A low-cost and disruptive supply chain optimisation and asset tracking system for new COVID-19 applications

可重复使用的包装在整个供应链中正变得越来越普遍--例如超市里展示水果和蔬菜的塑料盒。这些集装箱坚固耐用，可以多次重复使用，是一种环保的解决方案。这些集装箱很容易在大多数供应链的复杂性中丢失(闲置在仓库中，由于空间不足或货物损坏而转移到其他地方，错误地装满其他物品，而不是退回或被盗)。根据2015年可重复使用包装论坛的数据，15%-20%的可重复使用包装丢失，许多行业的数字一致--仅在欧洲每年就损失约14亿箱。SenSize与Innovate UK合作，开发了一种高度创新的系统，使用最新的物联网技术监控全球供应链资产，该系统可以在包装整个生命周期(5-10年)内跟踪包装并提供有关其状况的信息，以便：可重复使用包装所有者可以控制他们的宝贵资产，并确保它们得到正确使用；供应链上的利益相关者可以识别薄弱环节和管理不善的仓库，提高效率并更快地循环库存；利益相关者可以避免被盗和损坏(例如，疫苗保存在错误的温度下)；最大限度地减少因丢失/丢弃包装而造成的塑料垃圾；减少食物浪费(根据BCG的说法，数字供应链工具的广泛采用每年可以减少1200亿美元的问题)；整个供应链的成本可以降低。我们的解决方案已被英国和美国的客户部署。Covid已经从根本上改变了供应链。这无疑带来了挑战，但也带来了新的机遇。超市需要一种方法来跟踪他们正在进行的额外送货上门的情况。疫苗运输需要具有成本效益的跟踪和温度监测。SENSIZE系统能够很好地满足这些新需求。这个后续项目将使我们能够利用我们已经取得的巨大进展，并充分利用这些新的机会。Sensie Ltd成立于2016年11月，是一家总部位于剑桥的公司，致力于使用最新的物联网技术监控全球供应链。可重复使用的包装物品安装了跟踪器，可以监控位置和环境，并将数据发送到公司的后端系统，托管在“云”中。这为供应链用户提供了可操作的情报。在我们的颠覆性项目及时交付后，到2027年，我们将创造265个就业机会，累计产生3.9亿GB的利润(Smart Grant的投资回报率为111倍)。

Reusable packaging is becoming increasingly common across supply chains -- for example plastic boxes displaying fruit and vegetables in supermarkets. They are robust and can be reused many times, making them an environmentally-friendly solution.These containers are easily lost in the complexity of most supply chains (left idle in warehouses, diverted elsewhere due to lack of space or damaged goods, wrongly filled with other items instead of being returned or being stolen). According to the 2015 Reusable Packaging Forum, 15-20% of reusable packaging goes missing, with numbers consistent across many industries -- that's approximately 1.4bn crates that are lost each year in Europe alone.Sensize, working in partnership with Innovate UK, has developed a highly innovative system for monitoring supply chain assets worldwide using the latest IoT technology that can track packaging throughout its life-span (5-10 years) and provide information on its condition so that:Reusable packaging owners can control their valuable assets and ensure they are being used properly;Stakeholders across the supply chain can identify weak links and mismanaged warehouses, improving efficiency and rotating stock more quickly;Stakeholders can avoid theft and damage (e.g. vaccines kept at the wrong temperature);Plastic waste from lost/abandoned packaging is minimised;Food waste is reduced (according to BCG, widespread adoption of digital supply chain tools could reduce the problem by $120 billion annually);Costs can be reduced across the whole supply chain.Our solution has been deployed by customers in the UK and USA.Covid has changed the supply chain in fundamental ways. It has created challenges for sure, but also new opportunities. Supermarkets need a way to keep track of the extra home deliveries they are doing. Vaccine shipments require cost effective tracking and temperature monitoring. The Sensize system is well placed to meet these new needs. This follow-on project will allow us to exploit the great progress we have already made and take full advantage of these new opportunities.Incorporated in November 2016, Sensize Ltd is a Cambridge-based company dedicated to monitoring supply chains worldwide using the latest IoT technology. Reusable packaging objects are fitted with trackers that monitor location and the environment and send the data to the company's back-end system, hosted in the 'Cloud'. This generates actionable intelligence for supply chain users. After timely delivery of our disruptive project, we will create 265 jobs and generate accumulated profits of £39million by 2027 (111x ROI on the Smart Grant).