Descartes expands IoT network
25/09/2023
Descartes Systems Group, a global company uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, has expanded its global Internet of Things (IoT) network. The IoT network uses Bluetooth Low Energy-powered tags placed on unit load devices (ULDs) or pallets to provide air carriers and ground handling agents (GHAs) with real-time visibility into the location and condition of air cargo shipments in transit and help them better track the equipment and assets used to move air freight.
Over the last six months, Descartes has expanded network coverage through:
- A 20% increase in the number of active readers worldwide, including in the following new countries: Pakistan, Columbia, Ghana, India and expansion in China; and
- Innovative new technologies, including:
- Solar-powered readers for outdoor ULD storage areas with no access to power
- Mobile readers to affix to GHA equipment for seven to eight days of tracking data on a single charge via USB
- A new mobile app for access to data anywhere and at any time on the location and condition of air cargo shipments
- Tripling the in-house resources used to monitor growing network operations.
“We have made significant investments in the overall growth of our IoT network for air cargo,” said Scott Sangster, General Manager, Logistics Service Providers at Descartes. “We have built out the network in more geographies, deployed active readers across more locations and expanded the reach of the network with technology innovations that provide coverage in areas not previously accessible because of power restrictions. With the expanded network, we have increased the number of times tags communicate with the network by 26%. With these advances, air carriers and GHAs benefit from broader global coverage to track and monitor air cargo assets and shipments, which helps them to decrease operating costs and reduce losses through enhanced levels of visibility.”
With coverage in over 1300 reader locations and 200 airports worldwide, Descartes operates one of the world’s largest IoT networks for air cargo shipment tracking and monitoring. Descartes’ next-generation IoT Bluetooth Low Energy ULD tracking uses Bluetooth tags affixed to containers or pallets, mobile applications and mesh networks to automate end-to-end tracking of assets. Bluetooth tags affixed to ULDs prior to loading enable easy access to real-time location information, shipment-level condition data, such as temperature, light, humidity and movement, and chain-of-custody details that indicate whose custody assets are in at any given time. Tags can also be added to any ground service equipment, such as dollies, for full control over a carrier’s equipment.
