SafeCube is a French startup that helps industrial customers to monitor and optimize their logistic operations by providing an IoT solution to the market. How? In this article, we will walk through the problem, solution, and introduce you to the case study implemented with the SimplePack 4.0 device.
While transporting goods from point A to point B we always want it to get delivered on time and in good condition. But what happens in between?
Delays
Temperature and humidity issues
Shocks, intrusions & thefts
As a result financial losses and operational troubles
All the above-listed problems are about to be identified and solved with a unique tool provided by SafeCube. It includes an IoT tracker (hardware) powered by the Sigfox network and a nicely designed software platform with real-time alerts, analytics, and even more!
SafeCube acquired a major European client in the pet food industry whose customers distribute their products around Europe. However, the temperature conditions are constantly changing during transportation which can affect the products. The goal of the testing is to understand how the temperature conditions (1) change during transportation, (2) affect the final products, and (3) what can be done to prevent damages.
The duration of the project is 6 months and now the testing is more than halfway through. The first month of the project was dedicated to research. It was crucial to define the strategy and device configuration, selecting the best mode for both tracking and temperature monitoring.
There are two scenarios where SimplePack is used in this project.
1. Warehouse temperature monitoring. The warehouse where the products are stored has the optimum storage conditions for the products. The device monitors temperature conditions inside and outside of the facility to ensure that the products are being stored correctly.
2. Tracking and temperature monitoring during transportation.
Tracking the products during transportation and monitoring the temperature throughout the journey. It’s important to know where the changes in temperature occur so that actions should be taken to prevent the change and possible damage to products.
“We needed a device which is Sigfox based and commercially ready. The battery is long-lasting and the price is affordable for large projects such as this one. Plus, it’s important the devices capture a wide range of temperatures and localization precisions” - says Wael Cheaib, CEO at SafeCube
The software part of the solution is developed in a way that it appears as an end-to-end solution.
Other platform benefits include:
Real-time events. Unloading from the vessel, a departure from port, transshipment.
Goods oriented. Follow-up based on carried merchandise thanks to the pairing between trackers and containers.
Alerting. For example, early/delays including missed ships and route deviation.
Customized BI and dashboards. Detailed analyses of lead-times per route and shipping lines with embedded and customized BI.
Check out all the benefits of the solution here.
The platform shows how the temperature changed throughout the day, which hours are “the hottest”, when the temperature is above a threshold (32 degrees), which country regions/states have warmer conditions of transportation etc. You can also observe dynamic temperature monitoring (minimum, average, maximum) and analysis of high temperature. (See screenshot below).
Now the testing is running in 10 European countries and next year it’s planned to expand further.
By the end of the project, SafeCube will prepare a report with detailed recommendations for their clients summarizing all the results and useful takes. The next step will be to help the client to launch their product by monitoring temperature & tracking the packages. Possible expansion to other countries is one more direction for growth.
We’re always interested to see how our devices are being deployed in different verticals and it’s a pleasure to assist SafeCube with this project. The combination of temperature monitoring and tracking together creates a valuable use case which can transform the supply chain industry into a more powerful segment of the business.