Valuable goods such as consumer electronics must be particularly protected from damage and theft during transport. The best solution for this is an electronically lockable trolley – the Dolly+ from ALSO. It determines its position with a GPS tracker and sends the data to the cloud.
The challenge: High-value consumer electronics must be protected from damage and theft during transport
Notebooks, smartphones, gaming, hi-fi, home theater – Cyberport has everything the consumer electronics market has to offer. In addition to its successful online store, Cyberport has 16 stores that supply an extensive shipping network. In some cases, the goods are handled several times. As this is valuable and at the same time sensitive equipment, the delivery must run smoothly and safely.
Cyberport’s logistics face the challenge of protecting the goods from damage and theft. High-quality computers, hi-fi systems and extra-large TV sets in particular often have commodity values in the mid-four-digit range, which are particularly popular with criminals.
Cyberport was therefore looking for a modern transport container that would meet two requirements: First, the goods must be protected from damage, and second, from theft. The latter should be enabled via location tracking with the IoT (Internet of Things). To achieve this, Cyberport relied on technology provider ALSO, which has hardware from more than 700 vendors in its portfolio and supports its customers in developing customized solutions.
The solution: An electronically coded IoT transport box that can report its position with GPS
The smart logistics trolley Dolly+ developed by ALSO protects valuable goods from theft and damage during transport. It also enables real-time location tracking. Handling is also very easy – thanks to its dimensions, the trolley can easily pass through doors or stand in elevators. In addition, up to 24 pieces fit into one truck. In a pilot project, Cyberport tested Dolly+ for a few months.
The corresponding logistics processes run like this: Employees place the goods ordered by a store in the trolley and lock it electronically. It is opened with a PIN, which the store receives automatically. During transport, authorized employees can continuously track it with the built-in GPS tracker on the ALSO IoT platform and open it with the PIN upon arrival at the destination. This requires special permissions that are managed by a web app.
In addition to the GPS receiver, there are five different sensors for Dolly+ that are installed as needed: Sensors for powerful shocks, humidity, temperature, tilt and motion. When they detect noticeable changes in the measured values, they trigger an alarm on the cloud platform, which is forwarded by mail or SMS. This makes it possible, for example, to monitor sensitive goods such as medicines or foodstuffs, to register untypical movements at night or to detect incorrect handling of the transport boxes.
The result: Improved security and greater transparency for all transports between the sites
Dolly+ significantly improved the security of the transports for Cyberport: During the entire pilot project, there were no losses of goods, but there were some attempts to break open the box. The integrated GPS sensor increases transparency in logistics. Cyberport can track where the trolleys are in transit at any time and quickly inform recipients of any delays or discrepancies.
Overall, the use of the device increased digitization in the warehouse and shipping. Employees have found it particularly innovative and practical to operate a loading aid with a handheld. The PIN codes for subsequent opening in the stores are simply transmitted digitally to the colleagues on site.
In the meantime, Cyberport has ordered 15 of the trolleys flexibly via a rental model. Since August 2021, Cyberport logistics has now been in the practical phase, which will initially last one year. During this time, the solution is to be optimized further and further. ALSO, for example, is currently developing prototypes that do not have drawers inside so that Cyberport can also optimally transport bulky goods.
