Sony’s IoT Asset Tracking Solution Enabled by LTE-M Connectivity
Visilion, an innovative service from Sony is tracking assets from spare parts on the Silk Road to ventilators in time-pressured hospitals globally.
Connected trackers give visibility in the supply chain with real-time asset tracking and IoT-based innovation and data that keeps track of vital equipment or cargo in logistics.
White Paper: How Mobile IoT Is Taking Sony’s Smart Tracking to the Next Level
Highlights
- Visilion, an innovative service from Sony, is leading the way in futureproofing asset tracking devices with LTE-M connectivity technology enabling a long battery lifetime and superior global coverage.
- It is the perfect solution for companies that rely on real-time data to keep track of vital equipment or cargo in logistics.
- Connected trackers give visibility and are physical trackers that customers can stick onto medical equipment or shipping crates or add to documentation in the shipping crate.
- The logistics solution includes a web portal with intuitive user interface. Users can follow their shipments on a digital map and take care of alarms and calls to action.
Visilion, an innovative service from Sony, is leading the way in asset tracking devices with LTE-M IoT connectivity. This new technology enables long battery lifetime and superior global coverage and is the perfect solution for companies that rely on real-time data to keep track of vital equipment and cargo. You can get more detailed information about the differences between LTE-M and NB-IoT in our guide “LTE-M vs NB-IoT“.
IoT-Based Innovation in the Logistics and Healthcare Sectors
The Visilion asset tracking and supply chain visibility solution was created by Sony Network Communications Europe, bringing IoT-based innovation to the logistics and healthcare sectors. With the number of connected devices expected to rise from hundreds of millions to billions over the next few years, smart tracking is becoming a clear expectation for asset owners and companies transporting high-value goods.
In logistics, a new value chain is being constructed around the ability to accurately track not only the location of goods but also their condition, with sensors collecting information on temperature, shock and tilt as required.
Powered by worldwide connectivity, highly granular information is being brought together with advanced data processing and sharing capabilities.
As traditional supply chains struggle to address the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, access to real-time data is more vital than ever. Timely tracking is set to become an essential ingredient of future supply chains, enabling greater precision and an optimal combination of just-in-time and just-in-case methodologies – as well as the productivity enhancements that the post-pandemic world will demand.
IoT asset tracking system
Asset tracking IoT systems like this enable companies to track assets in a smart way. With connected devices expected to rise from hundreds of millions to billions over the next few years, smart tracking with cloud service, analytics and alarms functionalities is becoming a clear expectation for asset owners and companies transporting high-value goods.
Sony Network Communications Europe (SNCE) both contributes to and draws on the strengths of the whole Sony Group. For example, Sony Mobile’s valuable experience of the mobile industry, Sony’s substantial research and development resources – that are based nearby in Lund and participate actively in the standardization of cellular IoT within 3GPP.
SNCE spearheads new product and service development within network communication services – to drive enterprise value for business customers worldwide. Visilion not only enables this visibility but also enables companies to understand and take action on the data they are getting from their devices using asset tracking IoT solutions.
The Visilion platform grew out of a desire to make the greatest impact, based on studies of specific verticals. In order to understand where Sony’s advanced tracking technology could have the greatest positive impact, the development team studied several verticals. The resulting platform enables two different solutions – outdoor tracking for the logistics sector, and indoor tracking for the healthcare sector.
Tracking Solutions Are Gaining Traction
In recent years, tracking has been heavily hyped, leading to a relatively crowded marketplace with multiple suppliers offering a variety of different business models. Now tracking solutions are gaining traction in the real world and being adopted by businesses everywhere.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this process by focusing attention on the need for agility in the supply chain and by highlighting the importance of being able to locate cargo in real time. It’s no longer an option to move critical goods around in the supply chain without having clear visibility into where they are. Visilion not only enables this visibility but also enables companies to understand and take action based on the data received from their devices.
Visilion’s outdoor tracking solution is operating mainly in transport and logistics, and its indoor solution is tracking equipment in the healthcare sector. Visilion not only enables visibility but also enables companies to understand and act on the data received from their devices. At the heart of Visilion’s offering are physical trackers that customers can affix to medical equipment or shipping crates. The trackers have a slim form factor, not just for aesthetic reasons but so they can be attached to equipment easily, or even slid into the document package which usually accompanies a cargo crate.
The logistics solution
The Visilion solution for logistics includes a web portal with intuitive user interface. Users can follow their shipments on a digital map and respond to alarms and calls to action. They can also utilise the system’s reporting and analytics capabilities to identify bottlenecks in the supply chain.
Based on its long experience, the Visilion development team has an in-depth understanding of consumer user interfaces and can contextualise data in a way that makes it easy to understand. Added to this is the team’s knowledge of where and how to utilise the data between the device and the cloud to keep energy consumption to a minimum.
Results
Visilion has enabled logistics customers to get control over their supply chain and keep deliveries of high-value or critical goods flowing smoothly.
Efficiency has improved and costs have been reduced by optimising transit times, inventory and delivery ETAs (estimated time of arrivals). The other benefits include greater control of theft and loss with alerts for route deviation, geo-fencing and detecting shock anomalies.
Healthcare customers have been enabled to find equipment immediately, provide better patient care, since staff are less stressed and no longer wasting time looking for equipment.
Productivity in companies has been improved by using data to verify workflow assumptions. With their technology solutions Visilion has ensured their customers have reliable connectivity to future-proof their logistics value chain, strengthen their customer service and build trust by providing detailed, real-time information about deliveries.
Visilion not only enables this visibility but also enables companies to understand and take action based on the data received from their devices.
