Intel and Honeywell have partnered together to create a system designed to give greater visibility to shipping companies across the entire supply chain.
Using Intel’s new Connected Logistics Platform (CLP), Honeywell has created its Connected Freight Solution (CLS) in conjunction with third-party logistics companies DHL, Expeditors and Keuhne + Nagel.
The solution uses sensors attached to packages or individual pallets that communicate wireless to cellular- or WiFi-enabled gateways that either travel with the shipments or installed as fixed infrastructure.
These sensors are then able to report a wide variety of variables, including:
- Shipment location
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Shock
- Vibration
- Tilt
- Pressure
- Proximity
- Exposure to light
- Intrusion detection
The data provided by these sensors then give shipping companies real-time status updates of their freight, and alerts sent enable timely decision-making to reduce operational costs, maximise asset utilisation, and improve customer service levels.
The solution can also be used to alert manufacturers if equipment has been damaged during loading or unloading, or if it may have been stolen.
The granular nature of the data can also be used for planning and predictive future operations, allowing logistics companies to proactively avoid problems and improve supply chain efficiency.
All collected data is sent to the cloud which can help to streamline compliance and audit activities, as well as providing predictive and reactive analysis, such as which routes to avoid due to inclement weather.
According to the two companies, the availability of real-time shipment information is particularly useful in scenarios where perishables or pharmaceutical products requiring consistent refrigeration are transported, or when high-value equipment sensitive to vibration or shock is shipped.
In a statement, Honeywell’s president of its workflow solutions business Taylor Smith said that this adoption of Intel-provided technology will help supply chains be more efficient and better able to adapt to rapid change.
"For shippers, logistics providers, retailers and others faced with a host of costly freight challenges, such as theft, damage, spoilage and delays, this convenient cloud-based solution provides customers with detailed analytics in order to plan, anticipate and react immediately to incidents that occur during shipment,” he said.
Intel’s GM for industrial solutions Chet Hullum added that the company’s collaboration with Honeywell is unique, through the partnership’s customisation of the CLP technology to solve logistics problems.
“Thanks to data accessibility, shippers and carriers will be able to establish a more reliable supply chain network by having deeper visibility and information on shipments.”
