E-P Rail, one of the largest privately held fright rail operators in Romania with operations across Europe, has announced a partnership with logistics digitisation firm Nexxiot to provide cloud-based data analytics services for its fleet of locomotives and railcars.

With this deal, Swiss IoT firm Nexxiot and E-P Rail are advancing the concept of “TradeTech,” which reimagines the capabilities of global supply chains through digitisation. The goal is to enable global asset and cargo transparency and open the door for the development of new, disruptive business models.

Nexxiot will deliver approximately 1,100 gateway devices, called Globehoppers, to the Romanian company in the coming months to digitise the entire railcar fleet. In addition to Globehoppers, E-P Rail will receive Nexxiot software which sorts, cleans and analyses data. Nexxiot’s logistics cloud processes big data collected using machine learning and algorithms. New E-P cargo services for end customers which will make use of the Nexxiot software are planned for launch in the coming year.

Romania has the third largest rail network in the European Union and E-P Rail is currently among the largest rail companies in the country. E-P Rail wants to develop cutting-edge technology to drive its business forward with the latest data-driven tools. The company has also developed its own mobile apps for critical process management and to create transparency and accountability around its operations. The Nexxiot solution adds cloud-based data analytics and AI to the digitisation process.

Radu Gabriel Gheorghiu, the owner of E-P Rail and CER Fersped, E-P Rail’s freight operator, said: “We seek out and integrate the very best solutions for our cargo customers so they feel secure and can always find the right cargo transport for their specific needs, whatever their requirements may be. We believe strongly in digital technologies and want to remain at the forefront of our sector by driving innovation. Nexxiot’s sensor gateways, cloud-based software and analytics will help us to achieve our current mission objectives.”

Nexxiot CEO Stefan Kalmund said: “It is an exciting moment for both companies. Nexxiot has evolved rapidly from an innovative young IoT company to an industry leader in TradeTech. With deep analytics to process and extract meaning and value from Big Data using algorithms and the latest machine learning techniques.”

This new partnership with E-P Rail significantly expands Nexxiot’s activities in Eastern Europe and is the latest in a series of recent agreements with rail freight operators around the world. Over the last 60 days, Nexxiot has also agreed service agreements with French specialty materials manufacturer Arkema, Canadian rail sensor technology innovator TransRail Innovation Group (TRIG) and Poland’s largest operator of independent freight railcars Eurowagon.