As of today, all ParceLive users are now able to create profiles where they can configure sensor settings based on their own needs for specific goods and shipments. Profiles are a set of parameters applied to a journey to govern the behaviour of a specific set of parameters returned by a device. As each ParceLive user might be shipping different types of goods via various modes of transportation, they must be able to set a specific tracking profile per shipment request. There are numerous ParceLive users all from varying industries. As a result, each customer or channel partner therefore has different variables that are important for them to monitor whilst tracking shipments.
Determining the frequency of receiving alerts for when exceptional events are triggered is another feature that can be adjusted with profiling. A customer or channel partner who is tracking a shipment that is either within their own country or within close range of them does not necessarily need to worry about conserving battery life. With long distances abroad however, the need for a longer battery life is more pertinent. As the user will want to know the location, condition and security of their shipment across the entirety of the delivery journey, the frequency at which the tracker reports back on data must be adjusted accordingly to the length of the journey. If the goods in transport are extremely sensitive to the conditions they’re kept in, then regular alerts will be required to ensure consignments do not expire which in turn can have an affect on battery life.
Recognising the needs of the various industries that use ParceLive for specific goods and shipments helps to understand how profiling can vary from user to user. Those who work in the pharmaceutical supply chain require the ParceLive tracker to report back on temperature and humidity. These variables however do not apply to supply chain professionals working in automotive who are more interested in knowing whether not shipments have been subject to impact or shock.
Below is an image of a profile being created for the pharmaceutical industry:
The World Health Organisation states that pharmaceutical products, drugs and plants can be seriously damaged when exposed to high temperatures or increased humidity. It is therefore vital that the user is sent automatic alerts if the temperature and humidity sensors are outside of the selected range. In doing so, the appropriate action can be taken to save the shipment or pin point exactly what went wrong and how to resolve the issue.
One user of Hanhaa’s ParceLive tracker is a cinematic production company based in France. Below is an image of the ParceLive dashboard displaying a journey that they are currently tracking which consists of valuable media equipment:
The shipment began its journey in France, eventually making its way to the South-Western corner of the UK before being transported via ship to Hilton Head Island, Georgia. From looking at the journey on the ParceLive dashboard, we can see that the shipment is currently in Colombia awaiting its next dispatch.
The media equipment in transport is expensive and must not be subject to damage as this may result in high repair costs and unhappy customers. The profile created below reflects the variables that need to be measured in order to have full visibility on the shipment during transport:
Due to the length of the delivery journey and the various modes of transportation taken, the frequency at which the tracker reports back on data must be extended. This is to ensure the user is informed of the shipment’s location, condition and security for the entirety of the delivery route. Shock detection has been made active meaning that alerts will be sent for readings above 2g (g force). By selecting ‘box dropped’, trackers under this profile will issue an automatic alert if the tracker is subject to more than 0.4 seconds of freefall. This is also coupled with the tilt alert meaning that if the tracker is subject to tilt greater than 30 degrees in any direction then the user will be informed.
With the profile feature now active, customers and channel partners can now configure the sets of data that they want to be alerted on and determine the frequency at which this data is reported back to them.
