Honeywell has launched a new Connected Freight solution that gives shippers and logistics companies unprecedented ability to monitor shipments of high-value and perishable goods, helping prevent costly damage and loss.
The new solution, developed in collaboration with Intel and third-party logistics companies, provides real-time information about the location and condition of critical freight while in transit. The solution was introduced during Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions’ launch event today.
“Honeywell is developing a range of Connected Supply Chain solutions that leverage technology and data to make supply chains more efficient and better able to adapt to rapid change,” said Taylor Smith, president of Honeywell’s Workflow Solutions business. “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.”
Real-time shipment information is critical, for example, when shipping perishables and goods that require uninterrupted refrigeration, such as pharmaceuticals, or high-value equipment that is sensitive to vibration or shock.
“After assessing our internal supply chain needs and the needs of the industry, we forged a unique collaboration with Honeywell. Together, we’ve customised Intel’s Connected Logistics Platform technology to deliver an IoT offering that solves real logistics problems,” said Chet Hullum, general manager for Industrial Solutions at Intel. “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.”
Honeywell’s Connected Freight solution consists of cost-effective sensor tags that sense a range of environmental conditions, such as temperature or vibration. The tags can be affixed to pallets or individual packages. The sensor data is captured by a mobile gateway placed inside a truck or shipping container and then transmitted via cellular networks to a cloud-based command-and-control platform.
Users can establish alerts based on temperature, shock, tilt, humidity, pressure and intrusion detection. The solution can alert manufacturers of high-value, highly sensitive technology if equipment has been damaged while being loaded or unloaded, or if it may have been stolen. The cloud can also store data for compliance and audit needs, and provide predictive and reactive analysis, such as which routes to avoid.