Microsoft and FedEx announce supply chain logistics collaboration

Microsoft and FedEx have announced they are teaming up with a new multi-year collaboration, and it starts with a joint offering that is based on Azure, Dynamics 365, and FedEx IoT technology.

The solution, FedEx Surround, provides "near real-time analytics into shipment tracking" with fine-grained location data to improve logistics and inventory management. The product is expected to start rolling out to customers "in the months ahead", with more information on availability beginning this summer.

FedEx Surround will collect multiple data points gathered through the enhanced scanning and proprietary IoT technology of FedEx and analyzes them using Microsoft’s suite of AI, machine learning and analytics solutions. Organizations using FedEx Surround will track package location in combination with other data on global commerce conditions, weather and natural disaster data, mechanical delays, clearance issues, and incorrect addresses. It will also analyze past trends to identify future opportunities for streamlined shipping of new packages.

In a short video conversation between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and FedEx chairman and CEO Frederick W. Smith, Smith explained some of the FedEx expertise that is going into the solution and the way organizations can use the solution: