Zebra Technologies Corporation, a global provider of solutions and services that give enterprises real-time visibility into their operations, announced SmartPack Trailer, which provides the transportation and logistics industry with real-time operational visibility. This innovative technology lowers operational costs while improving efficiency in loading trailers, along with load quality, staff training and safety. SmartPack Trailer represents the first in a portfolio of solutions that can help public and private carriers of freight and parcels across ground and air transport modalities build a smarter, more connected distribution network, resulting in real-time, informed decision-making that improves loading operations.
SmartPack Trailer captures operational data, such as load density, trailer fullness, images of loads in progress, and number of packages scanned and loaded per hour, giving organizations insights to achieve peak levels of performance and profitability. SmartPack Trailer delivers on Zebra’s Enterprise Asset Intelligence (EAI) strategy by sensing operational data at the point of activity, and then analyzing that data to derive actionable insights for personnel and dock managers.
Due to a lack of visibility in the loading process, trailers are often loaded improperly, wasting available space. SmartPack Trailer solves this issue by drawing actionable insight from data provided by 3D sensors and camera technology on the loading dock, allowing organizations to eliminate wasted space and time. This helps decrease the number of trailers on the road, thereby reducing fuel and maintenance costs.
SmartPack Trailer’s hardware, software and analytics integrates with various enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to track volumetric efficiency, load rate and when a load is nearing completion. Drivers can be alerted in advance when a trailer is about to be closed out, resulting in lower dwell time and freeing up the dock so a new load can begin.
Businesses can also leverage the images from inside the trailer to track and monitor the lifting techniques of their employees, while enabling loading dock supervisors to make on-the-spot decisions to help employees work faster and more efficiently. This level of visibility can help reduce worker turnover and injury, theft, loss and damage of parcels with every trailer load.
Zebra’s Network Connect for Automation enables organizations to seamlessly connect Zebra scanners and printers to the most widely used industrial Ethernet protocols, and other standard networks typically used in manufacturing and warehousing environments without additional conversion hardware. This minimizes network security exposure, reduces setup and management costs, and increases reliability and device response times.
LifeGuard for Android is the industry’s first security lifecycle offering that extends the service life of Android-based mobile computers with support that is critical for enterprise deployments. By providing regular operating system (OS) security updates, LifeGuard for Android minimizes security risks that can be costly and prolongs the lifecycle of these devices, which can significantly lower the total cost of ownership. This protection strengthens the Zebra Mobility DNA platform suite of enterprise capabilities for Android and is offered as part of Zebra OneCare maintenance contracts.
According to Tom Bianculli, CTO of Zebra, “Given the rise of the on-demand economy driven by e-commerce and the expectation of instant delivery, the need for solutions that can further optimize speed, accuracy and efficiency of the loading process are vital. The new Zebra SmartPack solution suite brings enterprise asset intelligence to the loading dock, providing transportation carriers with the real-time insights they need to run their operations more efficiently.”
