Google and J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., a North American transportation and logistics company, has announced a multi-year strategic alliance to accelerate J.B. Hunt's digital transformation and collaborate on supply chain platform technology. Powered by Google Cloud, J.B. Hunt will expand its J.B. Hunt 360° platform that digitally connects shipments and available capacity. By leveraging Google's Data Cloud, J.B. Hunt 360 will use artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to predict outcomes, empower users and make informed decisions.
Engineers and business leaders from both companies will focus on three areas:
- Open Cloud Capabilities to Create a Sophisticated Operating Model: The J.B. Hunt 360 platform will tap into Google Cloud's commitment to an Open Cloud and adopt Google Cloud's Anthos to provide a consistent development and operations experience across cloud environments.
- Data Science to Drive Efficiency: J.B. Hunt will leverage Google Cloud's Data Cloud, including data analytics and AI and ML capabilities, to build repeatable and extensible workflows. J.B. Hunt will be able to quickly produce ML models and break down data silos to optimize solutions in real-time and offer predictive analytics for shippers, carriers and other service providers.
- Co-Innovation to Drive Future Solutions: Google and J.B. Hunt are creating a framework and roadmap that brings together each company's engineering talents to create entirely new solutions that will be rolled out over time, including real-time visibility and predictive modeling. By leveraging Google's data analytics solutions such as BigQuery, J.B. Hunt can now create a secure and scalable data warehouse.
"Joining forces with Google was a natural fit, considering both companies' histories of trailblazing and industry disruption," said John Roberts, president and CEO of J.B. Hunt. "Powering J.B. Hunt 360 on Google Cloud will help drive us forward in our mission to create the most efficient transportation network in North America. This alliance is groundbreaking in our industry and we expect it will produce innovative solutions meeting transportation and logistics needs. This is an exciting time for our organization and those we serve, as we launch this initiative alongside Google.”
"The transportation and logistics industry is fundamental to the health and security of the global economy," said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. "Our partnership with J.B. Hunt creates a unique opportunity to transform the shipping and logistics experience through the use of AI, ML, and other technologies to help businesses—and the logistics industry as a whole—innovate for the future.”
About Google Cloud
Google Cloud provides organizations with leading infrastructure, platform capabilities and industry solutions, along with expertise, to reinvent their business with data-powered innovation on modern computing infrastructure. We deliver enterprise-grade cloud solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology to help companies operate more efficiently, modernize for growth and innovate for the future. Customers in more than 150 countries turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to solve their most critical business problems.
About J.B. Hunt
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., an S&P 500 company, provides innovative supply chain solutions for a variety of customers throughout North America. Utilizing an integrated, multimodal approach, the company applies technology-driven methods to create the best solution for each customer, adding efficiency, flexibility, and value to their operations. J.B. Hunt services include intermodal, dedicated, refrigerated, truckload, less-than-truckload, flatbed, single source, final mile, and more. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. stock trades on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol JBHT and is a component of the Dow Jones Transportation Average. J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of JBHT.
