Wireless technology provider, WhereNet Corp., this week rolled out a cargo tracking solution for shipping ports to help manage the growing influx of containers coming into the United States from Asia Pacific.
The WhereNet Marine Terminal Solution (MTS) combines the company's flagship RFID real-time location system (RTLS) with business intelligence software, sensor data and sophisticated algorithms, which create a virtual tagging system that eliminates the need to tag every container moving off the dock.
With roots in the automotive industry, WhereNet is branching out into market segments that impact the transportation industry supply chain, including rail hubs, marine terminals and truck fleets.
The technology infrastructure behind MTS consists of a wireless device that is mounted on trucks or other equipment used to move the containers. It communicates with an active RFID tag that sends a persistent location signal, which is then received in real-time by the WhereNet wireless LAN infrastructure. The MTS incorporates business intelligence to filter irrelevant data and calculate the exact location and status of containers in a marine facility. This pertinent location data is then reported to the terminal operating system (TOS).
The need for new ways to manage containers is becoming a priority for West Coast ports specifically, which are experiencing a surge in cargo volume from Asia. According to consulting firm, Accenture, shipping companies are forecasting Asia-to-US cargo growth of between 10% and 12% in 2005, with container volumes tripling by 2020.
"Those numbers make you pause because [the marine terminals] are already operating at capacity," said Ian McPherson, president of Wireless Data Research in San Mateo, Calif. "So where will this extra [30%-to-] 40% go (over time)? Having this kind of automated system that knows where the containers are to move them out faster is the only way they'll keep up."
For this reason, SSA Marine, one of the largest privately-held container terminal operator and cargo handling companies in the world, is deploying the WhereNet MTS in four of its West coast ports this year. "The primary driving force for adopting the technology was efficiency and terminal throughput," said John Rosen, WhereNet's director of product marketing, in an interview. "Congestion in the ports is a key issue."
The MTS system provides a detailed map of a facility, and software that translates location data into something operators can understand, Rosen explained. With that information in hand, they can begin dispatching containers, which is where MTS' benefits come into play. "Just to determine that location could take a day or longer. Now they have the information as it as happening, which cuts delivery time down and increases storage space," Rosen said.
Pricing for WhereNet MTS, which is available now, starts around $500,000 with some deployments costing up to $4 million. But given the cost of land and labor, WhereNet officials claim ROI can be achieved in under a year.