Liz Young of The Wall Street Journal reports that smaller, robust labels are making tracking more precise by sending out location and other data. Young writes:
Parcel tracking technology is moving beyond the days of having workers manually scan barcodes.
Package carriers are starting to tag some shipments with devices that emit signals tracking the exact whereabouts of parcels in transit, similar to how smartphones cast a signal marking their location. The devices use cellular networks, Bluetooth and radio frequency identification, or RFID, technology to transmit the information. […]
The Wiliot devices cost 30 cents each, making them more palatable for many conventional parcel operations. But many of the tracking devices cost as much as $50 apiece, limiting their use for now to more industrial applications as well as shipping high-value goods such as healthcare products, electronics and luxury items.
AT&T earlier this year unveiled a so-called smart label that uses cellular networks to transmit tracking information in close to real time. The telecommunications company said manufacturing and logistics companies are using the labels to track high-value shipments. The devices cost about $40 to $50 apiece and roughly $25 to $30 each in bulk quantities.
Many of the tracking devices include sensors that monitor temperature, humidity and shocks, such as a package being dropped. […]
FedEx also uses various sensors to track packages, pallets, trailers and warehouses throughout its network, the company said.
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