Following a one-year demonstration of an automated supply chain management solution from SGS, using Savi Technology location- and sensor-based technology, the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) has certified the solution for full deployment to reduce the risk of cargo being stolen or diverted while in transit. The system was tested on one supply chain route, and is now being expanded this month with transportation companies using the technology within another corridor. Cargo travels from the seaport in Dar es Salaam to neighboring countries, such as Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), at a rate of approximately 15,000 loads per month.
Under a TRA mandatory program, trucks carrying goods through Tanzania must be equipped with an electronic identification system that links a unique ID number to each vehicle and its owner. Data regarding the movements of the goods transported by that vehicle is then stored on the TRA’s server. The TRA has recruited five suppliers of tracking technologies to sell their solutions directly to transporters and cargo owners. One TRA-approved electronic-tracking solution is being provided by SGS and Savi, according to Philippe Isler, the global business-development manager at SGS’ governments and institutions services (GIS) division.
SGS, a global company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, provides inspection, testing and certification services, as well as a solution known as SGS OMNIS, for supply chain security management. SGS OMNIS utilizes Savi Technology hardware and software that combines GPRS, GPS and active RFID technologies, along with a variety of sensors, to capture and store information about the conditions of a truck or railcar load of cargo, as well as if someone might be attempting to access the goods along the supply chain (see RFID News Roundup: Savi Teams With SGS on Tracking Services, Intros New Software).
The SGS OMNIS system has been adopted by government agencies in Kenya, Ghana and, most recently, Tanzania, in order to obtain data about the supply chain of cargo, as well as create a record of their movements along traffic routes. The Savi technology, known as the Savi Mobile Tracking System, includes hardware installed on vehicles with a variety of sensors (such as those for monitoring temperature, humidity, light or pressure) to detect and transmit data regarding the load, according to William Clark, Savi’s president and CEO. The Savi system also includes software that receives, manages and stores that information and provides alerts as necessary. Savi Technology hosts the server on which that data is stored and then shared with the TRA and logistics companies.
To determine whether the SGS OMNIS solution could effectively collect data and provide necessary alerts, Isler says, the TRA first allowed the solution to be tested on one corridor on which trucks and railcars travel. Now that the agency has certified the technology, SGS plans to offer its solution in additional corridors throughout Tanzania, expanding the coverage one corridor at a time.
Most cargo that will be tracked consists of food and medical supplies, though any goods can be monitored. A truck’s cargo often falls victim to theft during transportation from one area to another—because either a driver diverts the vehicle, or thieves break into the truck when parked. Most trucks are older-model flatbed vehicles, with loads covered by a canvas tarp, making the cargo vulnerable to theft.
The solution consists of an array of sensors on each vehicle or railcar that transmit data, such as tamper detection, rate and direction of travel, temperature and humidity, to a master unit via an RFID transmission. The sensors incorporate Savi’s active RFID tags, which use battery power to forward that information to the unit via 2.4 GHz using a proprietary air-interface protocol. The master unit collects that sensor data and transmits it to the back-end software via a GPRS connection. Clark declines to describe the array of sensors and RFID tags and readers, explaining that the company believes that by not making such information public and potentially available to would-be thieves, it can better thwart cargo diversion. What’s more, the configuration and specifications of the sensors and RFID equipment used for the SGS OMNIS service is changed regularly, in order to make it more difficult for criminals to circumvent or disable the technology.
However, Savi Technology has revealed that the SGS OMNIS solution in use in Tanzania includes a long steel cable running through its RFID-enabled tamper-detecting sensor, and can detect electrical signals passing through the cable. The cable, which can be as much as 60 meters (197 feet) in length, is wrapped around the canvas-covered load after it is packed. If the cable is broken at any point during transit, the tag can detect the breakage and send that information to the master unit, which then forwards it to the back-end system. Sensors can also detect light and thus determine if even a corner of the tarp is lifted or cut unexpectedly.
“It’s a whole conglomeration of devices that create their own little network,” Clark explains. What’s more, he adds, the technology provides some redundancy, so that if, for example, the master unit were to become damaged, other devices could still send data to the server.
In one case, for instance, a truck was driven into a body of water so that the cab and the master unit within it were at least partially submerged. The system, however, was still able to send data to the server, indicating that something of concern was occurring on the vehicle, as well as where this was taking place.
The alerting functionality enables the technology’s users, such as logistics companies, to receive an alert via SMS text message or e-mail, or displayed on the database, indicating when a truck has left its expected route, or when a sensor detects a problem.
Initially, the solution is being employed for real-time alerting and for capturing data that trucking companies can present to the TRA to document each shipment’s delivery. However, Clark says, the software can also provide analytic data to help businesses identify which routes, drivers or loads may experience delays, and when. “They can end up finding a relationship they didn’t expect,” he explains.
In Ghana, the rate of cargo diversion from the intended recipient exceeded 38 percent, though it has dropped to 1.8 percent since the SGS OMNIS solution’s installation. Kenya, which has been using the technology the longest (for about two and a half years), has seen similar results, Isler reports. No statistics are yet available regarding any reduction in theft based on the system’s use in Tanzania.
“In the countries we usually operate in, reliability is extremely important and extremely difficult to achieve,” Isler states. Although he says SGS could work with other technology companies—such as those that provide GPS-based tracking—the Savi technology provides a reliable system that includes not just location data, but also information about the cargo and when it might be breached.
The technology offering comes at a time at which Savi is growing, Clark adds. The company, purchased in September 2012 by investors affiliated with a branch of the LaSalle Capital Group (see Savi Technology Acquired by Private Investors), has named a new chief financial officer—Brian Daum—and has elevated four staff members to VP status as it poises to increase its presence in the commercial sector, both overseas and within the United States.