Supply chain technology specialist WiseTech Global announced a new partnership with liner operator Hapag-Lloyd for a wide-ranging trial in real-time container visibility.

WiseTech (AX: WTC) will equip the German carrier’s fleet of more than 2 million boxes with Internet of Things (IoT) smart devices that frequently transmit location updates directly to WiseTech’s ecosystem of platforms for the logistics, global trade and supply chain industry.

The tech company said that the pilot initiative specifically tests the ability to ingest and process millions of data points daily, applying advanced algorithms to transform the IoT data into meaningful milestones and products used to drive decision-making.

WiseTech said it can then distribute the location and positioning data to Hapag-Lloyd’s customers via a range of channels it controls such as logistics service providers software CargoWise Cargo Tracker and Container Automation solutions; ocean booking platform INTTRA, and CargoWise’s Neo track-and-trace dashboard. It is estimated WiseTech’s customs compliance layer covers more than 75% of global markets.

“Moving beyond standard milestone updates, the collaboration aims to provide highly accurate, real-time insights on container positioning, transit conditions, and arrival predictions,” WiseTech said in a release. “Hapag-Lloyd’s customers will not only see where a container is, but also detect anomalies such as deviations or delays that might impact its arrival at the next critical handover point, delivering unprecedented accuracy for data-driven planning and execution.”

Hapag-Lloyd is the world’s fifth-largest ocean container line, with capacity of 2.38 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs). It operates more than 130 scheduled services to 600 ports. This week the company agreed to purchase rival liner Zim Integrated Shipping Services, which would add more than 700,000 TEUs to its fleet.

The visibility initiative enables Hapag-Lloyd to deliver what it the partners say is shipping’s first dynamic estimated time of arrival (ETA) prediction – Live ETA – that adjusts in real time based on actual movement and location data collected via IoT pings from GPS tracking devices on the containers, regardless of the mode of transport, to provide dynamic arrival time calculations. WiseTech claims a 75% improvement in accuracy compared to static schedule forecasts for shipments where Hapag-Lloyd manages the entire journey from port to customer location.

“The shipping industry has long relied on discrete and often inaccurate event updates that may lag by hours or even days. By bringing IoT-driven live container data and tracking into CargoWise, we’re revolutionizing supply chain visibility,” said Zubin Appoo, chief executive of WiseTech Global, in the release. “This collaboration with Hapag-Lloyd harnesses data at significant scale to turn it into intelligence that customers can act on, to reduce uncertainty, improve efficiency, and make smarter decisions.”

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“We’ve invested in equipping our entire dry container fleet with IoT technology to provide better service and reliability to our customers,” said Karsten Schmidt, director of live position and track and trace at Hapag-Lloyd. Working with WiseTech, we can integrate the data from our smart containers into the systems our customers use every day, providing actionable predictive insights rather than just dots on a map.

“This partnership represents an important step toward a more transparent, resilient and digitally enabled global supply chain.”

The companies will review and refine the data quality, accuracy, and usability of live IoT feeds at full scale as the trial progresses, while gathering feedback from joint customers to inform further product development and commercialization. The goal, they said, is to deliver a truly unique, value-added ocean container visibility solution that integrates seamlessly into WiseTech’s platforms.

Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

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