Hanhaa, a developer of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, has secured funding from packaging materials company BillerudKorsnäs to help launch its ParceLive track-and-trace solution.
The funding and global support will help Hanhaa expand its team and allow it to focus on bringing its ParceLive service to the market. The first wave of the roll-out will involve 500 ParceLive devices being used by logistics companies including Sigma Retail Solutions and Avarto Bertelsmann. The company is on track to produce 20,000 units for general availability by mid-2017.
Designed for tracking high-value, fragile, and time or temperature-sensitive packages, ParceLive is a postcard-sized device that is inserted into a parcel at the point of distribution. By monitoring several key factors, the device allows both sender and receiver to monitor the exact location and condition of their package in real time.
Beyond highly accurate GPS tracking, ParceLive also tracks and records the temperature and humidity experienced by a parcel, an accelerometer identifies if it has been dropped, and light detection tells the monitoring system when the parcel has been opened.
Anders Persson, managing director at BillerudKorsnäs Venture, said, “The ParceLive technology fits our long-term objective of bringing value-adding digital services into the packaging industry, which we refer to as the ‘internet of packaging’. ParceLive also addresses sustainability concerns in a way that support BillerudKorsnäs’s strategy of challenging conventional packaging for a sustainable future.”
Azhar Hussain, founder and CEO, Hanhaa, said, “With global parcel shipping volume forecast to grow by 20% by 2018, and an increasing reliance on third-party logistics providers, businesses are under increasing pressure to improve the delivery process. We are delighted to see ParceLive entering the retail distribution networks of some of the world’s leading brands and logistics service providers. We are very confident that these relationships will grow exponentially when they see how ParceLive transforms their business.”
January 17, 2017