IoT projects: How to track a refrigerated truck in DHL?

International companies entering national markets bring investments and new industry standards. Clients get used to a higher quality of service and demand the same from local businesses, which have no choice but to adopt them. In the end, the whole market breaks new ground. As a technology partner for DHL Global Forwarding, KLOUDIP had gone through such evolution when the logistics giant entered several smaller markets. These companies know for sure, how to track a refrigerated truck. 

The evolution of refrigerated transport and cold storage monitoring

Monitoring becomes more precise. DHL’s specifications made companies rethink acceptable deviations from the norm when implementing temperature solutions. Now, even 1℃-variation matters for a provider of temperature solutions.   

Storage and transportation are under control 24/7. Regular laptops and smartphones replace special screens and devices. That means, even when monitoring staff leaves the office, they take a control center with them. If anything happens day or night, the reaction comes instantly.   

Centralization. Managers, dispatchers, guards, drivers, and workers should work in a single solution for seamless communication and cooperation. If your employees still switch between multiple screens to retain control, you are one step back.

Comprehensive approach. Production site –> truck –> warehouse > delivery to clients – only if you control the whole chain, can you guarantee the quality of transported goods. DHL requirements brought full-chain logistics solutions to APAC. Now, every company in the region can get them at an affordable price. 

DHL’s success story

Let us show you how DHL and KLOUDIP raised standards for the transportation and storage of temperature-sensitive goods. But before we get to the point…

Some facts about DHL Global Forwarding:

• Operated by Exel Logistics Services Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.
• Major temperature-controlled warehouses are monitored by KLOUDIP.
• Track 100 vehicles through KLOUDIP’s refrigerated truck solutions.

Exel Logistics Services Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. specializes in pharmaceuticals transportation for DHL. Medicines they transport are highly regulated substances that demand 24/7 monitoring of storage and transportation environments.  

Specific requirements for refrigerated transport monitoring

DHL delivers pharmaceuticals from different vendors across the island. The carrier transports cargo in mini-refrigerators, each associated with a particular client. 

1. Each vendor has different specifications for the storage and transportation of its products. That means KLOUDIP had to provide the solution to monitor different temperature regimens for each mini-refrigerator in a truck or warehouse.
2. Each vendor should see the transportation conditions of their cargo at any moment. It means that not only DHL should know how pharmaceuticals are transported, but also every one of their clients.
3. The temperature in a truck or warehouse depends on many factors, apart from the work of a refrigeration unit. For example, if you keep the door open for too long, the temperature regimen may be violated. At the same time, unnoticed power failure may result in a ton of spoiled pharmaceuticals.
4. DHL needed to quickly reconfigure the new solution and give access to its staff and customers’ authorized users.

The solution for temperature monitoring

There were no ready-made solutions to track each refrigerated truck in their fleet, so KLOUDIP had to develop special software and hardware. 

Temperature and door opening sensors

KLOUDIP installed 1000+ wireless temperature and door opening sensors in refrigerated trucks and facilities. Then, the company connected the sensors to wireless hubs that collect data and send it to the monitoring software. 

Sensors instantly communicate with any hub installed in any facility or truck, making their replacement and relocation a piece of cake. The above solves two tasks:

• If a sensor is associated with a specific client and cargo, one can relocate it with a mini-refrigerator when the cargo is loaded to another truck or arrives at a warehouse.
• If there’s a hub failure, the sensor can send transportation environment data through the nearest hub, minimizing downtimes.

As a result, DHL and their clients get data from each mini-refrigerator, uninterruptedly, and control refrigerated truck door openings to forecast temperature fluctuations.  

The software for refrigerated transport monitoring

KLOUDIP introduced HAZER – the solution to monitor thousands of sensors on a laptop or smartphone. 

– HAZER displays each sensor as a widget that shows its values in real-time and changes color in case of value variations.

– The solution alerts if sensor values change critically – in this case when the temperature rises or a door opens. 

– It shares the values of sensors installed in mini-refrigerators with their owners – DHL clients. 

How it works

1. KLOUDIP associates each sensor with a QR code.
2. DHL shares these codes with clients, thus, giving them individual access rights to each mini-refrigerator.
3. When a cargo owner scans the QR, the temperature and other data appear on his laptop or smartphone.
4. Result: clients control how their pharmaceuticals are transported but don’t have access to other sensors and cargo pieces.

HAZER has no limits on the number of sensors tracked. Thousands of sensors appear in one neat interface and are grouped by cargo type, client, truck, facility, etc. 

Results

HAZER satisfied all of DHL’s requirements for refrigerated transport monitoring. In particular, the logistics giant and its clients got:

• Traceability of individual sensors and personalized access to sensor data for each client.
• Real-time cargo location updates to know what is happening and where.
• Data on laptops and mobile synchronized simultaneously, allowing for real-time alerts on smartphones.
• Transportation and storage environment control center available outside the office.
• Clients can configure HAZER on mobile being in the warehouse or truck and watching the situation with their own eyes.
• API allows HAZER to send monitoring data to DHL’s ERP systems and simplify accounting and in-house transport management.

Soon, KLOUDIP will update HAZER to take action based on various conditions, which will significantly automate transport managers’ work.

Actual profit

Exel Logistics Services Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. acting as a DHL partner, expanded several folds and increased capacity as its customer base has been steadily growing. They frequently present HAZER to international counterparts and are well ahead of DHL partners in the region.

HAZER works for DHL but is instantly ready to run in your company. It’s scalable and affordable for businesses of any type and size. Contact KLOUDIP to learn more and request a free demo.