Every year, Deutsche Post DHL Group transports around 1.5 billion parcels and packages only in Germany. Efficient courtyard logistics at the sorting centers are essential to ensure a high level of service quality. Using a new technology and manufacturer-independent software solution from the industrial IoT specialist 7iD Technologies also benefits major customers and partners.

Around 1.5 billion parcels from Deutsche Post DHL Group are distributed in 35 parcel centers throughout Germany yearly. For this purpose, up to 27,000 swap bodies are in use for transports via trucks or freight wagons. By utilizing a new identification solution complemented with a powerful software platform to identify and capture these swap bodies, the world’s leading logistics group is creating new opportunities for state-of-the-art „Industrial Internet of Things“ (IIoT) applications. The company deliberately uses this solution to provide external partners and customers distinct access to important information on objects. Hence, master data tables for bridges and transponder numbers now belong to the past.

Technology- and manufacturer-independent software for enhanced flexibility and transparency

With the shift to a new system – consisting of passive RFID, license plate cameras and ultrasound as well as using the IoT platform from the specialist 7iD Technologies GmbH – the truck handling processes can be automated further and business partners can now extract object information on swap bodies themselves.

The solution currently handles 140 truck entries and exits at 35 locations and records up to 25,000 bridges daily, with an accuracy of almost 100%. The transponders attached to the swap bodies identify the containers per entry lane. Number plate cameras register the trucks, ultrasound sensors detect the order of bridge occupancies and thus enable direct allocation and coordination of trucks in the course of yard logistics. Additionally, the combination of different software components allows central administration and monitoring of swap bodies as well as real-time data and access at the same time. This enables targeted control of assets within the network. “With our software, various IoT solutions in the field of logistics can easily be implemented. The stability of the system, an intuitive configurability and the possibility to integrate any sensor technology are paramount”, explains Gerhard Gangl, Managing Director of 7iD Technologies.