FEATURE u Barcoding, Labelling & Packaging
AT&T enables next-generation global mobile asset tracking with smart shipping label
Internet of Things solution helps bring full visibility to products shipped worldwide and transform the global supply chain across industries
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T&T is connecting a smart printable and disposable shipping label that will help businesses track the
location and condition of products shipped worldwide and enable actionable decisions based on the massive amounts of data collected. The adhesive label developed by Sony Semiconductor Israel is activated when attached to a parcel, tracking every item shipped across the globe. “We are proud to take a leading position
in revolutionising the digital supply chain with a disruptive solution, utilising Sony’s Altair low-power cellular IoT technology based on its ALT1250 chipset,” said Aviv Castro, VP of Business Development, who is heading the Smart Label business at Sony Semiconductor Israel. “We created this solution in partnership with leading innovative producers of flexible electronics and printable batteries – increasing end-to-end transparency in the supply chain and making actionable decisions possible thanks to massive amounts of data.” Global supply chains have come under
severe pressure and disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic as business priorities and customer preferences shift. Winter storms, port backlogs and the March backup in the Suez Canal put renewed emphasis on need for efficiencies and full visibility across the supply chain. The Smart Label connects to AT&T’s highly-secure LTE-M cellular network and sends data to the Smart Label cloud to enable decisions while packages are in transit. It can be easily integrated with existing enterprise systems. Businesses gain full visibility into every item shipped during transit and can act quickly on the data. The entire end-to-end process can be
supported through the design and integration expertise of AT&T’s IoT Professional Services Organisation – from installation to deployment and project management. “All large enterprises in the world dealing with finished goods are seeking comprehensive functional and technical solutions to solve one of the top use cases: Real Time Channel Inventory. The Smart Label indicates how much product is in the market, from the packaging line to the end-customer,” said Christof
12 Irish Manufacturing June 2021
Backhaus, Digital Lead Product Supply and Smart Label Project Lead at Bayer. “Due to the technical composition, we do not require any additional infrastructure, manual scanning or other expensive tools.”
CUSTOMER NEEDS It all started with a customer need. Bayer Crop Science Division lacked a global IoT solution that could efficiently keep track of agricultural seed products once they entered the distribution channel. With millions of dollars in revenue at stake, Bayer envisioned a concept that would close the visibility gaps in the supply chain providing real-time inventory. It turned to Sony to develop and commercialise the Smart Label, activated on AT&T’s global cellular network to better manage its supply chain with full end-to-end visibility. Any business that requires efficient tracking and monitoring of the location and condition of products can use this solution. For example: • In pharmaceuticals, manufacturers can
track sensitive products such as vaccines, and sensors can monitor the temperatures in near- real-time to satisfy regulatory requirements and alerts if shipments are tampered with. • In logistics, product lifecycle from shipment
to delivery can be closely monitored, to identify process gaps and anomalies and assess the best distribution schedules by predicting the most-efficient delivery routes. • In retail, notification in near-real-time can help identify when temperatures are not meeting compliance for perishables, and tampering and movement sensors can help guard against theft and missing shipments. “Smart Label promises to help businesses
like Bayer realise the full potential of the IoT and global tracking to deliver improvements in revenue and cost savings, and make their supply chains more efficient,” said Robert Boyanovsky, vice president, Mobility, IoT and 5G, AT&T.
AT&T Communications
att.com
www.irish-manufacturing.com
The adhesive label developed by Sony Semiconductor Israel is activated when attached to the parcel, tracking every item shipped across the globe
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