Irish logistics firm ‘revolutionises’ supply chain with IoT tracking
Ireland’s mails, parcels and ecommerce logistics company, An Post, has contracted VT-IoT, the operator of Ireland’s Sigfox 0G network to overhaul its supply chain. An Post will be using Internet of Things (IoT) tracking devices as part of its project to create an innovative and fast-moving digital transformation strategy.
An Post Mails & Parcels is rapidly changing from the old world of traditional letters to the new world of ecommerce parcel logistics and business-to-business (B2B) services for Irish and international businesses. An Post runs Ireland’s fleet, including the country’s fleet of electric vehicles. It recently opened its new fully-automated Dublin Parcel Hub and its operational infrastructure includes a large volume of returnable transport units such as roll cages and containers.
To provide an efficient and cost-effective service, An Post require a systematically integrated operational process. The roll cages and containers in which parcels are transported must be available every day in the required quantities in the Company’s mails hubs across the country.
With the advance of revolutionary Internet of Things (IoT) technology, VT and Sigfox is providing An Post with the solution it needs to optimise its supply chain. Smart tracking devices empower An Post to monitor the location of its assets nationwide, even outside its own supply chain. Using Sigfox, the world’s IoT service provider and first global 0G network operator, has eliminated the barriers associated with traditional tracking technologies: price, battery life and coverage, by providing low cost, low power connectivity over a single global network today available in more than 70 countries.
“VT’s state-of-the-art solution has resulted in significantly increased transparency in our postal distribution network, ensuring world class quality of service for our customers and lower operational costs through improved containerisation efficiency,” explains Mark Devine, national engineering maintenance & performance manager, An Post.
Mark Bannon, CEO, VT, says,“Our collaboration with An Post is an exciting step forward into the future of industrial IoT and a key milestone toward connecting billions of IoT devices globally on the Sigfox 0G network. We are confident our solutions have the power to truly revolutionise the way logistics and supply chain companies do business, resulting in significantly reduced costs and increased efficiencies.”
Glen Robinson, SVP global sales & marketing at Sigfox comments, “We are delighted to support An Post in this new era of industry 4.0, where we are making the once untraceable now entirely visible to organisations. We continue to deliver benefits to Postal organisations, like An Post in Ireland, DHL in Germany and Posti in Finland. This is a key vertical for Sigfox, where we strive to deliver value and thought leadership in Global Supply Chain & Logistics.”
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