California-based Roambee has introduced a 5G GPS peel-and-ship smart disposable label to provide real-time visibility into secondary distribution networks, direct-to-customer deliveries and end-to-end product flows.

This 10.2 by 15.2cm smart label offers a barcode-like user experience, leveraging 5G, GPS and Nist-calibrated sensors for temperature, humidity, shock and light. It is designed to be used once and then thrown away.

By integrating with Roambee’s unified visibility platform (www.roambee.com/supply-chain-visibility-platform), it offers accurate and timely insights into ETA, quality and security of shipments across the supply chain. This innovation is designed to cater to the needs of Global 2000 enterprises including 3PLs, addressing the demand for real-time visibility into time-sensitive and high-value shipments across local and global customer locations, regardless of the transportation mode or the distribution leg.

Chicago-based snack food and drink company Mondelēz is using the labels.

“Mondelēz is highly quality-driven when it comes to cater to high customer-service standards, which includes its logistics and cold-chain operations,” said Gurpreet Singh, logistics project manager at Mondelēz. “Forecasting on-time, in-full and quality of goods deliveries is thus key to our efficient transportation fulfilment operations. Roambee’s supply-chain intelligence, powered by its smart label technologies, enables us to analyse and respond to real-time and historical trends by lane, transporter, seasonality and more, to ensure the availability of quality product on shelf.”

On the value it adds to 3PL companies, Atsushi Tsuchiya, senior expert at Japanese delivery company Yamato Transport, added: “At Yamato Transport, we ship upwards of 2.3 billion parcels annually. The introduction of Roambee’s smart label is a potential game-changer in our efforts to safely deliver our customers’ important packages. This infrastructure-free application can allow our B2B customers to effortlessly and cost-effectively track and trace packages. The innovation eliminates the typical deployment challenges associated with visibility options, revolutionising parcel logistics.”

The label’s peel-and-ship experience mimics the simplicity of using a barcode label while eliminating the need for infrastructure such as printers. This prevents alterations to existing shipping processes. Global connectivity through 5G offers flexibility in updating tracking frequencies to suit various logistical needs.

Its Nist-calibrated temperature sensors ensure pharma-grade compliance for live tracking with little variance. The label’s versatility extends to its ability to track shipments of any size or type, including FTLs, FCLs, LTLs, LCLs and parcels, showing its adaptability across the supply chain. It is activated through a simple peel-to-activate mechanism after sticking it on the load.

The smart label conforms to standard shipping label dimensions. The shipper can affix a shipping label on Roambee’s smart label with ease. It also negates the need for customs declarations, streamlining logistics process.

“Roambee’s smart label and platform revolutionise product delivery to third-party destinations,” said Sanjay Sharma, CEO of Roambee. “They boost retail forecasting with precise product flow insights and issue critical alerts for time-critical component deliveries, ensuring necessary site services are promptly activated upon arrival. The technology also streamlines cross-border logistics, offering automated, physical and electronic proof of delivery. With its wide-ranging applications for direct customer deliveries and secondary and tertiary distribution networks, Roambee seizes a first-mover advantage in a market opportunity exceeding $65bn.”

Roambee (www.roambee.com) is a supply chain visibility and intelligence provider enabling on-time, in-full, in-condition delivery of shipments and assets anywhere in the world. More than 300 enterprises are improving customer experience, service levels, product quality, order-to-cash cycles, business efficiencies, sustainability and automating logistics with Roambee’s real-time insights and foresights.