WITRAC leverages Semtech’s LoRa® devices for container track and trace Since its founding in 2015,

Valencia-based WITRAC has helped companies be more efficient and competitive with innovative technology solutions that connect and give visibility to the value chain. WITRAC fabricates its own hardware and software based on the IoT and artificial intelligence AI technology to allow customers to identify, locate, measure and wirelessly control assets in real time.

WITRAC’s Total Track & Trace Intelligent Platform has been successful tracking assets from the start of the value chain, inside warehouses and distribution centers, and during land transport, using a combination of LoRaWAN®, Wi-Fi, BLE and cellular connectivity options in the same hardware device.

Protecting perishable goods during daily canary island service

Boluda Corporación Marítima, a leading global maritime services provider, selected WITRAC’s platform to monitor and ensure quality of cold chain transport for Boluda’s new Daily Canarias line, providing citizens of the Canary Islands with the first daily transportation of cargo from the peninsula. Location and temperature status of fresh food and medicine are tracked on seven container vessels traveling 700 miles from the Spanish mainland on the maritime corridor linking the Port of Cádiz to the island ports of Las Palmas and Tenerife.

Cold chain blind spots

Maintaining the required temperature of perishable goods throughout the entire supply chain is one of the biggest and most common cold chain challenges. Any temperature variance that is higher than the set temperature can affect product quality, leading to waste or a failure to adhere to standardized regulations.

To ensure the safety of goods, the continuous monitoring of location and temperature must occur during the entire chain of custody, from processing and production to storage and delivery. This has been a technical challenge for intermodal transport – until now.

Previously, Boluda would be forced to wait until the 38-hour voyage was completed and refrigerated reefer containers were discharged at their land destination to discover any temperature or power anomalies had occurred and caused damage.

IoT Challenge:

• Replace labor-intensive manual temperature monitoring.
• Remotely monitor location and temperature of assets during entire cold chain.
• Send notification alarms when anomalies occur offshore.

WITRAC set out to overcome this industry challenge by providing complete traceability and temperature visibility for international maritime transport with a cost-effective solution. The company developed a tracking solution that can communicate critical data leveraging either the long range and low power capabilities of LoRaWAN or the global reach of LoRa 2.4GHz when traveling across multiple continents. The data is then replicated in real time to a Cloud server using satellite communications. '

The tracking and monitoring of goods continue uninterrupted while unloading reefer containers from ships to rail or truck transport. Again, IoT controllers automatically keep food and medicine within a pre-determined temperature range when traveling to food retailers and pharmacies.

LoRa Technology Used:

• Semtech’s LoRa devices deliver long range, low power sensing capabilities.
• Wirelessly connected sensors communicate data to the Cloud via satellite.
• LoRaWAN networks and networks using LoRa 2.4GHz.

How It works:

WITRAC’s innovative platform provides real-time visibility and control of offshore operations. In addition to temperature monitoring, the route control and monitoring solution geolocates the fleet’s vessels. It allows alerts to be set for deviations in fuel consumption, speed, routes or miles traveled, allowing shippers to take corrective measures en route.

Business Value:

• Real-time temperature monitoring of perishable goods.
• Reduce damage claims by 50%.
• Visibility and control of offshore operations improve quality of service