Vizion Launches Intermodal Rail Tracking Feature

Supply chain visibility solutions provider Vizion announced June 21 that it has launched its Intermodal Rail Tracking feature, “complementing the company’s existing ocean tracking capabilities, offering shippers, logistics service providers and other users seamless visibility as containers transition from maritime vessels to inland transportation.”

According to Vizion, the Intermodal Rail Tracking solution, which is available through the company’s Application Programming Interface (API), “streamlines the tracking process by eliminating the need for a lengthy Letter of Authorization process and separate transactions for ocean and rail tracking.” Instead, according to the company, users only need a single tracking request to capture location updates for any container across ocean and rail.

Vizion’s Intermodal Rail Tracking solution is made possible by direct connections with Class I railways Union Pacific (UP), BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern (NS), CN, and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC). By offering an instant-on source of truth for tracking containers as they traverse the continent by rail, this feature, Vizion says, “dramatically reduces the uncertainty that typically characterizes the transition from ocean to rail.”

The solution also includes critical inland events at railyards, including Last Free Date and Container Available for Pickup. These notifications, Vizion says, enable users to “avoid demurrage fees and rapidly determine when and where their containers can be retrieved.” This, the company adds, is especially crucial at major facilities like Chicago, Memphis and Dallas where free time typically includes fewer days than at maritime ports.

“End-to-end supply chain visibility is an elusive goal for all shippers and logistics service providers,” said Vizion Co-Founder and CEO Kyle Henderson. “With rail tracking now complementing our existing ocean tracking solution, Vizion users can draw closer to that goal in a way that is seamless and easy to integrate.”