Adoption of 'smart' cargo labels needs critical mass

DB Schenker has adopted ‘smart label’ stickers, incorporating GPS tracking devices thin enough to be used for pallets, gaylords, and even individual cartons – but success hinges on industry-wide adoption, experts say.

Smart Labels

Developed by Sensos, a division of Sony Semiconductors, the trackers with their batteries are just millimetres thick and small enough not to be distinguishable from a conventional label, said DB Schenker. They can alert the customer if their package is tampered with during transport.

David Pollender, product owner business development IoT, at DB Schenker, said: “Tracking technology now fits into a millimetre-thin sticker.”

But the emerging sector is contingent on mass-adoption, as well as collaboration between providers, Reinier Danckaarts, head of development and innovation at Kuehne+Nagel, which offers similar technology, told The Loadstar late last year.

“If freight forwarders were to adopt this [label tracking], it will really have some power,” he said.

Mr Danckaarts said since the trackers were disposable, manufacturing needed to scale up dramatically to bring down costs.

“It’s all about size. We need to print millions, and then the price comes to below a dollar… less than 50 cents in a couple of years.

Further, it is not only the development of the labels themselves, but also the technology to print them that must develop in parallel, he added. “We are calling on the industry to say ‘let’s get this started’. It could change the industry.”

The ability to track individual parcels to such a high degree of accuracy will sidestep disputes by not relying on the diligence of carriers to keep location data up to date. But the additional visibility afforded by the trackers will empower customers to hold carriers and freight forwarders to a higher standard, explained Aviv Casto, CEO of Sensos.

Source: Theloadstar


Related News

Carriers forced to adjust Asia-North Europe capacity as demand drops
Carriers forced to adjust Asia-North Europe capacity as demand drops

1741 Views

Blank sailings (but not slidings) are back on the Asia-North Europe tradelane, as ocean carriers adjust capacity to meet softening demand on the route

China-Vietnam sourcing shift enters phase two, bringing more box congestion
China-Vietnam sourcing shift enters phase two, bringing more box congestion

3454 Views

With 2.4% GDP growth forecast by the IMF, Vietnam is on track to become one of the fastest growing economies in the world in 2020, as many others fall into lockdown-induced recessions.


Comment
  • Your review
main.add_cart_success