Smart and Secure Tradelanes put to test in Africa/U.K. trade
A joint effort by industry and governments to improve supply chain security and visibility has been put to the test in Africa, starting with a containerized shipments of chilled and frozen beef from Namibia to the United Kingdom.
The Smart and Secure Tradelanes (SST) program, founded in 2002, uses a system of automatic identification and data collection tools, such as radio frequency identification devices (RFID).
The SST program in Africa involves the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, the World Customs Organization, SIMTAG (50 percent funded by the European Union), South African Port Operations, the Namibian Port Authority, and MEATCO. SIMTAG is a group of companies that have come together to improve the efficiency and security of the intermodal supply chain and MEATCO is a supplier of additives for meat and fish products.
“The WCO’s keen interest in trade security and facilitation, and its active efforts to develop international security standards encouraged us to participate in the ‘SST for Africa’ project,” said Jouko Lempiainen, director of compliance and facilitation for the WCO, in a statement. “Our contribution will primarily focus on the provision of guidance and advice on the use of our international instruments and procedures.”
Within the “SST for Africa” project, refrigerated trucks and containers that transport beef from the interior of Namibia have been secured with active battery-powered RFID sensor bolt seals. The RFID sensor seals are supplied by Savi Technology and the single use e-seals are provided by EJ Brooks.
The tagged shipments are then tracked automatically by fixed and mobile handheld RFID readers at key inland and seaport checkpoints between Namibia and the Port of Tilbury in the United Kingdom. Additional tracking methods are used for the “last-mile” movement of these shipments into the interior of the United Kingdom, SST participants said.
Both SIMTAG and SST participants have designed open network platforms that can incorporate data from all types of software applications and tracking technologies, including barcodes, sensors, passive and active RFID and satellite tracking systems.
The SST for Africa project includes automated data feeds at key checkpoints involving two different routes, and when completed within another month, according participants, will have involved a total of about 50 “smart” container shipments. The two routes involve:
* Loading beef into refrigerated containers at Okahandja Plant in Namibia, and electronically sealing and transporting the containers by truck to the Port of Walvis Bay. Feeder vessels ship the containers to the Port of Cape Town where they are transshipped onto vessels bound for Tilbury Container Services terminal. In the U.K. terminal, the containers are opened and unloaded.
* Loading beef into refrigerated trucks at Windhoek Plant in Namibia, and sealing and transporting them to Table Bay Cold Storage where they are unsealed, unpacked and put into storage. When ready for shipment, the product is loaded into refrigerated containers, sealed and trucked to Cape Town where they are loaded onto ships bound for the Port of Tilbury.
The SST project in Africa is the fifth of its type. The program has been set up in more than 15 port operations throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. More than 2,000 containers equipped with active RFID sensor seals have been shipped under SST-related programs.
