The term “Internet of things” has been used in a lot of things, including in relation to freight connectivity. Thanks to the connected technology formed from a collaboration between Honeywell and Intel, a new solution is appearing. According to a report by Arabian Supply Chain, the Connected Freight solution is a way for companies to keep track of shipments with the goal of minimizing loss.
This solution was developed in collaboration with several third-party logistics companies. With Honeywell working alongside Intel, they developed a system for tracking shipments in real time, including location and condition of the package throughout transit.
Honeywell presented an animated demo of the solution.
The demonstration gave insight into how to trace damage a package may receive in transit. It can be especially useful for companies that ship a lot of sensitive or fragile cargo.
With the help of sensory tags attached to crates, Intel’s Iot Gateway technology keeps logistics managers up to date on the packages though an alert on the Honeywell dashboard when potential damage has occurred.
Before further damage is absorbed, alerts are sent to the logistics manager. The logistics manager can then alert the driver or crew to adjust the arrangement of crates/packages in the container in a way that buffers impacts.
With truck-based freight easier to track and manage against damage, it could result in less expense due to damaged goods.
The Connected Freight solution has a ready market awaiting implementation in the Middle East. This motivated Honeywell to tailor the solution to that area’s needs as explained by Edmond Mikhael, general manager for Honeywell SPS in Middle East, Turkey and Africa. He foresaw this solution as a way to “leverage technology and data to make supply chains more efficient.”
The cloud-based solution offered by the Honeywell-Intel collaboration will “allow shippers, logistics providers, retailers and others faced with a host of costly freight challenges,” according to Mikhael. This would improve a company’s risk management plan, ensuring customers can “anticipate and react immediately to incidents that occur during the shipment.”
Banking on the economic growth consistently seen in the area dubbed META (Middle East, Turkey and Africa), Honeywell has identified a market ready to embrace this cloud-based solution for better shipment tracking. Other risks covered by the solution include theft, delays and spoilage. This is critical solution to infuse into the shipping procedure when a company ships perishable goods and other items with short shelf life.
Other products seen to be benefiting from the Honeywell-Intel project are goods that needed to be in reefers like pharmaceuticals and health-care-related products that require “uninterrupted refrigeration.” High-value equipment would also benefit as it needs more buffering against shock or transport-related situations.
The partnership that Honeywell secured with Intel helped the latter find a way to pitch Intel’s software product to more freight-based companies. The Connected Services that Honeywell is known for melded well with Intel’s supply chain needs, according to Chet Hullum, general manager for Industrial Solutions at Intel. “Together we’ve customized Intel’s Connected Logistics Platform technology to deliver an IoT offering that solves real logistics problems,” he said.
The reliable supply network was the result of the data visibility and effective information collection from the Honeywell-Intel collaborative effort. It then led to getting into more collaborative efforts with third-party logistics companies like Expeditors, DHL and Kuehne + Nagel.
Kuehne + Nagel’s Chief Information Officer Martin Kolbe shared his company’s contribution to the Honeywell-Intel initiative. “We have used our competence as a global provider of logistics services and our expertise in supply chain management in order to co-develop this new technology,” he said.
Fewer or no breakages means fewer returns and replacements for products damaged in the middle of transit, which means fewer claims and more happy customers.