HAPAG-LLOYD has commenced a major project to install tracking devices on its fleet of 1.6 million dry containers.
The first of the devices are currently being installed at a container maintenance repair depot in Hamburg.
The company predicts that up to 200 depots around the world will take part in installing the devices on standard containers within the next year, and the majority of Hapag Lloyd’s dry containers will be outfitted by the end of 2023.
“We are the first carrier in the industry to undertake such a far-reaching step towards the digitalisation of container shipping,” Hapag-Lloyd COO Maximilian Rothkopf said.
“The containers leaving our depots with a tracking device will now be fully visible to us and, in a next step, to our customers as well – whether they are in a warehouse or moving on a truck, train or barge.
“We believe that the increased transparency has the potential to improve the management of strained supply chains.”
According to Hapag-Lloyd, the transmission of real-time data from each container will help supply chains become more transparent.
The devices are able to supply GPS data, measure ambient temperature within the container, and monitor any sudden shocks.
They integrate energy-harvesting technology with low-power consumption techniques to ensure they have high-frequency data transmission and long services lives.
Andrea Schöning, senior director Container Steering at Hapag-Lloyd, said digitalising Hapag-Lloyd’s entire container fleet will be a challenging task.
“We are now making the first steps of a large-scale project,” she said.
“In this first rollout phase, it will be important to streamline all processes together with our IoT partners so as to achieve the technology’s full potential.”
In the coming weeks, installations are scheduled to begin in other depots across northern and southern Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
