Mar 09, 2022Two Internet of Things (IoT) companies that provide container-management technologies around the globe are combining their solutions to offer a single container-tracking system. Traxens has acquired Next4, a French startup that makes container-management technology. The two companies have been offering what they call complementary solutions, so by acquiring Next4, Traxens says it is positioned to accelerate digitalization of the global shipping industry.
Traxens offers its shipping container tracking solution to provide visibility into the locations and conditions of containers moving freight on both land and sea. The company says it offered the world's first smart container service for the global supply-chain industry, and it is now poised for growth, not only with the acquisition but also a financing round of €23 million ($26.07 million) on Feb. 8, 2022.
Cedric Rosemont
Next4 was launched in Toulouse in 2018, approximately five years after Traxens arrived in the market. The firm makes IoT-based trackers that are attached to containers at a shipment's point of origin, according to Cedric Rosemont, Next4's founder and CEO. As each container moves through the supply chain, the trackers can send real-time data to the cloud using cellular-based connectivity. The next version of the technology will also transmit via LoRaWAN.
Next4's customers include Bolloré Logistics and DB Schenker, and the company says several airlines will use the newest version of its trackers that are adapted to the relatively small size of air-freight containers. Traxens' IoT solution includes wireless, battery-powered trackers, enabling customers to access data regarding their container assets in transit, from anywhere around the world. Next4 also serves APL, Maersk, CMA-CGM and MSC, and these businesses are Traxens shareholders that provide the solution to their own customers.
There are many commonalities between the sensor devices provided by Traxens and Next4. Both come with a unique ID number and can provide geolocation, and each can employ built-in sensors to detect shocks, measure temperature and humidity levels, and capture the open or closed status of container doors. The collected data is received on a cloud-based or private server, Rosemont says, then is provided to supply chain members according to application requirements.
The Traxens device is designed to be permanently installed on a container via screws. Next4, on the other hand, provides a removable device that makes it possible for businesses to track containers or freight during a single shipment, then to remove the device from the container and reuse it for a different shipment on another transit route.
A limited number of technology companies provide global container management via IoT sensors. The containers, by nature, pose physical challenges for IoT technology. "It is a big metal box," Rosemont says, that is often stored and transported under difficult environmental conditions, which makes data transmission challenging. Since the technology has begun proliferating, however, container companies have deployed it not only to gain information regarding each container's real-time location, but also to create a digital twin that would help them obtain analytics data about containers during transit.
"[Shipping companies] want to know what happened on the container," Rosemont says, as well as where each container is located and whether it has stopped somewhere along the route. In addition, they want to know when the door may be opened, and to be alerted to other conditions that could impact the goods within. The IoT companies' customers include container owners, shipping lines and the shippers themselves. In many cases, companies provide containers on a rental basis and must manage the location of each one, whether it is empty or loaded, as the crates move around the globe.
With the acquisition, Traxens says it can now offer both mobile and fixed IoT devices, depending on the needs of each customer. In either scenario, the sensor unit captures such data as opening doors (using a light sensor), as well as a container's movement onto or off of a vessel (using the device's built-in gyroscope, along with pattern recognition). "In this way," Rosemont states, "customers can not only gain historical data about the movement of a container on its trip, but also the information in real time—or almost real time—when a problem occurs."
Once the sensor device is attached to a container, data can be captured at a frequency that meets a user's specific needs. For instance, the unit could send a cellular transmission—based on LTE-M or NB-IoT—every half hour while within range of cellular gateways. When the container is out at sea, the data can be stored on the device and then be uploaded when it arrives at the next port. Alternatively, data can be captured in real time at sea if a vessel provides its own connectivity. In such a situation, a LoRaWAN or cellular gateway is installed on the ship, which captures container data before forwarding it to a server via a satellite connection.
If an incident occurs, such as the opening of a container or a rise or drop in temperature and humidity levels, companies can gain that information right away. They can then use the Traxens software platform to receive alerts or transmit an insurance claim. Current industry estimates are that approximately 40 million shipping containers exist worldwide, with several million in transit at any one time. In most cases, data regarding container locations and conditions is limited during international transit. While Traxens' technology manages hundreds of thousands of containers, the company hopes to see that number grow exponentially during the coming years.
The firm will continue to offer both mobile and fixed sensors that feature relatively low battery consumption, Rosemont reports, which ensures that the device can be used for up to five years, in many cases. That battery life depends on how long the device remains in idle mode or is deactivated, he notes, adding, "Our devices serve as a kind of black box, like those used in a plane. We can record all the information, even if sometimes we have a loss of network." This, he says, also helps to conserve battery life.
In addition, the company is releasing an ATEX explosion-proof version of its devices, which come with a guarantee that they are safe for use in explosive environments. That version is expected to be available by the end of this year. Traxens is also researching the use of nanosatellite technology that could enable the containers to communicate directly to low-Earth orbit satellites around the world.
At present, Rosemont says, Traxens and Next4 devices capture more than three million read events daily, and that number is increasing. The company will continue to develop data analytics for customers, he adds, to help them understand not only real-time information about containers and freight, but also overall trends. "They want to us to be able to provide information about the raw data coming from [the] IoT," he states, which could include data regarding port congestion and optimization about estimated times of arrival, based on container sensor transmissions.
Going forward, the company may opt to make overall trends information available worldwide for users, so that they can better understand the movement of goods through ports, at sea or across land. Traxens predicts that in about six months, the two partners' offerings will be integrated into a single software platform with a single user interface. That combined solution, Rosemont adds, will be customizable.
Exhibitors at RFID Journal LIVE! 2022 offer solutions for freight-management companies, including container-tracking. To learn more, visit the event's website.
