Heading For New Horizons
More than a third of all fresh produce around the world perishes before reaching the consumer. Distribution logistics is often to blame. With the aid of cargo monitoring solutions based on machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, container shipping lines and their customers can monitor transportation better and optimize it in the future.
Trade in perishables such as food or drugs is booming, as is evidenced by shipping volumes. In 2011 alone, about 91 million tonnes of perishable goods was shipped around the world. At the turn of the millennium the figure was 54.5 million tonnes. This increase is due—along with world population growth—to the rising purchasing power of the middle class in threshold countries. But not everything that is shipped reaches its destination. According to a study by the Jacobs University in Bremen, around 35 percent of all fresh produce worldwide has to be destroyed after shipping. Fresh produce is perishable and requires swift and effective transportation.
Shipping by sea is very inexpensive due to high loading capacities and is very popular in trading with perishable goods. Take poultry meat, for example, Seabury analysts anticipate average growth in container shipping volumes of 8 percent in the years ahead. Shipping lines may benefit from this burgeoning demand, but they must also do justice to the exacting requirements of delivery and cold chain management. Even slight temperature fluctuations inside a container can lead to food cargoes perishing prematurely.
Tracking and monitoring solutions improve distribution
That is why shipping lines and dealers in fresh produce have for years been on the lookout for a suitable solution. Tracking and monitoring solutions based on machine-to-machine (M2M) communication could be a way to keep an eye on cargoes on the high seas. By M2M, experts mean in this context automated transmission of GPS and sensor data to a server. The major advantage of M2M-based tracking and monitoring solutions is that they are simple, real time, and can be deployed rapidly.
There can be no doubt that M2M solutions will come into their own in the future. Market analysts at Machina Research, for example, expect the number of M2M connections around the world in transportation and logistics alone to increase from 15 million now to 80 million in 2022. What remains to be seen is who will use these solutions in the future. The first food producers and chemicals manufacturers are already equipping their containers with tracking and monitoring solutions, and the trend is set to increase. If shipping lines fail to act, their clients will in future monitor their containers themselves. Yet shipping lines could offer customers container tracking and monitoring as an additional service and thereby set themselves apart from the competition.
Monitoring solutions record other parameters in addition to location
Simple tracking solutions already help shipping lines to improve their distribution. Customers can use them to check compliance with shipping times agreed in service level agreements. A Deutsche Telekom monitoring solution goes a step further. In addition to the container’s position it records data such as temperature or humidity inside the container and transmits it automatically to a server.
Another advantage is that the solution can be used flexibly. It is normally designed to slot into the gap between the ceiling crossbeam and the door with a magnet keeping it securely in position. Refrigerated containers are frequently used to ship perishables, however, and they are a special case. As the container must be sealed absolutely airtight, the unit consists of a separate exterior and interior. Yet here too, installation could hardly be simpler. The external component, consisting of a GPS module and wireless unit with an M2M SIM card, is attached to the outer wall of the container by a magnet. The other component, equipped with sensors, is fitted to inside of the container. It records ambient parameters such as humidity or temperature and relays them to the external component by short-distance radio. The external component then sends them to a server via the mobile wireless network.
Automatic notification of specified events
Shipping lines and their customers can follow freight shipments in real time by web-based monitoring software. While customers can keep an eye on further key performance indicators such as humidity and temperature inside the container, the system enables container ships’ crews to identify and remedy faults at an early stage. Via the software shipping lines and customers can also specify in advance which events they want to be notified of—such as if the container is opened in transit or leaves its scheduled route.
Reports of temperature changes are important for foodstuff cargoes. If pork, for example, is stored at 4°C rather than 2°C, its shelf life is reduced by two days. If a container is in transit for several weeks, defective refrigeration can lead to a total write-off. In the past, the crew has had to check the temperature twice a day for that reason. By using the monitoring solution the crew should be able to make fewer checks and to react to faults faster.
Acquisition and running costs for M2M-based tracking and monitoring solutions have fallen significantly in recent years and they are now affordable for small and midrange enterprises too. Deutsche Telekom also offers its customers the option of booking the entire solution at a fixed price per shipment (OPEX). So major investments are not required to optimize your distribution logistics, to ensure that goods on the high seas stay fresh, and to secure a competitive advantage over the competition.
Jürgen Hase is the vice president of the M2M Competence Center at Deutsche Telekom AG. He joined Deutsche Telekom AG in 2011 as head of the M2M Competence Center and has been in the telecommunications industry for more than 20 years. He is also Chairman of the M2M Alliance.