Our data shows that OpenTrack ETAs are more accurate than those provided by one of the other data sources alone.
Our key principles:
- We standardize on berthing
Other ETAs are sometimes to anchorage, sometimes to berthing. This leads to confusion and operational mistakes. OpenTrack’s ETA is always to vessel berthing, giving you the clarity you need to operate a solid process and make confident decisions. - We get ETA from more data sources
Sometimes the Terminal provides the most accurate ETA, and sometimes it’s the ocean carrier. Sometimes it comes from a prediction based on the vessel’s GPS location. - We choose the best ETA
Over the years, we’ve worked with hundreds of operators and crunched a ton of data to create intelligent ETA selection strategies designed to produce the most accurate result and mimic the decisions a seasoned operator would make. And we’re constantly improving.
Your operations depend on accurately knowing when shipments will arrive. Inaccurate ETAs are costing your organization time and money. OpenTrack’s ETAs can help.
Comparing ETA accuracy by source
Let’s say you had a shipment going from Yantian to Long Beach. The vessel actually berthed on April 10 at 6:03am. That’s your ATA. Now let’s look at historical performance:
10 days before ATA:
- The Steamship Line was reporting an ETA of
April 5 at 4:30pm (5 days off) - OpenTrack was reporting an ETA of
April 10 at 5:30am (33 mins off)
5 days before ATA
- The Steamship Line was reporting an ETA of
April 6 at 8:30am (4 days off) - OpenTrack was reporting an ETA of
April 10 at 5:30am (33 mins off)
2 days before ATA
- The Steamship Line was reporting an ETA of
April 9 at 8:30pm (1 day off) - OpenTrack was reporting an ETA of
April 10 at 5:30am (33 mins off)
If you prefer tables, that looks something like this:
It’s not uncommon to see ETAs that are inaccurate by multiple days like this. Wouldn’t you rather have the most accurate ETA from day one?
And that’s just one example. On average, across all shipments we track, OpenTrack’s ETAs are more accurate than others every step of the way:
Our process to evaluate and improve ETA accuracy
We’re intense about measuring and improving our ETA accuracy. The result is that OpenTrack’s ETAs are better overall than any one source alone.
Here’s a window into how that process looks for us:
Every day thousands of vessels berth at their terminals of discharge, registering an actual time of arrival (ATA) in OpenTrack.
When that happens, we look back at what ETA we were reporting not only on the day of arrival, but on each day going backward in time.
Our goal is: On every single day leading up to arrival, we want to report an ETA that is as close as possible to the ultimate ATA.
Every time an ETA is predicted, whether by a data provider (Steamship Line, Terminal, AIS Provider), or by OpenTrack, we make a note of the prediction. That way we can compare the performance of each data provider on each day leading up to the ATA.
In order to improve, we regularly examine and eliminate cases where we’re most inaccurate. We also measure how we’re doing in total.
Why ETA accuracy matters
We know you know, but it never hurts to restate the importance of accurate ETAs.
Curious to learn more about how accurate ETAs can transform your operations? Book a demo with one of our experts.
