NVO radar screen

NVO radar screen       DHL Global Forwarding wants to take the guess work out of answering the preverbal question from less-than-containerload shippers: 'where's my freight?'
      The Internet has done a remarkable job at helping non-vessel-operating common carriers shed light on where shipments are in the process of being moved from origin to destination. However, most Internet-based tracking systems are only as good as the data put into them by the people at receiving and destination cargo handling facilities, so-called 'touch points.'
      What's happening to the freight during all that time in between? These are the data gaps in the supply chain that trouble certain shippers, especially those with high-valued goods.
      Recently, DHL became interested in exploring the prospects of implementing container tracking technologies backed by global positioning systems (GPS).
      In mid-February, DHL announced its Global Forwarding unit had initiated a GPS tracking test involving five of its own 45-foot containers and 45 other 40-foot boxes from the carriers. A handful of LCL customers, predominantly in the electronics industry, became the first beneficiaries of this cargo tracking program.
      The trial shipments started from DHL's LCL gateway in Hong Kong and proceeded to Rotterdam and Hamburg, where the company has substantial container freight stations in place. The GPS-tagged containers then moved to other LCL markets, such as North America and the Middle East, in DHL's global network.
      Marc Meier, head of DHL Global Forwarding's LCL business, said the real-time data provided through the GPS system will help shippers improve their supply chain processes, better evaluate delivery times, and monitor container routes. 'It's just like the GPS you have in your car,' he said.

Meier

      Meier also noted that the technology provides important updates on environmental conditions inside the containers, such as exposure to varying temperatures, humidity, shock, vibration and light; and sensing capabilities to help detect and alert incidences of cargo theft and damage. In addition, the GPS tags provide DHL with a more efficient way to track its own container assets.
      DHL evaluated a number of GPS service provider before settling on Savi Networks. 'It doesn't mean we're not interested in looking at other providers. This is just a starting point,' Meier said.
      GPS technology for cargo tracking has matured to the point where its deployment costs are no longer a major issue for integrating with today's transportation services, said Neil Smith, chief executive officer of Savi Networks, in an interview.
      'We're leveraging the existing satellite GPS and the billions of dollars already spent on wireless technology,' he said. 'There's no big up-front investment required.'
         Savi has deployed its GPS tracking technology with a number of logistics service providers. The devices are generally attached to the containers at the time the doors are closed for shipping. It's estimated that two to three hours of charging provides 50 to 60 days of battery life to the devices. Savi supplies the devices from various locations around the world. Once the containers reach their destinations the devices can be returned to Savi. 'It's a complete turkey service that we provide to our customers,' Smith said.
      'We're not just a visibility solution,' Smith said. 'We like to say we offer intelligence with a clear financial benefit not just to NVOs but also to their customers.'
      Meier said DHL has sufficient outbound LCL volumes and interested shippers at both ends of its test routes to keep the GPS-equipped containers in motion. Since the test began, more shippers have approached DHL about participating, he added.
      DHL Global Forwarding is providing the GPS tracking free of charge to its LCL customers, but if it proves successful, the company will likely include it as part of its tariff. Participating LCL customers have access to their tracking information through Savi Network's system by inputting the container number and access code. Eventually this information will be accessible to LCL shippers through DHL Global Forwarding's Web site.
      Meier said, so far, LCL customers have expressed mixed reactions to DHL's GPS-tagged containers. 'For the exact same commodity, we have a shipper who is absolutely keen on it and another shipper who is against it,' he said.
      'It's like having an alarm system for your home,' Meier said. For some people, it offers some comfort that an alarm would immediately go off if someone tried to break into their home. Also the alarm system signage on the property may serve as an additional deterrent by telling a would-be criminal 'don't try it.' On the other hand, he said, some homeowners fear that an alarm system may suggest to burglars that your house contains valuable items and will try to find other ways to commit their crimes.
      By April, DHL's GPS-tagged LCL boxes will navigate between about 10 different origin and destination points, also winding their way to the ports of Los Angeles and New York. 'There will be substantially more (point pairs) by the end of the year,' Meier said.
      Meier, who started his career in freight forwarding in the mid-1990s, believes there's still room for improving LCL services, especially if you're fortunate enough to be a part of a large volume global NVO. In DHL's case, 97 percent of its LCL freight is handled in-house, rather than handed off to co-loaders.
      'With more than 2 million cubic meters of LCL freight handled annually via 35,000 point pairs within the DHL in-house system, we are determined to further improve our market leading position when it comes to in-house LCL services,' Meier said.
      'Providing fast and reliable services combined with operational excellence, being environmentally friendly and using the latest technology, is what our customers expect from us as being the first choice in the industry,' he said. 'And we don't plan to stop there.'
      In March 2007, DHL opened an innovation center near Bonn to study ways to improve freight transportation management through the use of technology.
      With increasingly bigger containerships coming on line, Meier foresees the potential for loading more LCL freight into boxes as long as 53 feet. 'To do this will obviously depend on the amount of volume you handle as an NVO,' he said.
      The biggest area for development at DHL, in Meier's view, will be building sufficient LCL volumes for regularly scheduled direct services from hub ports to what most NVOs consider to be offline markets in Africa, South America and Central Asia. 'We want to be a leader in those markets, not a follower,' he said. ' Chris Gillis