Meeting data demand as well as leveraging facts to meet real life challenges remains the goal as companies look at ways to use the deluge of information that is coming their way.
A review of Traxens technology published in Shipping and Freight Resource recognizes the value of IoT, as explained in a report on the technology by the financial advisory company Deloitte, while also acknowledging that companies need to develop strategies for mining the data for the significant information and then putting that to good use.
Container tracking devices, already prevalent in the perishable goods market with temperature-controlled boxes, are now expected to be fitted to dry containers with some 25% of all boxes sporting tracking devices by 2026, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants.
In highlighting the ongoing spread of tracking devices, the Shipping and Freight Resource.com (SFR) review puts the focus on the rapidly changing nature, effectively the digitalization, of supply chains currently being experienced.
All supply chains, whether on land, sea or air, or some combination of the three, are undergoing these rapid changes with the efficiencies that digitalization can bring at least in part offering an offset for the increasing cost of transportation.
One of the major costs is the $50m lost annually in containers as well as the mounting costs incurred as a result of the green transition; notwithstanding the constant supply and demand fluctuations that affect logistics costs in the normal run of things.
The SFR review highlights Traxens-Box 3, a permanent tracking solution fixed to the inside of a container, and Traxens-Box Easy which is a temporary solution fixed to the exterior of a container door.
Both of these systems are allied to Traxens Control Tower software which analyses the data. Data analysis of information sent by trackers on each container is critical for a rapid response to the needs of the customer, making the data analysis as crucial to the outcome as collecting the data in the first place.
Graphs, maps and other data in easy-to-read formats allow for more accurate analysis of information such as dwell times transit times and any deviations from planned routes, with maps to help the user place container positions.
Already the top three container shipping lines, MSC, Maersk and CMA CGM, have recognised the shift to digitalization, with the three carriers being shareholders in Traxens. However, other lines are also becoming wise to the shift with Hapag-Lloyd and Ocean Network Express both recently announcing that they will fit tracking devices to dry containers.
Advanced technology will play an increasingly vital role in the security, efficiency of cargo movements as well as offering greater insights into the operability of future supply chains. It is without doubt that these devices along with data analysis tools will evolve in the future and will be a critical element in the supply chain infrastructure in its own right.
