Roundup: BeWhere Enters Pallet Tracking Market, Caterpillar, Sealed Air’s 5-Step Process, CHEP Aerospace
BeWhere Enters Pallet Tracking Market
A Toronto company, BeWhere Inc., is taking aim at the mobile asset tracking market, including the North American pallet market, which it sees as a huge opportunity. Rather than using RFID technology, the company is relying on smartphone Bluetooth technology.
BeWhere attaches small battery-powered beacons, about the size of a business card and one centimetre thick, and which comes with an accelerometer, temperature sensor and light sensor, high-intensity LED and buzzer. Recording data such as temperature, motion, light and impact, it can then transmit this information to the user’s smartphone to communicate this information. The range of the device is 250 miles, with a default transmission rate of once per second. Data recording continues even when out of range, and is then transmitted once a connection is restored. Batteries are intended to last for two years. The LED and buzzer facilitate finding the beacon position in the warehouse.
Aside from its interest in goods in transport, the company is also targeting construction and utility industry assets, as well as paramedic services.
According to Material Management & Distribution Magazine, “the pricing for the service is based on the number of beacons being used. At the moment, BeWhere is not charging for users who want to try up to 10 beacons. Above that, to 100 beacons, the cost is $200 per month. If a user were to have over 10,000 beacons, …the price would come down to about 20 to 30 cents a month per unit. The beacons are sold for $45 each.”
Listen to a recent interview at this link.
Caterpillar Named Finalist for Circular Economy Awards
Caterpillar’s commitment to sustainability is being recognized once again. The company is a finalist for a globally renowned Accenture Award for Circular Economy Multinational, which honors an integrated business approach to sustainability and the circular economic model.
The Circulars recognizes individuals and organizations from commerce and civil society across the globe which that haves made a notable contribution to driving circular economy principles – where growth doesn’t depend on the use of scarce natural resources.
Specifically, Caterpillar was selected for its work in advanced efforts in remanufacturing, utilization of digital technology, customer jobsite optimization, and deployment of alternative energy solutions. As one of six multinational corporations selected as finalists, Caterpillar is vying for the top spot alongside Unilever, Philips, HP, Veolia and Tarkett. The awards will be presented at January’s World Economic Forum Meeting in Davos.
The circular economy is a resource-efficient alternative to the traditional linear economy of ‘take-make-waste.’.A circular economy is a regenerative model, whereby materials and products have more than one useful life. Tackling the paradigm shift of a having a circular economy allows businesses such as Caterpillar to address environmental priorities while continuing to stimulate economic growth and sustainable development, ultimately enabling our customers and users to do more with less.
Last month, Caterpillar accepted the Vision for America award from the Keeping America Beautiful organization. You can read about the sustainability honor and watch a video about Caterpillar’s commitment to sustainability by clicking here.
Click here to learn more about this The Circulars and the finalists.
Sealed Air: How Effective Packaging Drives Down Automotive Supply Chain Costs
Ensuring clients get the perfect packaging solution for all their products lies at the core of the design process. Sealed Air has defined the four priorities an all-encompassing protective packaging design should address:
- Cube optimization (reducing waste, freight cost and environmental impact)
- Damage reduction (customer’s products protected, every time)
- Fulfilment velocity (making supply chains more efficient)
- Customer Experience (bringing an in-store experience into the customer’s home through custom packaging solutions that showcase a product brand and are easy to open, easy to return and easy to recycle). Read more.
Flying High: CHEP Aerospace Solutions renews ULD management partnership with Air Transat
CHEP Aerospace Solutions, the leading global provider of outsourced ULD (Unit Load Devices) pooling and repair solutions, and Air Transat, Canada’s leading holiday travel airline, have extended their partnership for a further five years.
Since 2003, CHEP has managed the entire pool of ULDs for Air Transat’s growing fleet, including the supply of lightweight ULDs to maximise operational efficiency and sustainability. The continued collaboration will ensure that Air Transat can continue to build their growing network whilst benefitting from CHEP’s expertise and flexible service at the overall lowest cost.
CHEP Aerospace Solutions President, Dr. Ludwig Bertsch, believes that CHEP’s commitment to customer service and continuous improvement is the key to the ongoing success: “Our global pooling network has significantly increased over the past years which has enabled us to offer more synergies and better solutions to our airline customers. We value the partnership we have built and are pleased to continue our participation in Air Transat’s growth and success.”
Hi,
This is Sandeep Ramesh from Mantra Telecom, Texas. We are working with a pallet pooling company in devising a cost effective IoT solution for Smart pallet logistics. A high level need is for a BLE device with a battery life of 5 years, capable of capturing temperature, humidity, and location. The device must communicate the information every 6 hours. Each pallet doesn’t have to be smart, connected one.
This is an immediate need and the volumes can go to millions. Could you please share your solution that best matches my need with a rough quote? I am available at (469) 231 2610.
Thanks