Shippers increasingly want to know the real-time location and condition of their shipments. The post Keeping track appeared first on Aviation Business News.
Shippers increasingly want to know the real-time location and condition of their shipments. For Air Cargo Management, Emma Kelly finds out that the air cargo sector has responded with tracking tools to provide customers with peace of mind, while new technologies are being explored to provide even more insight.
Descartes has been providing air cargo tracking services for more than 30 years, with 100-plus air carriers and 1,000-plus freight forwarders and shippers using its solutions, according to Simon Gutschlag, vice president product management. Its latest solutions include its IoT Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) ULD tracking service, which is used by more than 30 customers including Cathay Pacific Cargo, Etihad Cargo and Delta Cargo; air cargo ground handling agents including dnata, Menzies Aviation and Swissport International; and ULD leasing and service providers Jettainer, InnoAviation and ACL Airshop.
The solution uses Bluetooth tags affixed to containers or pallets, with mobile applications and mesh networks to automate end-to-end tracking, explains Gutschlag. BLE is used as it is proven, cost-effective and approved for aircraft use. Gutschlag says: “Bluetooth tags affixed to ULD containers or pallets prior to loading communicate with readers in the Descartes IoT network to provide real-time location information, as well as shipment-level condition data – temperature, light, pressure, humidity and movement – and chain of custody detail that indicates whose custody assets are in at any given time.”
Descartes’ network provides coverage in more than 1,300 reader locations and 200 airports worldwide. Recent expansion has seen a 25 per cent increase in the number of active readers worldwide, while innovation has included solar-powered readers for outdoor ULD storage areas with no access to power; mobile readers which can be affixed to ground handling equipment for seven to eight days of tracking on a single charge via USB; and a new mobile app for anytime, anywhere access to data.
BlueBox Systems is addressing the fragmented nature of air cargo information with its BlueBoxAir solution. The software as a service (SaaS) solution collects a wide range of data relating to a customer’s air freight shipments and consolidates the information in a centralised data lake, explains chief executive Martin Schulze. He says: “By gathering and aggregating this data, we’re able to analyse and refine it for practical usage, ultimately deriving valuable insights at the business process level. These insights help us determine the status of the cargo, which we then present to our customers through our web portal or via an API.”
The company currently has more than 100 companies using the product, including Hellmann Worldwide Logistics and Waco Systems.
BlueBoxAir provides real-time tracking across more than 130 airlines and over 1,600 airports globally, as well as providing information on CO2 emissions for environmental responsibility, streamlining processes and real-time data.
Schulze says: “This allows us to support customers across the entire value chain, from raw data to meaningful information to actionable insights, simplifying and enhancing the accessibility of air freight visibility.
“Our solution is tailored for freight forwarders and cargo shippers/ owners. The core concept revolves around seamlessly gathering cargo data, meticulously purging unreliable information and presenting it through an exceptionally user-friendly interface.
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Lufthansa Cargo customers can access shipment info online. Credit: Lufthansa Cargo
“This empowers freight forwarders to effortlessly track their customers’ cargo, proactively notify them about any changes or delays, and deliver a customised tracking experience.”
Lufthansa Cargo customers can access shipment or flight status information online, with alerts and personalised notifications, via its eTracking tool. Customers can also use their own tracker devices, with a multitude of trackers approved, but they must notify the airline during the booking process and data transmission is suspended and disabled during flight. Since the pandemic, customers have increasingly used their own trackers for greater visibility, the airline says, providing information on temperature, vibration and humidity as well as location via radio frequencies.
A spokesperson at Lufthansa Cargo says: “The eTracking service enables us to offer customised services and transparent real-time updates, which is of utmost importance in today’s fast-paced environment.”
The tracking tool, which can be accessed via a web browser through Lufthansa Cargo’s website or via its mobile app, displays the milestones of the shipment according to the flight plan and handling times, with a message sent when a milestone is met.
Transportation and logistics provider DB Schenker offers different solutions to meet the needs and use cases of its customers. A DB Schenker spokesperson says: “We can offer a wide range of active – sending updates while in transit – and passive – data is uploaded when the transport is finished – shipment visibility solutions.”
DB Schenker says it has an increasing number of customers that want more visibility over their shipments, particularly in the healthcare, luxury goods, semi-conductors, electronics and aerospace sectors.
