This article is the fifth in a series of posts about how our probabilistic 360° supply chain tracking product, Track & Trust, works. We described how the system works at a component level in our previous articles. Now, we dive into the challenging environment where our pilot operations have been executed. We selected Lebanon, one of the most difficult operational locations in the world, for our first pilot shipments to really prove the mettle of the system.
Aid Pioneers – an Ideal Pilot Partner
We have been working with our humanitarian partner Aid Pioneers for many months to prepare for these shipments. Aid Pioneers connects available resources from donors directly to recipient organizations. Through close collaboration with on the ground initiatives and the private sector, Aid Pioneers connects resources from donors directly with local organizations to foster sustainable, community-led change. They do this in places that need them most, making them a highly innovative humanitarian agency. They take an end-to-end approach to the supply chain, which we believe suits Track & Trust perfectly. Aid Pioneers needs to extend tracking of supplies beyond what typical supply chain tracking products can accomplish. We are helping them achieve this.
Supply Chain Tracking Challenges
Aid Pioneers‘ logistics environment provides a perfect showcase for what Track & Trust can do. When Aid Pioneers ships a container full of medical supplies or solar power generation equipment to a Lebanese clinic or school, they hire a freight forwarder to pick up the goods. The freight forwarder then organizes the delivery to a local port via semi-truck. After that, a freight forwarder loads the container onto a ship. The ship travels to a port of entry in Lebanon, and we track its progress using a typical tracking link. However, once the container clears customs, we take over. We actively track it and pick up where traditional systems stop working.
At this point we encounter tricky conditions. Aid Pioneers local lebanese partner Al-Manhaj breaks down containers into multiple pallets or depalletizes them. They do this before final delivery. After that they deliver goods to one location while others go to other locations at different times. To keep track of what was delivered when, we use probabilistic 360° supply chain tracking. We also developed strategies to deal with power and connectivity outages.
Outwitting Outages
These outages always happen at the wrong time so it’s important that the system is able to handle them. We do this with built in backup batteries and a battery management system. On top of that, the communications landscape is very challenging. Sometimes there’s 4G connectivity and at other times there’s outages. Our mesh nodes can operate no matter, though, by caching incoming data locally. The nodes just wait until the data can be posted or handed off to other mesh nodes. This approach multiplies the effectiveness of our communications assets. On top of that, we positioned one of our satellite uplinks at a local school. As a result, every event is (at the minimum) recorded and transmitted asynchronously – even when conditions are at their worst.
These logistics challenges are not unique to Aid Pioneers’ operations. However, they are particularly pronounced in the places where they work. We believe that if our system works there and brings value to freight forwarders and humanitarian organizations, it will work anywhere. As a result of this testing we’re confident in the capabilities of Track & Trust.
In our next post we’ll describe exactly how the our pilot operations went – and what the big value drivers are.