Q&A: Jett McCandless, Founder and CEO, project44
Summary
Jeff Berman interviews Jett McCandless about project44’s recent performance and strategic direction. project44 reports that multi-year agreements now represent 73% of ARR, reflecting stronger market confidence and platform stickiness. McCandless outlines the company’s Decision Intelligence Platform — combining Intelligent TMS, visibility, yard management and last-mile — and explains how AI is embedded across three stages: support, augment (agents) and automate. He describes the platform in four layers: connect, transportation visibility, act and automate, noting rapid growth in agent and AI usage across customers. McCandless also discusses shipper concerns — faster disruptions, demand volatility, carrier rates and capacity — and the logistics impacts of the Iran conflict, including safety, regional operational continuity and increased blank sailings.
Key Points
- Multi-year contracts now account for 73% of ARR, signalling vendor selection confidence and greater customer commitment to platform suites.
- project44’s Decision Intelligence Platform bundles Intelligent TMS, visibility, yard management and last-mile to deliver clicks-not-code AI capabilities and faster time to value.
- AI adoption is framed in three stages: support (insights), augment (agents) and automate (human out-of-the-loop workflows) — project44 says parts of logistics are already fully automated.
- The platform architecture has four layers: connect (data fabric), transportation visibility, act (human or digital agents) and automate (decision automation).
- Usage metrics show agent and AI transactions growing much faster than shipment volume, indicating rising value created inside existing customers.
- Shippers’ top concerns: speed of disruptions, demand volatility driven by marketing/social spikes and weather, rising carrier rates and capacity constraints.
- Geopolitical events (e.g. Iran conflict) are producing blank sailings and operational disruptions; companies are prioritising personnel safety and regional redundancies.
Content summary
McCandless attributes the rise in multi-year ARR to clearer market leadership and the platform’s expanding functionality. Customers prefer longer-term deals when they trust a vendor and see integrated value beyond visibility.
He emphasises that customers want AI embedded into platforms rather than building bespoke AI stacks. project44’s Decision Intelligence Platform aims to predict outcomes and take action — moving from insight to autonomous decision-making where appropriate. The platform’s emphasis on APIs, agent connections to carriers, and high-fidelity data supports both visibility and action.
On customer concerns, McCandless points to faster-moving disruptions and changing demand patterns (amplified by social media and atypical weather) that require quicker, AI-enabled decisions. He also notes rising attention to carrier rates and capacity. Regarding the Iran conflict, project44 is seeing blank sailings and a focus on personnel safety and operational continuity in affected regions.
Context and relevance
This interview captures a broader industry shift: visibility providers are evolving into decision platforms that embed AI and automation. For TMS and visibility buyers, the message is clear — vendors that offer embedded, contextual AI and execution capabilities are becoming strategic partners, not just data suppliers. The discussion also highlights vendor consolidation trends, contract behaviours and the operational implications of geopolitical shocks, all vital for supply chain leaders planning resilience and tech roadmaps.
Author style
Punchy. This piece is an executive-level briefing: concise, direct and signals where the market is moving. If you care about technology-driven operational advantage, the details here matter — they indicate how visibility vendors are turning into active decision engines for supply chains.
Why should I read this?
Short version: if you look after logistics, procurement or supply-chain tech, this is the kind of CEO-level intel that saves you time. It explains why customers are signing longer contracts, how AI is shifting from dashboard insights to doing the work for you, and what to expect when geopolitical shocks hit lanes and schedules.
Source
Source: https://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/qa_jett_mccandless_founder_and_ceo_project44