The fleet of 4,500 wagons is made up of several types, including specialist ones for gas, chemicals, petroleum, slurry, powder and hoppers. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Paris, Atir is largely focused on the medium and long term railcar rentals business.
Recently the company decided to deploy Nexxiot’s TradeTech to increase the visibility of the fleet and improve the efficiency of operations.
It will use Nexxiot range of sensor hardware, software, advanced algorithms and analytics for fleet visibility and efficiency. The primary drivers include better fleet utilisation, maintenance scheduling, repairs, operational improvements, and process automation.
The Nexxiot Globehopper 3.0 hardware roll-out began in May and Atir Rail clients will be introduced to the new data-driven services over the coming year. Nexxiot hardware is certified safe for use in hazardous environments (ATEX/HAZLOC) and the data is sent to the Nexxiot Connect Intelligent Cloud in real-time to monitor and control actual mileage, railcar and cargo conditions and asset health.
The technology also means it is possible to monitor the quality of the cargo and various parameters that are important for improving operational performance, service quality, and sustainability.
Nexxiot’s objective is to reduce carbon emissions in the supply chain by 5 percent by reducing empty moves, optimising inefficient routes and eliminating handling errors. The company also has a policy of recycling and managing the end-of-life of the sensor hardware itself.
“Quality is a central pillar of our culture,” said Stefan Kalmund, Nexxiot CEO. “As drivers of the emerging TradeTech sector and leaders in the digitalisation of the global supply chain, we take our responsibilities very seriously. We know how important safety, security and sustainability are to our clients. We make sure we support their strategic goals for the long-term as well as their commercial goals for the immediate future as well,” he added.
New sensor
Nexxiot has also launched a new sensor device – Cargo Monitor.
The telematics firm claims the device delivers “unbeatable” connectivity and data performance in a compact, easy-to-use design. As such it should provide significantly better real-time visibility of the location, status, and condition of shipments anywhere in the world.
“There are approximately 40 million standard intermodal shipping containers in use around the world today, most of which are not tracked in any way,” said Matilda Bouchet, head of cargo at Nexxiot. “Until now, shippers and cargo stakeholders have had little to no visibility to their goods in transit. The Cargo Monitor device seeks to shift the paradigm by providing end-to-end visibility and critical data in a rugged, cost-effective, and easy-to-deploy package.”
Cargo Monitor can be used to monitor the transport of high-value and sensitive products, including perishables, pharmaceuticals, textiles, conditions-sensitive industrial products, electronics and more. The device is simply attached to the cargo within the shipping container. Nexxiot’s proprietary, purpose-built software provides a seamless user experience to identify cargo-damaging shocks, excessive humidity, condensation, temperature, cargo provenance, and security issues.
Among the benefits include complete visibility taken from prime data, direct from the cargo itself. Cargo owners receive information on location, conditions, handling events and get safety related assurances, while shippers can prove the location, status, cargo quality and can demonstrate process accountability and transparency on delivery times to the receiver.
Carriers can also improve safety performance and reduce issues resulting from misdeclaration of cargo.
Data is used to accelerate essential processes including freight declarations, customs checks and stowage planning to reduce journey times.
