Internet of Things provides more transparency in fleet management
At Hannover Messe April 23 to 27, Deutsche Telekom and SAP are showcasing an IoT solution for logistics that enables the monitoring of not only the positions of vehicle and trailer fleets worldwide, but also the movements and transport conditions of individual containers and packages of goods.
This IoT solution means that customers not only have access to information about the location and condition of their vehicles and goods, they can also integrate this information directly into SAP applications as well as into other SAP systems. As a result, supply chains and value creation networks can also be mapped across companies.
For this new IoT solution, SAP, Telekom and T-Systems have combined hardware, connectivity, security, monitoring and operational services into one package. As the data custodian, Deutsche Telekom collects the IoT data and integrates it securely into SAP applications such as SAP Vehicle Insights, SAP Global Track and Trace or SAP Connected Goods.
The Internet of Things provides more transparency in fleet management. The end-to-end transparency enables SAP users to coordinate fleet and freight movements, document the condition of goods and use live data to optimize the supply chain with partners, for example. All this is possible thanks to the compact IoT devices from Deutsche Telekom’s partner, Roambee. These determine their location via GPS, measure temperature and humidity, and even register and report vibrations.
The “BeeFleets” can be operated directly in vehicles as a tracking solution using the OBD II diagnostics interface. In this way, it is possible to identify vehicle locations, improve routes and optimize the fuel consumption of vehicle fleets, for example.
The Bees from Roambee are perfect for tracking and monitoring trailers and containers. These handy devices can be attached magnetically or included with deliveries.The Bee also acts as a gateway when used in conjunction with BeeBeacons. These are particularly small and compact and can therefore easily be attached to individual items such as barrels, packages or pallets.
The small IoT devices send their data to the Bee via Bluetooth Low Energy, enabling automatic creation of transport lists, documentation of loading and unloading procedures and optimization of internal storage, for example.
Car manufacturers, production operations, warehouses and suppliers use the new IoT solutions to map their logistics chains end to end and connect processes with the SAP system.
Depending on the number of devices, customers can hire the entire service for set monthly prices. For example, 500 BeeFleets cost €19.75 each. The same number of Bees will cost from €21.22 each, while customers can get BeeBeacons for €1.76 each when bought in volumes of 5,000 or more. The price for the BeeBeacons varies depending on the application, as they are fitted with sensors for either light or humidity and temperature.
SAP and Deutsche Telekom announced their IoT co-operation at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona at the end of February. The products they have now created using Roambee devices are the first fruits of this collaboration.
Deutsche Telekom, SAP showcase IoT solution
