DC Velocity - October 2016

BlackBerry launches tracking system for truck trailers, containers

Smartphone pioneer BlackBerry Ltd. has rolled out an asset-tracking tag that it said delivers near real-time data on the location and condition of truck trailers and containers.

Trucking companies that subscribe to the “BlackBerry Radar” system can improve on-time deliveries, theft prevention, and fuel efficiency by attaching the brick-shaped wireless devices to their trailers and shipping containers, Derek Kuhn, senior vice president of Internet of Things (IoT) for Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry, said in a conference call with reporters.

BlackBerry, which is entering a crowded field of asset-tracking systems, said it will differentiate itself by offering a low-priced system that delivers data through cloud-based platforms without requiring expensive IT infrastructure.

The BlackBerry Radar product is a software and hardware combination that includes a wireless hub that sends data through cellular networks and a connection to BlackBerry’s cloud-based Io T platform. Users attach the tracking device by drilling three holes in a trailer door to accommodate two bolts and a cable, Kuhn said. Once the device is connected, customers such as fleet operation managers, load planners, and dispatchers can obtain real-time data on each unit’s location, temperature, and humidity; whether the trailer doors are open or closed; and whether the trailers are empty or loaded, according to BlackBerry.

Accessing that data has been a long-
standing goal for the Caravan Group
of Companies, a Canadian cross-border
carrier that operates 1,500 tractor-trail-
ers. Caravan has installed 500 BlackBerry
Radar trackers and plans to add more,
the company said. “Running a fleet of
‘Smart Trailers’ has been a vision of ours
for a while, but it wasn’t until we met
with BlackBerry [that we thought] it
could come to fruition,” John Iwaniura,
president of Oakville, Ontario-based
Caravan, said in a statement.

BlackBerry Radar’s success will
depend on its ability to deliver a
seamless tracking solution at a low
price, according to one expert. “This
technology has been around for
years,” said Tony Wayda, supply
chain practice senior director and
principal at Boulder, Colo., consult-
ing firm SCApath LLC. “The only
thing that can make BlackBerry’s
solution any different is price point
and ease of installation. Sensors are
cheap nowadays.”
BlackBerry could find a receptive
audience among carriers of high-val-
ue and temperature-controlled
cargo, as well as fleets that struggle
to track their trailers between dispa-
rate yards, Wayda said.

The announcement is the latest in BlackBerry’s efforts to reinvent itself as a wireless technology player in the transportation and logistics field. It led the way in smartphone development in the consumer market but was eventually eclipsed by rivals Apple Inc. and Korean giant Samsung Electronics.