LCL shippers join DHL tracking trial

DHL Global Forwarding has initiated trial shipments with its own 45-foot equipment.

DHL Global Forwarding has initiated trial shipments with its own 45-foot equipment.

A handful of LCL (less than container load) customers are the first beneficiaries of this programme, with the trial containers scheduled from DHL’s LCL gateway in Hong Kong to major European gateways on a round trip basis.

These customers will be able to track their shipments via the internet as it journeys across its westbound routes to Germany and the Netherlands. After this, more countries will be added to this trial.

The programme was enabled by tagging the containers with GPS devices from Savi Networks, and the first containers departed Hong Kong on February 14 on Hyundai Mercury’s maiden voyage.

“With more than two million cubic metres of LCL freight handled annually via 35,000 points pairs within the DHL in-house system, we are determined to further improve our service level in order to strengthen our market leading position when it comes to in-house LCL services,” said Marc Meier, DHL Global Forwarding’s global head of LCL.

The GPS trial on DHL’s Danmar Lines containers was made possible through the use of security sensing container devices from Savi Networks.

“Live” actionable data of the cargo will be available through a web-based monitoring system accessible to customers, which enables them to monitor the security status of their shipments real-time and view the route of shipments through automatically generated maps.

The sensor devices report on the security status of the shipments as well as environmental conditions inside the container such as temperature, humidity, shock, vibration and light. These sensing capabilities help to detect and alert incidences of cargo theft and damage, offering a higher level of security and product integrity.

The real-time data provided through the GPS system helps customers improve their supply chain processes, better evaluate delivery times, monitor container routes, and most importantly, reduces costs of risk management. With this capability, customers can now monitor shipment status at any time and from virtually anywhere.

“Innovation has always been a key driver in the success of DHL’s LCL product, using it as a key element to provide our customers with solutions that simplifies their supply chain needs,” said Clas Thorell, DHL Global Forwarding’s Hong Kong-based regional LCL head for the Asia-Pacific Region.

“Linking this new GPS technology with our weekly guaranteed, own operated LCL services, this will show the unique capabilities of our service offering that we provide to our customers.”

Meier said the initiative went hand in hand with DHL’s on-going plans to expand its own operated, weekly guaranteed, LCL services globally.

“Providing fast and reliable services combined with operational excellence, being environment friendly and using the latest technology, is what our customers expect from us as being the first choice in the industry. And we don’t intend to stop here,” he said.