IT\\\


Issue 1 2017 - Freight Business Journal


Clever thinking inside the airfreight box


‘Intelligent’ containers that provide information on their status and condition are being rolled out across the


maritime shipping


industry, but similar developments in the air freight sector have been slower to materialise – not least because of the possible disruption to an


aircraſt’s avionics from


transmissions being made from an onboard ULD (unit load device). But that is not to say the day


isn’t coming when we will see such technology as standard on air freight containers. A step in that direction is being made by Rauheim-headquartered outsourced ULD management specialist Jettainer and a fellow Luſthansa subsidiary, Luſthansa Industry Solutions (LIS). Jettainer has been involved


in a project in the past to develop digital ‘intelligent’ air cargo container technology, being part


of a collaboration with Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics, Luſthansa Cargo and others on the DyCoNet programme. However, explains Martin Kraemer, Jettainer’s head of marketing and PR, up to now the technology wasn’t available to make any such ULD-focused ‘intelligence’ commercially viable. In particular, he notes, battery


life wasn’t long enough; the requirement is to have any intelligent container’s battery life at least as long as the ULD’s regular maintenance cycle, and avoid the need to take it off the work schedule just to charge its battery. Moreover, the devices


themselves were then too large to be practical for ULD application – but this has changed, Kraemer observes, and the future of the intelligent container is look much rosier. Moreover, he points out, the


move to new 5G/GSM5 technology expected in the next couple of years will help development of the required technology in this sort of application.


Phased development The programme is being envisaged as


a three-stage process, the


first being to establish the legal requirements for gaining the necessary approvals for intelligent containers – the technology will have to be approved separately on all relevant aircraſt types and with all the appropriate regulatory agencies. Not a rapid or cheap process, Kraemer says, but an obstacle that will have to be surmounted if the project is to reach fruition. If the system can be brought to


market at a viable cost, then work on the second phase, of ensuring that the GPS/geolocation-based


DHL introduces the digital freight platform


Following a period of pilot testing, DHL Freight has begun rolling out CILLOX, an online marketplace designed to bring together shippers and trucking transport providers across Europe. Covering shipments from pallet size up to full truckloads, CILLOX allows companies to match their full truckload, part truckload and less than truckload offerings with numerous transport providers’ available capacities and thereby identify an appropriate provider according to their needs. According to DHL, CILLOX


enables shippers to avoid lengthy price inquiries and comparisons or unreliable providers; all transport providers will be pre-qualified and peer-rated. Meanwhile, the system offers carriers of all sizes a platform to market their company’s assets and capabilities in order to expand their customer base, and to identify suitable loads to make best use of their vehicles’ capacities. Moreover, transport providers profit from guaranteed fast payments with streamlined invoicing and payment processes. Truck drivers using the CILLOX


mobile app receive jobs directly on their smartphone, and automatic


status alerts throughout the transportation journey. Companies need to register on


CILLOX but there are no monthly costs or subscription fees for carriers and shippers; shippers just pay the transport costs that they book at. “Both companies and carriers


benefit from this new business model,” declares DSHL freight chief executive, Amadou Diallo. “With CILLOX, DHL offers a solution to promote the digitalisation of the logistics industry and disrupt the traditional road freight business. The launch of the platform is a result of our strategy 2020 and promotes further growth due to its innovative and agile business model.” While already in use, the


integrator expects that the platform should be fully operational for all those looking to benefit from it by January. DHL said that user testing in September had elicited high levels of customer satisfaction. CILLOX’s iterative product development will, DHL notes, allow the soſtware design to evolve in response to user needs and feedback and, following the initial launch, further functions


should be added in time, including a real-time chat option and mobile document scanning via the mobile app.


