Murata IoT solution boosts logistics company’s efficiency and sustainability
The concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) is so broad that successful developers need to collaborate with customers to adapt IoT designs to each target market. And that’s what Murata has done by working with Schotpoort Logistics to improve the efficiency of the Dutch company’s operations.
Murata got together with Schotpoort Logistics to discuss how IoT based solutions could boost its efficiency and sustainability. The two companies agreed that a system that could check how much freight was occupying each of the company’s trailers would be useful.
Murata is developing a device which, when mounted in a trailer, can scan its load area for pallets or other objects.
Each measurement would then be translated into an occupancy figure for the trailer, expressed in standard Europallets. This figure could then be visualized on a mobile-friendly website, so that both drivers and Schotpoort managers could quickly assess how efficiently each truck was being used.
To ensure Murata’s solution would provide the insights that Schotpoort needed, the Dutch company hosted engineers from the Murata offices in München, Germany, and Hoofddorp, the Netherlands, to install and test the prototype. The tests focused on how well the device could detect individual pallets, and the effect of varying lighting and weather conditions on its accuracy as well as how the device shape should be, what are the necessary electronics components etc.
Valuable insights
The support from Schotpoort Logistics has given Murata valuable insights into the limitations of the prototype hardware, and how the supporting software should evolve to provide accurate and actionable information. Murata is now refining the device to ensure it can deliver these insights consistently over the long term.
Having an accurate measure of a truck’s occupancy highlights any unused space and helps ensure that pallets scheduled to travel on a particular truck don’t get left behind. We hope that combining Schotpoort Logistics’ insights with our IoT hardware and software will boost both the individual truck and overall fleet occupancy figures for our customer.
Our work with Schotpoort Logistics is a great example of the importance of, and benefits that spring from, effective collaboration between IoT technology providers such as Murata and market leaders such as Schotpoort Logistics. We hope for many more such collaborations.
Source: Trans Info
