Potent ports use big data
Innovative technology can help port processes run smoothly and keep users fully informed, writes Daniel MacGregor, co-founder of digital supply chain expert, Nexxiot
Ports are central to the global value chain, acting as hubs in which many critical cargo processes occur. It is therefore particularly important that all processes run smoothly and those involved remained fully informed. Innovative technology can help.
The idea of GPS devices sending location data is not new. In fact, we are fairly comfortable with consumer monitoring solutions in our lives. We use smartphone maps every day. We monitor our cat in the garden, our luggage through the airport and our children on the way to school. Yet we don’t monitor every intermodal container or ISO tank as it makes its way around the planet. Why is that?
Until just a few years ago, the only option for monitoring cargo was to buy a GPS device and do it yourself. This raises plenty of challenges. Which do I buy? How do I gather the data? Who provides connectivity? What are the technical standards and what certifications do I need? What about security? What can I do with the data once I have gathered it? How can I use it to make better decisions and put insights to work by improving processes? The questions go on.
To make GPS and other sensing technology truly viable, a lot of technological and infrastructure requirements must be addressed. This has only been made possible by rapid technological progress in recent decades. Enter Internet of Things (IoT).
In 2013, the university research lab at ETH Zurich, which would be the foundation of Nexxiot, was already asking these questions. IoT is the latest phase of the internet’s rapid evolution. As the internet first became useful in the ’90s, the first wave of services was built around connecting people. E-mail services, web-based software applications, shared work repositories and E-commerce all began to take off. This step was essential in enabling a new way of living and working. Now smartphones have become powerfully connected, on-the-go tools. We need the physical world of objects to follow suit.
Creating visibility
IoT is the name we give to connecting valuable objects to the internet. This is done by fixing active devices which send sensor data in real-time to an intelligent IoT cloud platform for analytics and value creation.
The raw data isn’t much use on its own. It must first be managed, cleaned and processed using powerful machine learning techniques and algorithms. In Data Science, it is often the case that the maximum value is uncovered in 0.01 percent of the massive incoming data. To create value for actors, participants and facilitators in the global supply chain, the data must be gathered securely, at the highest quality from zero-maintenance hardware, and then processed to create opportunities to control actions and automate processes. This is done to increase efficiency and enable new data-derived services to be delivered to stakeholders. Wherever they may be.
Nexxiot, a Swiss IoT-pioneer, is unique in this emerging world of Big Data-driven supply chain services. With an integrated and comprehensive service suite, the company is leading the way in equipping non-powered assets around the globe and the number of data points being gathered. In fact, it is bringing in over one billion data points a month.
How? The company uses gateway devices called Globehoppers, other sensors like temperature sensors, and its very own intelligent cloud platform. With low entry barriers around the business models, Nexxiot customers can start equipping their assets and putting the data to work from day one.
The global supply chain requires trust. As valuable goods and shipping containers set out to move across the horizon, operators and cargo owners put their faith in a whole range of barely known partners, processing centers and service providers.
From sufficient cleaning of tank containers to careful unloading of fragile goods and temperature monitoring of coffee beans, it all matters. So much can go wrong – and it often does. If someone drops a container and damages, say, the Samsung TVs inside, there is often no recourse. Finger-pointing begins and ends in lengthy court cases. But without data, there is often no resolution or accountability at all.
Innovation leads the way
Until a container reaches its destination, many different players must deal with it. Along with the classic participants – the shipper, forwarder, carriers and shipowner – many other players are involved in the supply chain. Maintaining an overview is complex. Until today, many forms were filled out, printed, mailed, faxed, and filed.
Ports rely on data around entry times, loading schedules and dangerous goods. In the process, speed is just as important as accuracy – features that the traditional approach lacks.
There was a fire in the port of Dubai just a few weeks ago, probably caused by mis-declared cargo. Some cargo can self-heat from friction, dust, or exothermic chemical reactions. This kind of situation shows how a lack of transparency puts port workers at risk.
Ports also rely on data around timing and locations to plan moves and ensure the right processes are in place for rapid vessel turnaround. Customs need data to make decisions on which containers to inspect. All these processes require the right data for rapid execution and resolution. Delay on any of these topics has significant knock-on effects.
Sensors, hardware gateways, connectivity, analytics and business process automation are required to create significant improvements across the whole supply chain ecosystem.
With recent global events including the rise of demand for E-commerce, blockages like the recent Suez incident and the ever-increasing demand of consumers, efficiency is more important than ever. With the current toolkit, we are simply not armed with the transparency, capabilities and resources to make a significant improvement to the current speed of processing. With sufficient context, the cause of a blockage can be clarified. A record of actions is stored in the cloud to become a single version of the truth. Those who perform best will be rewarded with outcome-based incentives.
IoT and Big Data analytics are here. With partners like Nexxiot, the value can be extracted through continuous process improvement. This will benefit all stakeholders through the network, but it is ports that stand to gain significant improvements once the data is put to work.
Reducing cargo emissions
First prize in the annual Swisscom IoT Climate Awards in 2021 went to Nexxiot, a deep-tech company which focuses on monitoring cargo assets that do not have their own power, including railcars and intermodal containers.
“By monitoring an assets location and usage, Nexxiot supports its clients both in their commercial objectives and their sustainability goals at the same time,” said Stefan Kalmund, CEO Nexxiot.
“By increasing efficiency and reducing energy consumption and therefore CO2, it’s possible to address big problems with our technology which we built to scale.”
Greater transparency
Nexxiot Founder, Daniel MacGregor created the ETHZ spinoff in 2015 to address inefficiencies in the global supply chain industry.
Since then the company has worked towards creating greater transparency about locations and routes, significantly increasing the efficiency and capacity utilisation of trains.
Nexxiot creates integrated data-driven applications using its own IoT hardware devices, together with its own purpose-built intelligent cloud platform. These applications enable clients to reduce the number of empty assets and optimise routes and cargo services.
The company’s goal is to enable a five percent reduction in global CO2 cargo emissions by increasing cargo transport efficiency and eliminating waste caused by empty runs and inefficient routes.
Data from more than 2.5 billion travelled miles is stored in Nexxiot’s dedicated logistics cloud
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