News / Hapag and Nexxiot's smart scheme for better speed, quality and value

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Hapag-Lloyd and Nexxiot’s partnership to create the largest connected fleet of smart containers will save time, money and CO2, the pair claim.  

Nexxiot CEO Stefan Kalmund told The Loadstar Podcast: “For the first time, you have door-to-door monitoring independent from the transport mode.”  

The real-time monitoring device is aimed at being fitted to more than 1m containers by mid-2024. 

The device fitted to a container can automatically detect which transport mode is being used and send updates accordingly. For example, if it is at sea, it may send one expected arrival update per day. However, as it reaches the last mile, on a trailer, it will give an update every 15 minutes.  

“With this kind of knowledge, we will be able to create advantages on an operational efficiency side,” explained Olaf Habert, director of container operations at Hapag-Lloyd.  

Another benefit is that it uses smart PTI (pre-trip inspection). This data is used to predict the health of a reefer container’s mechanism and decide if further inspection is needed. Shippers will, therefore, get reefer containers quicker and will not have to wait for a PTI slot, claim the partners. 

This new partnership could also expedite port authority clearance, as the tracking device is able to prove a container has not been tampered with. Mr Kalmund explained that “green lanes” at ports would allow those containers to pass freely.  

“They will be processed faster than containers where there is no digital order tracking,” he said.   

Mr Habert said that while this was a significant investment, it would pay off for shippers.  

“We believe we can provide for customers that want additional quality and value, and yes that does come at an additional cost.”  

Mr Habert told The Loadstar Podcast the pricing for this new technology would “sit around the small double–digit mark in US dollars per box, per transport”, but the exact figure had not been decided yet.