Modern logistics today cannot exist without the support of telecommunications. What kind of solutions will help optimize the business?

Telecom solutions for logistics allow analyzing not only the movement of goods and the status of trucks, but also how the drivers observe traffic safety. For example, a special sensor can notify the head office of a logistics company that the driver has passed a large area without fastening safety belt or breaking the speed limit. Inside the car there are sensors that allow you to control the temperature and the level of vibration at which the cargo is transported and simultaneously transfer this data to the company.

Internet of Things and Telecommunication Services in Logistics

In few last years, companies around the world are actively using technologies of the Internet of things. For instance, Nestle deployed wireless vehicle management systems (VMS). They can automatically receive vehicle`s performance data, problems report and even automatically schedule a truck maintenance operation based on real data received. The VMS includes an intelligent impact sensor, as well as automatic engine shutdown functions, when the trucks are left idle, that allows reducing fuel consumption and emissions.

The chemical giant Dow Chemical uses the Internet technologies of things to control the transportation and distribution of goods. In particular, different identifiers (RFID, GPS, barcodes), as well as sensors that track the movement of goods and environmental conditions during transportation. Data from sensors flow to the company’s ERP system, where it is analyzed and provided to managers in the form of tables and graphs.

In the CIS the system has already worked for a few years, uniting the RFID and IoT technologies. So, in shops, thanks to RFID belts and IoT sensors, the suppliers watch the location of commodities on the indicated and prepaid shelves and also get statistics on an amount and time of purchases and speed of shelves refill with new commodities.

The agriculture industry also possesses tools for managing the equipment. With the help of sensors, they are able to control the movement of machinery, inject the fertilizers, monitor fuel consumption and even do soil analyzes. If the soil is dry or fertilizer is not enough, all can be quickly arranged—watering or the right amount of fertilizer.

Communication Serving Modern Logistics

With the appearance of modern methods of communication, the organization of logistics has become much simpler. In addition to standard GPS-navigators, that help to build a route, there are also many other modern systems. They are able to monitor cars, record all the route data, keep a record of parking, and in some cases even calculate fuel consumption and analyze the driving style of the car—for example, record situations when the driver exceeded the speed limit. And the most important is to transmit these data in real time, for example, via the mobile 3G Internet.

The company can monitor trucks or driver`s phones. Mobile operators offer services that analyze the location of the SIM card and send notifications in real time. With its help, the machines can be displayed on the map, the history of movements can be reviewed and bulk SMS can be sent to a group of employees.

This service is connected through a programming interface (API) and does not require significant costs, equipment purchase or the selection of special tariffs for the mobile operator.

M2M—Inter-Machine Communication In Logistics

In addition to conventional SIM cards, you the agricultural companies use M2M-solutions, putting special “sims” even into the package of cargo. M2M-cards work longer than usual, they are resistant to external influences and are inexpensive.

Today, M2M is offered by all the world’s leading telecom operators. Each of them has several tariff packages for M2M, so it becomes much easier for the logisticians to optimize the business and save costs.

Services for Business

Except the instruments intended especially for logistics companies, the operators of connection give universal services for business, that will be highly demanded in logistic. For example, possibility to purchase services of commercial call-center, providing for services of hotline or support service, SMS- distribution to subscribers, simply connecting to the network of the main office or regional representative offices and use of broadband channels for data transfer, backup etc. What else do the telecom operators offer?

The specialists of international telecom carrier form Malta Platinum Services Ltd. (portal.voiplatinum.com) point out main beneficial services for the agriculture industry  telecom operators may provide:

1. Short numbers service for transport control (the short number is the same as the car ID number, which simplifies the call to the desired car). The number is attached to the car, not to the driver.
2. Control of unloading-loading, warning about changes in the delivery schedule, etc. (grouping numbers into categories according to logistic criteria: goods, route, hub, warehouse, customs, etc.) to target notifications. This helps to increase the effectiveness of interaction between remote employees and employees of the office.
3. The connection of mobile offices. Since this service is cloud service, it does not matter where the office is located: if the company changes the location, the network can be quickly launched in new locations.
4. Short numbering + speed dialing—operational communication.

Combining fixed and mobile communication. It allows the company to quickly accept the order at fixed office number and quickly transfer it to mobile numbers of drivers.

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Note: This was a sponsored submission