Group Barilla is a family business, not listed on the Stock Exchange, chaired by the brothers Guido, Luca and Paolo Barilla. It was founded by their great-grandfather Pietro Barilla, who opened a bakery in Parma in 1877. Today, Barilla is renowned in Italy and around the world for the excellence of its food products. With its brands – Barilla, Mulino Bianco, Pan di Stelle, Gran Cereale, Harrys, Pavesi, Wasa, Filiz, Yemina and Vesta, Misko, Voiello, Academia Barilla, First, Catelli, Lancia, Splendor, Tolerant, Pasta Evangelists and Back to Nature – it advocates tasty, hearty and wholesome nutrition, inspired by the Mediterranean Diet and the Italian lifestyle. When Pietro opened his shop 146 years ago, the main aim was to make good food. That principle has now become the Barilla way of doing business, with more than 8,700 people working for the company and a supply chain that shares its values and passion for quality. The Group’s commitment is to offer people the joy that good, well-made food can bring them, produced with selected ingredients from responsible supply chains, to contribute to a better present and future. Since 1987, a historical archive has been collecting and preserving the company’s 146-year history, now a resource open to all via the portal-museum www.archiviostoricobarilla.com, a testament to the journey of an icon among Made in Italy products and to the changes in Italian society. For further info, visit: www.barillagroup.com.