WiseTech Global has announced a groundbreaking partnership with liner operator Hapag-Lloyd to equip its fleet of over 2 million containers with Internet of Things (IoT) smart devices. These devices will transmit location updates directly to WiseTech's ecosystem of platforms, which serve the logistics, global trade, and supply chain industry. The pilot initiative aims to test the ability to process millions of data points daily and apply advanced algorithms to transform IoT data into meaningful milestones and products used to drive decision-making.
The trial will specifically focus on providing highly accurate, real-time insights on container positioning, transit conditions, and arrival predictions. Hapag-Lloyd's customers will be able to track the location of their containers in real-time, as well as detect anomalies such as deviations or delays that may impact its arrival at the next critical handover point.
Hapag-L Lloyd is the world's fifth-largest ocean container line, with a capacity of 2.38 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and operating over 130 scheduled services to 600 ports. This week, the company agreed to purchase rival liner Zim Integrated Shipping Services, which would add more than 700,000 TEUs to its fleet.
The partnership between WiseTech Global and Hapag-Lloyd enables the shipping line to deliver what it calls shipping's first dynamic estimated time of arrival (ETA) prediction – Live ETA – that adjusts in real-time based on actual movement and location data collected via IoT pings from GPS tracking devices on the containers. This technology is expected to provide a 75% improvement in accuracy compared to static schedule forecasts for shipments where Hapag-Lloyd manages the entire journey from port to customer location.
The shipping industry has long relied on discrete and often inaccurate event updates that may lag by hours or even days. By bringing IoT-driven live container data and tracking into its platforms, WiseTech is revolutionizing supply chain visibility. This collaboration with Hapag-Lloyd harnesses data at significant scale to turn it into intelligence that customers can act on, to reduce uncertainty, improve efficiency, and make smarter decisions.
Hapag-Lloyd has invested in equipping its entire dry container fleet with IoT technology to provide better service and reliability to its customers. Working with WiseTech, the company can integrate the data from its smart containers into the systems its customers use every day, providing actionable predictive insights rather than just dots on a map.
This partnership represents an important step toward a more transparent, resilient, and digitally enabled global supply chain. The companies will review and refine the data quality, accuracy, and usability of live IoT feeds at full scale as the trial progresses, while gathering feedback from joint customers to inform further product development and commercialization.
The goal of this initiative is to deliver a truly unique, value-added ocean container visibility solution that integrates seamlessly into WiseTech's platforms. With its vast experience in customs compliance and global market coverage, WiseTech is well-positioned to provide a comprehensive solution for Hapag-Lloyd's customers.
As the shipping industry continues to evolve, partnerships like this one between WiseTech Global and Hapag-Lloyd are likely to play an increasingly important role in driving innovation and efficiency. The potential benefits of real-time container visibility and predictive analytics are significant, and companies that can harness these technologies will be well-positioned to stay ahead of the curve.
The partnership between Hapag-Lloyd and WiseTech Global marks a significant shift towards more transparent and resilient global supply chains, with the potential to unlock unprecedented accuracy for data-driven planning and execution.
