Breakthrough for digital goods monitoring – BPW Innovation Lab makes cargo tracking affordable

• BPW Innovation Lab develops resilient tracking solution
• Complete transparency for hauliers, shippers and recipients
• Supply chain transparency enhanced by digitised transport processes

Wiehl/Siegburg, 14.12.2017 --- Situated in Siegburg, the think tank of BPW Group has unveiled an all-new digital goods tracking solution capable of significantly improving supply chain transparency. Costing around one-third of existing systems, it runs autonomously for up to two years without requiring a battery change. The solution is currently undergoing testing and scheduled to enter the market in 2018.

Before an invited audience of transport industry journalists,BPW early in December presented a breakthrough in interconnected logistics. The BPW Innovation Lab, a BPW Group think tank established in Siegburg just a year ago, has conceived an entirely new tracking solution. Priced at around one-third of the cost of most existing concepts, it puts digital goods tracking within reach of nearly all applications. At the heart of the innovation is a new, especially low-cost and resilient sensing device or tracker, which is attached to the load carrier (pallet, rack, tank, cask etc.). It continuously captures and transmits data indicating the condition and location of the cargo. According to Alexander Lutze, who works in the BPW Innovation Lab, “This information is very valuable for the shipper, recipient and haulier. At last there is a system that can answer the most frequently asked questions. Will the goods arrive on time? What time exactly will the consignment arrive? Because the data can be integrated in ERP systems, such as SAP, this solution creates transparency throughout the supply chain. The status and location of a consignment can be viewed at any time. Thanks to late-running and arrival alerts, it also allows the automation of otherwise manual process steps.”

The project overseen by the BPW Innovation Lab brought together merchandise management and ERP experts from SAP with BPW Group’s own logistics, mechatronics and telematics specialists.

Unlike the large majority of current solutions, the new tracker does not rely on an external power supply and can transmit data for up to two years without a battery change.

Marcus Sassenrath, a member of the Innovation Lab and head of BPW Group’s IT and digital strategy, comments, “The internet of transport is now being put into practice. Everyone involved in the transport process – shippers, hauliers and recipients – benefit from greater transparency concerning goods streams, as well as real-time information sharing between businesses, and fully interconnected logistics. We are making tracking affordable for everyone.”

Extensive field tests are currently taking place with selected partners. The market launch is earmarked for 2018. The tracker solution is targeted at goods shippers and recipients, as well as transport operators wishing to offer their customers digital value-added services.