Honeywell has announced a new Connected Freight solution that gives shippers and logistics companies the 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 a recent Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions’ launch event, said a statement from the company.

The announcement comes as the Middle East continues to focus on developing its transport and logistics sectors in line with the regional economic diversification agenda, it said.

The development of world-class infrastructure that maximises efficiency and creates high-quality services for end users is at the heart of this ambition, it added.

Edmond Mikhael, general manager for Honeywell SPS in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (Meta), said: “Our company is developing a range of connected supply chain solutions that leverage technology and data to make supply chains more efficient, better able to adapt to rapid change, and in turn, support the Middle East’s economic growth.”

“For an important and growing sector in the region, the convenient cloud-based solution allows shippers, logistics providers, retailers and others faced with a host of costly freight challenges, such as theft, damage, spoilage and delays, with detailed analytics. This enables customers to plan, anticipate and react immediately to incidents that occur during shipment,” he said.

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, said a styatement.

Chet Hullum, general manager for industrial solutions at Intel, said: “After assessing our internal supply chain needs and the needs of the industry, we forged a unique collaboration with Honeywell.”

“Together, we've customised our connected logistics platform technology to deliver an IoT offering that solves real logistics problems,” he said.

“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,” he added.

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, it said.

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, it added.

Honeywell developed the technology with Intel and three prominent third-party logistics companies: DHL, Expeditors and Kuehne + Nagel.

Martin Kolbe, chief information officer at Kuehne + Nagel International AG, said: “We chose Honeywell and Intel to partner in the development of Connected Freight because of their expertise and competence in this kind of technology.”

“We have used our competence as a global provider of logistics services and our expertise in supply chain management in order to co-develop this new technology,” he said.

“We understand and anticipate the need for real-time data to inform customer actions during transportation very well. Armed with the Connected Freight solution, we can offer a variety of new services tailored to our customers’ specific needs. There are ongoing trials of the technology with one of our customers in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, which is of strategic importance for us,” he concluded.

In addition to Connected Freight, Honeywell unveiled a range of connected solutions for truck drivers, delivery workers and field technicians to improve productivity and ensure compliance with regulations, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service