Development The business team behind CILLOX was actually created back in January this year. The first line of code was written on 1 June, and from then it took three months to deliver what DHL calls its Minimum Viable Product (MVP), put out for testing by real shippers and carriers. The first productive shipment was fulfilled and paid end-to-end on 6 September. Subsequent to that, says DHL’s chief operating officer CILLOX Elaine Tan, the team will “continuously release new functionalities, system upgrades and design updates on a bi-weekly basis which we expose to real users to test problem-solving usability”. The CILLOX team is made up,


she explains, of a combination of DHL logistics experts on the business side and IT developers who specialise as external innovation labs for major e-commerce platforms and marketplaces, bringing more than 100 years of experience in the


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technology works as expected and will fit customers’ needs, can also be undertaken. The aim is for much more than simple track and trace capability: the intelligent container would also be able to record and transmit details of any changes in its condition, whether that involves any damage sustained, prescribed temperature excursions or other relevant change in circumstances. Such information could be


used not only to alert the ULD user of a need to inspect or repair the container, but also to provide a comprehensive record of when any damage or problem was encountered; that fact alone will, Kraemer says, motivate companies to handle the ULDs with greater care and they are likely to sustain less damage. Kraemer is hopeful that system


testing might begin as quickly as a year or two from now. Finally, the third phase would see the development of the devices themselves, which would be made available to all Jettainer carrier customers.


freight and logistics industry to the table. “Our approach to evolving


the platform is driven by the rich market insights that our DHL heritage provides, but equally by the feedback we receive from early users,” she says. “Therefore, we are constantly evolving our roadmap as we go along. The mobile document scanning functionality in the Driver App will be tested and released in time for our public launch in January. Until official market launch in January, registered users receive weekly newsletters to be kept updated on the new developments. We will continue in similar fashion to roll out improvements and upgrades to the system in short sprints in


From leſt to right: Ralf Struckmeier, vice president logistics of Luſthansa Industry Solutions; Carsten Hernig, managing director of Jettainer; Martin Kraemer, head of marketing & PR at Jettainer; and Pieter Huyghens, project head air cargo handling at Brussels Airlines


“The intelligent container will


ensure greater transparency within the process chain in future. We’re deliberately breaking new ground here in order to make our services for customers even more efficient in future,” enthuses Carsten Hernig, Jettainer’s managing director. Looking forward, he informs:


“Jettainer continuously thrives to be the forerunner in new technologies and enhance processes. When you own the world’s largest ULD fleet, I see it as our obligation to push


2017.”


Digitised Online freight marketplaces are becoming a much more frequent sight in the modern logistics sector, across all modes. The road freight market has been highly fragmented for a long time, Tan notes, a fact that is evidenced by even the dominant traditional freight forwarders not exceeding 3% market share each. “Mutual visibility of demand and relevant matching supply is one dimension of that problem, and there is no shortage of approaches to resolve it. “But the issue goes well beyond


this,” she says, adding that the problems are in fact partly being reinforced by the rise of freight


their development and ongoing improvements. “Jettainer is very brave when it


comes to innovations. Projects in the past, present and in future have shown and will continue to show we accept controllable risk in order to bring our industry forward. One amazing payback was the German Logistics Award 2016, which we have received for another innovation project. Our success stories in the field of innovation is what drives our team forward.”


marketplaces and load boards, as shippers are increasingly exposed to carriers with whom they have no previous business relations, all of which raise issues of trust, payment, tracking, IT integration and service levels. The same is true the other way round, with carriers looking at potentially attractive loads, but they are rightfully unsure of the quality of information they receive upfront, as well as the certainty and speed of payment, Tan points out. “CILLOX caters to all these


concerns, providing one platform, means


of payment, shipment


tracking and set of guarantees to shippers and carriers, enabling them to interact with confidence and ease,” she insists.


Forward thinking, Forward moving


I am often asked about the important decisions made by our organization. Without hesitation, choosing


Forward Computers as our software provider is proving to be a pivotal one to the on-going success and the progression of Graylaw’s future.


Nick Green, General Manager, Graylaw Freight Group


forwardcomputers.co.uk


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