“Better estimated time of arrival predictions help our customers to plan inventories better,” explains a DB Schenker spokesperson. “Monitoring the condition of shipments enable us to mitigate issues as soon as they happen. The additional layer of transparency supports us to solve unforeseen problems 1 along the supply chain in the most efficient way. On top of that, active tracking in combination with alerting offers enhanced security for high-value shipments.”
DB Schenker developed its own platform to provide real-time visibility, partnering different suppliers on tracking devices to meet the different customer needs, with telemetry factors available including shock, vibration, light, humidity and temperature.
A DB Schenker spokesperson says: “We see interesting developments around BLE and cellular labels using networks like NB-IoT or CAT-M and we are of course looking to incorporate those technologies. One such solution is ultra-thin tracking labels which can be attached to containers, pallets or individual cartons and provide visibility and condition monitoring. In the meantime, cellular, RFID and NEC devices continue to provide long-lasting asset monitoring. It all depends on the use case of an individual customer and what fits best.”
UPS’s tracking options include UPS Flex Global View and UPS Supply Chain Symphony for real-time tracking and notification of problems, says Michael White, UPS Global Forwarding marketing manager. Data is automatically fed to the systems which are based on ‘near real-time’, with the target of providing customers visibility to a data update within five minutes.
“Understanding that each customer may have different data needs, UPS is constantly evaluating new data requests to make sure that the information customers receive is accurate, timely and reliable,” says White, pointing to UPS Healthcare Cold Chain Air/Ocean Freight customers who can track the temperature of their products constantly.
“Our customers don’t like surprises when it comes to their global supply chains. They want to always know the status of their shipments and be able to run reports that help them evaluate the performance of their supply chains. In addition, they want visibility platforms to proactively notify them when there is an exception. UPS visibility platforms do all this,” explains White, adding that UPS regularly adds new features and enhances data quality.
“Technologies around track and trace advance rapidly,” says a DB Schenker spokesperson. “We keep a close eye on the many different and exciting developments and stay in touch with the most innovative players in the market to test, research and co-develop devices.” One of the next steps could be tracking at piece level that does not require manual activation, but the production and certification of real-time devices needs to accelerate in order to support larger scale use.
Affordability and quality are key. A DB Schenker spokesperson says: “We look for affordable quality solutions that match the requirements of the industry and thereby supply greater service to our customers, without adding too many costs to the supply chain.”
DB Schenker says many of its customers are interested in additional use cases, including collecting data from the supply chain once a shipment is delivered. A DB Schenker spokesperson says: “That is why we are diving into exploring the potential of AI for our platform. Generating further insights and predictive elements could further enhance the efficiency of our network.”
Recent hardware developments at Descartes have included new stationary readers using alternate power sources such as solar and USB; mobile readers; BLE tags with longer readable ranges; and micro tags for individual shipment tracking. Software upgrades feature integration with Descartes Global Logistics Network applications to link ULD equipment moves with house bill and master bill data for real-time updates; and continued improvement of the user interface. In terms of network improvements, Descartes is doubling its sites and active reader numbers every 18 months; has expanded Asia-Pacific coverage; and uses third-party Bluetooth partners to supplement location data.
Descartes continually reviews new technology to improve its network and uses other IoT devices through partnerships. Gutschlag says: “Descartes has leveraged blockchain applications in the air cargo market in support of our customers, and the IoT ULD and shipment data is an additional data source for these blockchain services.” Another relatively new technology being tested is detailed positioning information using its reader density and trilateration.
For Lufthansa Cargo, the ongoing enhancement of tracking capabilities is an important part of the digitisation of the industry. A spokesperson for the airline says: “We are constantly striving to refine and enhance our service portfolio to meet the nuanced needs of our valued customers more accurately and effectively.”
Lufthansa Cargo measures the quality of its shipments according to the Cargo iQ industry standard to ensure efficient and smooth transportation and continues to invest in One Record technology to improve the flow of information. In conjunction with CHAMP Cargosystems, Lufthansa Cargo plans to implement a solution for tracking shipments based on One Record later this year. “Building on that, we will further enhance our tracking in the future by providing additional time stamps, as well as single piece information,” says an airline spokesperson.
BlueBox Systems is enhancing its solution with predictive features, advanced data analytics and customised reporting. “We are always looking into new technologies, especially in the area of AI,” Schulze says, with AI supporting detailed analysis of supply chains. But technology is not pursued for technology’s sake. As Schulze says: “We view technology mainly as an enabler for creating tangible value for our customers.”
This feature was first published in Air Cargo Management – November/December 2023. To read the magazine in full, click here.
The post Keeping track appeared first on Aviation Business News.