AeroScout, a pioneer of Active RFID asset tracking over standard Wi-Fi networks, and DHL today announced a partnership to track pharmaceutical products throughout the supply chain using Wi-Fi-based Active RFID.
Real-time visibility of the location and temperature of the pharmaceutical shipments is enabled. A web browser linked to the Microlise Transport Management Centre software enables real time tracking of the vehicle position along with the temperature. Wi-Fi-based AeroScout Active RFID tags continously monitors the shipment.
How it works:
- AeroScout tags are placed on shipment containers (in DHL trucks) to continuously monitor and transmit temperatures of BioScience products.
- Temperature fluctuation info is passed from AeroScout tags to Wi-Fi readers connected to tracking units (provided by Microlise).
- Units send temperature and vehicle location data to real-time monitoring software via GPS.
- The system monitors temperature throughout the journey and matches it to customer defined business rules. If the shipment undergoes a change in temperature, an alert message (SMS/e-mail) is automatically generated so that the appropriate action can be taken.
The system has been installed inside trailers from Mueller Transporte, a Vienna-based company that specializes in Temperature Controlled transportation. They are used to transport BioScience products, which need to be stored at between 2 and 8 °C.
RFID Wi-Fi temperature sensor tags from AeroScout are attached to shipments inside the load compartment. The tags transmit the load’s temperature to a Wi-Fi reader installed in the vehicle. This unit sends temperature along with vehicle location data using a GPS device, via cellular (GPRS) connection to a central server provided by Microlise.
During the journey, if the shipment undergoes a change in temperature an alert message (SMS/e-mail) is automatically generated so that the appropriate action can be taken.
Gabi Daniely, VP of Marketing and Product Strategy at AeroScout said, “The flexibility of the Wi-Fi-based solution empowers DHL to track location, temperature and other data in a single elegant model to enhance business operations.”
