Intel platform tracks shipments with IoT

Chip maker Intel Corp. has announced an internet of things (IoT) solution for logistics tracking, calling it a cost-effective way to monitor the condition and location of assets in environments throughout the supply chain.

Intel's Connected Logistics Platform (CLP) supports near real-time supply chain visibility, while monitoring the quality, integrity, and security of shipments on the move, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based firm said Dec. 20.

The launch is Intel's latest step to build logistics technology products since announcing in 2017 that it would team with Honeywell International Inc. to develop IoT solutions for the retail industry to enhance logistics, improve inventory visibility, and drive supply chain efficiencies.

Supplying that flow of data can allow companies to mitigate risk in near real-time, extract actionable insights, and perform trend and predictive analytics, Intel says. In one example, the California berry purveyor Driscoll's is using the CLP to ensure longer shelf-life for its perishable products, Intel said. Driscoll uses the IoT tool to see temperature variations across different vendor trucks and to track temperature fluctuations, humidity effects, shelf-life, and third-party logistics (3PL) performance, Intel said.

Intel partner PA Consulting said the CLP product delivers real-time transparency of shipment progress and conditions. "Some evaluations include findings of temperature excursions for more than 60 percent of the shipment duration, with route and duration improvement opportunities of up to eight hours on a 36-hour shipment," JJ Van der Meer, partner at PA Consulting, said in a release. "They are also finding significant deviations in shock measurements, up to a doubling in g-forces experienced by sensitive products, depending on the truck and road quality."

For over 100 years, Driscoll's has focused on naturally breeding delicious and flavorful berries. #FinestBerries
Watch our journey here: https://t.co/Z1x7sjZhvE pic.twitter.com/LGSxDbYII8

— Driscoll's Berries (@driscollsberry) January 2, 2019