Tag-N-Trac introduces low-cost, disposable smart labels and the Relativity platform, enhancing supply chain tracking and automation.
San Diego-based global logistics technology company Tag-N-Trac recently unveiled its updated suite of IoT devices, featuring low-cost, disposable smart labels and tags. Venu Gutlapalli, CEO and co-founder of Tag-N-Trac, discussed with FreightWaves the functionality of these devices and the accompanying Relativity technology platform.
The smart labels and tags, integrated with 5G cellular and Bluetooth technology, are designed for supply chain asset tracking. They provide real-time location and condition updates from the warehouse to transit, ensuring comprehensive tracking throughout a shipment’s lifecycle. Tag-N-Trac gateways installed in trailers and warehouses capture this data, feeding it into the Relativity platform. Existing infrastructure like Wi-Fi routers can also integrate data from the Bluetooth smart labels.
Gutlapalli emphasized the flexibility of the Relativity platform and its device-agnostic approach, beneficial for larger warehouses and transportation providers with existing infrastructure. The disposable smart labels are backward-compatible, meaning no changes are required to standard operating procedures, allowing easy integration into current systems.
“These smart labels consolidate all bar code metadata into a single data source, unlike traditional labels where data is scattered among multiple barcodes,” Gutlapalli explained. Despite being disposable, these smart labels are durable, with batteries lasting three to six months depending on usage.
Tag-N-Trac’s push data method sets it apart from traditional RFID or barcode systems, which require manual scanning. Instead, the smart labels proactively send telematics data, utilizing existing Wi-Fi routers and Bluetooth signals for precise location tracking within a warehouse.
For shippers, brokers, or carriers, the push method digitizes shipment state and location, offering updates and geofencing alerts. A 5G cellular-enabled smart label provides tracking updates upon entering a facility’s geofence, and a Bluetooth-enabled label offers secondary status updates upon docking.
The technology’s visibility extends to finding lost-in-transit shipments through a crowdsourcing effect, leveraging updates from various labels assigned to different carriers. This is particularly useful for less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments, which involve multiple combined or partial pallets.
Tag-N-Trac’s devices map shipment metadata from bar codes, creating a hierarchical data structure for each pallet linked to a unique QR code on the smart label. This automation facilitates both outbound and inbound scans, aiming to offer end-to-end supply chain visibility and reduce reliance on multiple data aggregation platforms.
The combination of the Tag-N-Trac Relativity platform with IoT 5G cellular and Bluetooth smart labels, along with geofencing and condition monitoring, provides unparalleled shipment intelligence and process automation, streamlining supply chain operations.
(Source: Freightwave Sonar)
