The 2023 edition of Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Real-Time Transportation Visibility Platforms has shown that project44 and FourKites remain top dogs in the sector. For project44, their placement in the quadrant was best for the third year running. The latest quadrant nonetheless indicates fellow-Chicago based outfit FourKites has narrowed the gap. Shippeo, big movers in last year's quadrant, also remain best of the rest in 2023.
The image below shows how Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Real-Time Transportation Visibility Platforms has evolved over the last three years.
As can be seen from a brief look at the charts, project44 and FourKites have been stated as the only leaders in the space for the last three years.
In 2021 and 2022, FourKites enjoyed the furthest placed position on the quadrant’s completeness of vision axis, narrowly eclipsing project44. However, one could argue that project44’s noticeable lead on the ability to execute axis made it the leading player.
Interestingly, the 2023 research shows a more marked change compared to what was found between 2021 and 2022.
The 2023 quadrant has project44 furthest up and along both the ability to execute and completeness of vision axes. However, the research also suggests FourKites has significantly narrowed the gap that had been present on the ability to execute axis in 2021 and 2022.
Elsewhere, Shippeo remain the closest challenger in the sector. The company has nonetheless dropped off over so slightly on both axes compared to 2022. Another key observation is the continued placement improvement of US-based Overhaul, who moved from Niche Player to Challenger in 2022, and has moved further along the completeness of vision axis since then.
Besides plotting the quadrant, Gartner’s research also lists the strengths and cautions associated with each player.
project44 was praised for its sales record, brand awareness, marketing, and the expansion of platform capabilities, modes and geographic presence.
In terms of cautions, Gartner cited “an increase of complaints and issues related to service and support from both implementation to live operations for project44 in 2022″. The research adds that project44 is yet to fully capitalize on the growing Asian markets, and that there were “customer challenges/issues surfaced related to carrier onboarding and data quality and consistency in 2022″.
FourKites were credited with being one of the largest RTTVP vendors in terms of revenue, and for having a product that provides all core and many extended capabilities within the platform. Another plus, according to Gartner, was FourKites’ launch of several new solutions for enhancing the platform based on customer feedback and prioritization.
When it comes cautions associated with FourKites, Gartner noted that “some FourKites customers report less-than-optimal experience related to service and support from deployment to live operation in 2022.” Gartner added that while “FourKites keeps expanding in several regions, the expansion and coverage in regions outside North America and Europe have been slower than some vendors in this Magic Quadrant”. The research giant also wrote that “although FourKites is still one of the largest vendors in terms of both revenue and number of customers, it showed slower 2022 growth in comparison to some vendors in this Magic Quadrant”.
Third-placed Shippeo received a good report card for its product and sales strategies, as well as customer experience. However, Gartner also listed cautions concerning a failure to take advantage of the Asian market, as well as limitations with growth and brand recognition.
