April/May 2007

Delicate and temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products can be tracked whilst in transit in articulated trunk vehicles under a system developed jointly by logistics contractor DHL, tracking systems supplier Microlise and RFID (radio frequency identification) specialist AeroScout.

The aim is to achieve real-time visibility of the location and temperature of pharmaceutical shipments throughout the supply chain, ensuring that the data can be accessed by users through a standard Web browser.

An unusual feature of the system, championed particularly by AeroScout, is the use of active RFID tags (those with power to transmit data) that work on Wi-Fi frequencies. These tags, which also embody temperature sensors, are attached to load units inside the trailers.

Data about the items of goods and their temperature is transmitted over a local Wi-Fi 'network' within the vehicle to a Wi-Fi reader connected to a Microlise tracking unit in the motive vehicle. This unit in turn sends the information by GPRS to a transport management centre hosted by Microlise, and onward to the customer.

 

During the journey, the system monitors the temperature of the shipment against customer-defined business rules. Deviations from pre-set parameters trigger a text message or email alert so that appropriate action can be taken.

Since the RFID tags use normal Wi-Fi frequencies, the data they transmit can continue to be captured in the warehouse through standard warehouse Wi-Fi networks.

This is a truly international initiative. The initial system has been installed in trailers of from Muller Transporte, a Vienna-based company specialising in bio-science products that need to be stored at between 2 and 8 deg C. The system is being tested on a route between Belgium and a DHL warehouse in Sweden. The pharmaceutical client has not been named.