Hellmann and BusinessCode develop new tracking tool for sea freight: Smart Ocean

The globally operated logistics service provider Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, together with the IT company BusinessCode, has launched a new tracking tool especially for sea freight. "Smart Ocean" is a monitoring system that is used across sectors in sea freight and continuously shows in real time every station of the containers on the sea route.

"Smart Ocean" is aimed at logistics managers of companies in all industries whose supply chain depends on punctual and reliable sea transport. At the click of a mouse, the system provides an overview of the current location of the containers, independent of the forwarder, thus making it possible to compare the performance not only of the forwarders but also of the various carriers. Instead of following the route of the goods on track & trace pages of individual shipping companies, the users of "Smart Ocean" can view the collected data in a single system. This increases transparency and enables more cost-efficient supply chain management. In this way, "Smart Ocean" creates end-to-end visibility without changing the established delivery process.

"Since planning and seamless reporting within the entire supply chain are progressively expected to be available in real time, it was obvious for Hellmann to develop a user-friendly customer platform. Thanks to the increased transparency and thus optimized transport chains, the investment often pays for itself within just a few months," explains Product Manager Henning Pottharst, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.

"Another advantage is that no additional barcodes or new IT is required at the customer's premises," explains BusinessCode Managing Director Martin Schulze. "In addition, a new feature allows even participants without access to be invited to track individual containers. With this further development, the main users in a company can provide direct transparency to their colleagues or even customers and thus relieve themselves of work".

In addition to "Smart Ocean", which is used exclusively by sea, Hellmann also offers the tracking tool "Smart Visibility", which provides information on temperature, light incidence and vibrations along the entire supply chain in addition to the current position of the shipment.