Maersk to add virtual assistant to RCM platform

Captain Peter will be integrated into the remote container management platform during the first half of the year.    Maersk announced Wednesday it will add a virtual assistant — named Captain Peter — in the first half of 2019 to its remote container management (RCM) platform, which will feature a revamped design and new product features.
   Captain Peter, which will be integrated into the RCM platform launched in 2017, will send up-to-date information via a customer’s preferred channel, such as SMS or email, on container temperature and atmosphere conditions. The virtual assistant also will give a timeline on its end-to-end journey and notify customers if any deviations are observed or a shipment is delayed.
   “Our goal is for the RCM product to look and feel like your favorite smartphone app,” Anne-Sophie Zerlang Karlsen, head of global reefer management, said in an emailed press release. “There is still a lot of paperwork and difficult processes in global trade. Captain Peter will help take care of some of this complexity by seamlessly engaging with the customer from end to end in the supply chain.”
   RCM technology makes a reefer’s location, temperature, humidity and power status available to customers. More than 2,300 customers have signed up for RCM, which translates to more than 70 percent of the Danish company’s reefer volume, according to the press release.
   “With the number of active users of the RCM platform constantly growing, the aspiration is for Captain Peter to gather enough information to be able to predict potential cargo damage and provide configuration suggestions before containers are shipped,” Karlsen said.