German container company Hapag-Lloyd is making what it claims to be the largest deployment of IoT hardware to date in the ocean and intermodal shipping space,

Swiss firm Nexxiot will equip a significant share of Hapag-Lloyd’s TEU fleet with IoT technology and analytics, enabling the worldwide monitoring of shipping containers. Hapag-Lloyd says it will be the first carrier in the world to monitor and analyse the location, movements and status of its standard containers in real time.

Sensor technology, such as that developed by Nexxiot and used by Hapag-Lloyd, is helping make container transport a more resilient and transparent piece of the global supply chain.

“This is the largest deployment of active hardware monitoring devices to date in the ocean and intermodal shipping space, with the potential to create a vastly more efficient and sustainable global supply chain,” said Stefan Kalmund, CEO of Nexxiot. “The location, status and associated processes of dry containers on the high seas as well as during inland transportation are mostly untraceable today. Trade-tech projects, such as those implemented by Hapag-Lloyd with Nexxiot as a system partner, change this paradigm.”

As part of Hapag-Lloyd Live, the shipping company says it will be the first carrier in the world with the ability to provide all customers with real-time data and full transparency about every container movement.

“Nexxiot as a system partner provides us with an important technological building block,” said Olaf Habert, director of container applications at Hapag-Lloyd. “This allows us to detect delays earlier, automatically inform the affected customers and initiate countermeasures quickly. We are firmly convinced that not only our customers benefit from the new technology, but that this new approach will revolutionise the entire container shipping industry.”

The IoT device powering the transformation is Nexxiot’s Globehopper Edge which transmits real-time location and temperature data, monitors container impacts, and can connect to other sensors via Bluetooth. To ensure the safety and security of crew, cargo and ships, the devices are designed and certified in accordance with the Atex Product Directive for use in Zone Two potentially flammable or explosive environments. The data are processed using algorithms, and big-data analytics create business intelligence on container fleet use, critical events and supply chain processes for all stakeholders across the network.

Nexxiot’s technology tracks, finds and protects cargo worldwide via 700 network roaming partners. The company’s secure cloud comprises data from over four billion travelled kilometres. Headquartered in Zurich, Nexxiot operates throughout Europe and the USA, employing people from 26 countries.