Why has container tracking evolved from old manual practices?

Past manual tracking relied on non-standard waybills and slow stakeholder communications, causing frequent supply chain opacity and errors. Digitalization replaces these inefficient methods, introducing global tracking standards that provide real-time location visibility and proactive planning.

Which digital technologies drive real-time container tracking?

Modern container tracking utilizes wireless RFID tags for close-range data reading, satellite-based GPS for global location and velocity updates, and cost-effective BLE IoT devices. Together, these technologies deliver highly accurate Estimated Time of Arrival updates.

What unique identifiers do shippers use to track a container?

Shippers can monitor their cargo by entering a unique identifier into tracking portals. This includes an ISO-standardized 11-character container number, a carrier-issued booking reference number, or the legal bill of lading agreement details.

How does Zipaworld leverage tracking tech to simplify supply chains?

Zipaworld simplifies the tracking process by integrating digital tools directly into its single-window platform. By connecting carriers and advanced tech, Zipaworld eliminates opacity, offering absolute transparency, reduced logistics risks, and seamless visibility.

Container Tracking: From Manual Processes to Digitalization

In the world of supply chain where hundreds of ships carrying containers traverse the seas, container tracking has become an absolute necessity. From knowing the whereabouts of your goods to proactive planning, tracking plays a significant role. It keeps you aware of the route taken and journey covered by the cargo.

Prior to the advent of containerization and container tracking, there were days in the past when predicting the location of your container was a difficult task. Shippers relied on manual tracking processes for information like the location and status of their cargo. Those methods were not so standardized and took much of the shipper's time.

Shipping companies maintained waybills that listed the contents of the shipment. All this had to be manually updated at each stage of the cargo transportation. Shippers had to rely on multiple stakeholders like Shipping lines, NVOCCs, Customs to gather this information, leaving them dependent on carriers which eventually led to opacity and miscommunication.

Tracking relied on a combination of manual processes, documentation, and communication between different stakeholders. These methods provided tracking and accountability to some extent, but reduced the overall efficiency of the supply chain. These processes were highly labor-intensive, time-consuming and often prone to errors and delays.

The Digital Transformation of Tracking

The scenario changed post digitalization of the tracking techniques. It has helped in standardizing the entire process. Following are the few technologies that has aided in simplifying the process-

1. RFID: Radio Frequency Identification uses the radio waves to track the tags attached to the container. It has two components- a tag and a reader. An antenna receives information from the tag in the form of radio waves, which then sends back the information to the reader in a usable form. The benefit it offers is it being a wireless device and not requiring a line of sight to track the object.

2. GPS Technology: Global Positioning System is a global navigation system that uses satellites to provide the location. Not only the location, but it also helps in knowing the velocity that can help in getting near accurate Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) of shipments.

3. BLE Technology: Bluetooth Low Energy technology is a wireless communication system that uses bluetooth for short range location tracking. These are small and cost-effective IoT devices that can be attached to the container.

Using these technologies efficiently, you can track your shipment in real-time and make informed decisions. And not only this, container tracking also provides additional information such as-

1. Estimated date & time of container's arrival and departure at each level.

2. All the stops at hubs and ports including loading and discharge.

To track shipment leveraging these technologies, shippers need any of these unique identifiers to be entered on the tracking apps/ sites to get visibility into their cargo's journey-

1. Container number

A container number is an alphanumeric code containing 11 characters (4 letters and 7 digits) assigned by the ISO (International Standards Organization). Initial 4 characters are capital letters, first 3 of which are the owner code, while the 4th letter is equipment category identifier (ECI). This ECI can be any of these 3 letters- U,J or Z, where U symbolizes freight container, J signifies the attached container related equipment such as a power unit, and Z signifies trailer or chassis used to carry a storage container. These letters are followed by 7 digits- 6 of which are the registration number (serial number) decided by the owner and the last digit is the Check Digit. This check digit is significant as it is used to verify that the entire identification sequence is accurate. This digit should match with the digit registered with the BIC (Bureau International des containers).

2. Booking Reference/ Job number

Booking number is a unique code found on the receipts/ invoices provided by the carrier. It contains the reservation details about the service taken.

3. Bill of lading

A Bill of Lading is a legal agreement between a shipper and the carrier. It contains detailed information about the particulars of the shipment.

While these numbers play a significant role in shipment tracking, the use of IoTs have revolutionized supply chain management. Monitoring the shipment has been ever simplified with increased transparency and reduced risks.