High-value asset tracking: visibility for cash machines transportation

Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) enables secure payment transactions across all physical, electronic and digital forms, and is a trusted partner for central banks worldwide with solutions for the entire currency cycle.

G+D regularly transports cost-intensive and extremely sensitive banknote processing systems to clients across the globe. It is essential for G+D to implement the high-value asset tracking and collect data about the status of the machines and packages at every stage of their journey.

To ensure the equipment is delivered as required, the company needed:

• equipment location tracking and visibility to know that the goods are being carried as planned;
• opportunity to monitor temperature and other parameters of how the goods are handled;
• understanding the accurate delivery time frame and ability to share it with G+D clients.

Solution

Hardware and connectivity

Pod Group set on a task to find a sustainable solution for large-size and precious cargo tracking. At the same time, the solution needed to be easy to maintain, secure against hackers, and be able to withstand any weather conditions.

To collect the necessary data and track the high-value assets, the client was offered devices by SODAQ. They were chosen for the project because of their technical capabilities:

• They can be used on parcels to detect opening or tampering.
• The devices are extremely low power and ensure long battery life.
• A solar-powered device has a lifespan of over 5 years without maintenance or charging.
• The device can charge the battery even in overcast conditions by harvesting white light.
• The device is sturdy enough with an IP67 casing to support industrial applications.

All these features were ideal for tracking wooden boxes shipped across the globe. The service provider also ensured the availability of LTE-M connectivity during the journey and used one of their SIM cards to enable secure and continuous data transmission.

Software

The data from the devices is sent to easy-to-use dashboards. 

• The devices’ location is shown on a detailed map. Dispatchers can zoom in to see the exact street or storage facilities while the device is in transit or being transported. 

• Additional data such as tilt and temperature is also provided.

• The ability to change the devices’ settings via the software is available. Thanks to this feature, Pod Group set the best configuration to receive the containers’ position as often as the client needed. 

• The entire route is displayed so that the client could both anticipate problems and improve future logistics.

• Parcel opening features and accelerometer changes are used to highlight when the wooden box had been opened by the client and in which direction the goods were transported.

The client places the screen with the real-time information on the parcel next to the software they use for their logistics operations. This helps the operator have a better picture of the entire journey and have more control over the high-value asset tracking process.

The next steps of the project are to integrate the data readings into SAP. The client now considers implementing the solution across their fleet for time-sensitive shipments.

Support

Pod Group offered detailed 24/7 support and conducted detailed training sessions for G+D employees. Moreover, they provided a specialist in network connectivity to help configure the devices as well as manage the connectivity.