Fujitsu, Israel's Autofleet embark on global strategic cooperation

Fujitsu Ltd and Israel's Autofleet Ltd have agreed to embark on global strategic cooperation to develop sustainable logistics solutions and contribute to the resolution of issues including labor shortages in the logistics industry and environmental problems. To kick-start co-creation activities, Fujitsu has made a strategic investment in Autofleet through a corporate venture capital fund managed by its subsidiary Fujitsu Ventures Limited.

Logistics represents a critical element in the infrastructure of society, and enriches peoples’ lives by supporting economic development within a complex ecosystem. Changes in peoples’ lifestyles with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has upended existing consumer business models, highlighting the importance of logistics as demand for shipping and e-commerce services increase dramatically.

These trends have exposed fundamental weaknesses in the global supply chain, as the logistics industry confronts new challenges posed by labor shortages and environmental issues due to increased CO2 emissions. With this latest move, Fujitsu and Autofleet recognize the urgent need to develop more dynamic and resilient models for logistics to ultimately deliver more efficient and environmentally sustainable approaches.

By combining Autofleet's platform, with Fujitsu’s know-how in systems development and industry expertise in logistics, the two companies aim to leverage their joint activities to develop and bring to market sustainable global logistics solutions.

The two companies envision use cases including solutions for the dynamic allocation of trucks for last-mile transport for home delivery, where demand for logistics fluctuates widely, as well as vehicle matching (2) for emergency transport, the coordination of mixed vehicles transporting passengers, and freight with public transport. The companies will also explore the possibilities of route optimization solutions based on the location of charging points for electric vehicles, which are being introduced in the logistics industry with the aim of achieving decarbonization targets.