Google and J.B. Hunt Announce Strategic Alliance to Accelerate Innovation in Transportation and Logistics

By implementing Google Cloud solutions, including artificial intelligence and machine learning tools, J.B. Hunt is working to create the most efficient transportation network in North America

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Feb 17, 2021, 19:56 ET

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and LOWELL, Ark., Feb. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Google and J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., one of the largest transportation logistics companies in North America, today announced a multi-year strategic alliance to accelerate J.B. Hunt's digital transformation and collaborate on next-generation supply chain platform technology. Powered by Google Cloud's innovative cloud technologies, J.B. Hunt will expand its J.B. Hunt 360°^® platform that digitally connects shipments and available capacity, increasing efficiencies and enhancing visibility within the platform.

Real-time data is a cornerstone in the $1 trillion^¹ logistics industry, as customers have increased expectations for faster services and more transparency on their shipments. Today's carriers rely on a patchwork of IT systems across supply chain, capacity utilization, pricing, and transportation execution. J.B. Hunt's 360 platform aims to centralize data from across these different systems, helping reduce waste, friction and inefficiencies.

By leveraging Google's Data Cloud, J.B. Hunt 360 will better predict outcomes, empower users, and make informed decisions. Using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools from Google Cloud, J.B. Hunt will develop new services to digitally transform the shipping and logistics experience for shippers, carriers, and service providers.

Engineers and business leaders from both companies will focus on three transformational areas:

Open Cloud Capabilities to Create a Sophisticated Operating Model: As a part of its multicloud strategy, 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. Google Cloud's leading AI and ML tools, including Cloud AI Platform, AutoML and Recommendations AI, combined with J.B. Hunt's transportation expertise, will create enhanced levels of visibility into the supply chain.
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 reliable, repeatable, and extensible workflows. Now 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 an innovation 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. In addition, by leveraging Google's data analytics solutions such as BigQuery, J.B. Hunt can now create a secure, scalable, and cost-effective data warehouse to support the J.B. Hunt 360 marketplace.

"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. For more information, visit www.jbhunt.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which are based on information currently available. Such statements relate to J.B. Hunt's predictions concerning future events or operations and are within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. When J.B. Hunt uses words like "may," "will" "plan," "contemplate," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "continue," "expect," "project," "goals," "strategy," "future," "predict," "seek," "estimate," "likely," "could," "should," "would," and similar expressions, you should consider them as identifying forward-looking statements, although we may use other phrasing. J.B. Hunt's actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the ability to successfully develop the technology discussed, the adoption of the technology by customers and carriers, the availability and accuracy of data, and other factors such as those discussed in Item 1A of J.B. Hunt's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and J.B. Hunt's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2020. J.B. Hunt assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to the extent we become aware that it will not be achieved for any reason. This press release will be available immediately to interested parties on our website, www.jbhunt.com.

^¹ Kearney, (2020) "31st Annual State of Logistics Report"

SOURCE Google Cloud