Heliot Tracks Roll Containers of the Austrian Post

In 2023 alone, the Austrian Post delivered around 4.1 billion letters and advertising mail as well as 200 million parcel shipments. A huge fleet of roll containers and a total of 2,400 swap bodies for truck transport are used for transportation between the various post offices, post partners, logistics centers, and delivery bases. To ensure smooth processes, these must always be available in sufficient numbers and at the right time at the different post locations.

(Grasbrunn/Vienna) Together with Heliot, the IoT Competence Center (IoT CC) of the Austrian Post has developed a system that allows tracking the location of the containers and swap bodies. Thanks to Sigfox 0G radio technology, the Post has a precise overview of its assets, enabling efficient scheduling of their distribution, minimizing transport routes, and optimizing asset inventory.

In the six letter and nine parcel logistics centers of the Austrian Post, things are bustling: Trucks filled with letters and parcels roll to the loading ramps almost every minute, waiting to be sorted and prepared for further transport. Several million shipments pass through the Post’s logistics centers every day. To ensure that letters, parcels, and packages arrive as quickly as possible at recipients in Austria and worldwide, efficiency and precise systems and processes are crucial. For transport within and between the approximately 1,700 post offices, post partners, delivery bases, and logistics centers, the Post uses special roll containers. There are four different versions with varying equipment and sizes, depending on the type of shipment that needs to be transported. “Roll containers play a crucial role in our processes. To efficiently handle and transport all shipments, it is essential that a sufficient number of the right containers are always available at all our locations,” says Franz Leitner, Head of Logistics Centers and Transport at the Austrian Post.

Optimized Processes Require Maximum Transparency

Until now, distribution was based on experience and requests. If too few containers were available in a logistics center, the responsible parties had to request replenishment from other locations by phone. This was cumbersome, often required good nerves, and simultaneously necessitated additional investments: “To optimally supply all our locations, we previously had to keep a large part of our container inventory as a buffer – especially to cushion seasonal fluctuations around Christmas time. With average costs of 600 euros per container, this results in additional costs in the millions,” adds Franz Leitner.

For the responsible parties, it is clear: To optimize the processes surrounding the roll containers, more transparency about the location of the individual assets is required. Therefore, they commissioned the in-house IoT CC to find a solution. They turned to the IoT provider Heliot. The company, which now operates the Sigfox 0G network exclusively in many European countries, advises the Austrian Post and collaborates with the IoT CC to develop a concept. The result: The roll containers are gradually equipped with transmitters. The Sigfox 0G trackers, specially optimized for this application, are produced by Alps Alpine, a leading manufacturer of innovative IoT solutions, and send their location data to a cloud via the Sigfox 0G network. The data is then retrieved via an interface and evaluated with a self-developed data tool from the IoT CC.

Container Data Precisely Evaluated for Employees

“We have now equipped around 50,000 of our roll containers with Heliot’s transmitters. These send a signal whenever they are moved, ideally providing coordinates and timestamps accurate to within a few meters. This way, we know exactly where each of our roll containers is located at any given time. Each asset has its own digital fingerprint. For example, we can also specify exactly which type of container it is,” says Lukas Alber, Data Engineer at the IoT CC of the Austrian Post. “However, the individual data alone is not sufficient to improve our processes. Therefore, we have developed an analysis tool that aggregates the data of all containers and outputs it in a suitable format for our colleagues, for instance, in the logistics centers or procurement.” Thus, the responsible parties of a logistics center receive information via a dashboard or directly via personalized email about how many roll containers are currently available, how many are likely to be needed, and at which other locations they can request containers – all the information they need to meet their demand.

Longevity is an Advantage

A particular advantage of Heliot’s transmission technology is its longevity: “Thanks to the Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technology, the transmitters we use on the Austrian Post’s containers are particularly low-maintenance,” says Martin Liboswar, Country Manager at Heliot Europe. “Once installed on the containers, they reliably send their signal for several years without the need for battery replacement.” The Sigfox technology operates in a frequency range of 868 MHz. The low-frequency signals in these radio bands can easily cover larger distances of up to 50 kilometers – even when located in more remote areas – and can penetrate thick steel beams and concrete walls. The Sigfox 0G network is now almost universally available in the DACH region and many other European countries. In addition to the DACH region, the network coverage is also largely seamless in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, as well as the Benelux Union and the Baltic States.

Container Tracking Across Borders

For the few locations of the Austrian Post where the network was not entirely optimal, Heliot also finds a solution. “We have developed local transmission technology that employees can easily install themselves and connect to the internet with minimal effort. This has allowed us to achieve good network coverage in a very short time,” says Martin Liboswar. The well-developed Sigfox 0G network brings another advantage for the Austrian Post: “Of course, we also have many shipments going abroad,” says Franz Leitner. “Keeping track of the roll containers that cross the border was not easy until now. Thanks to the cross-border network coverage of Sigfox in Europe, we can now also keep an eye on our assets when they are, for example, in Italy, Switzerland, or Germany.” Heliot’s technology can be used for numerous Industry 4.0 applications and is particularly efficient – as the expensive and maintenance-intensive establishment of an independent radio network is not necessary. Furthermore, the system is freely scalable: no matter whether 50 devices or, as in the case of the Austrian Post, several tens of thousands of transmitters need to be integrated into the network. The Sigfox technology also offers the highest security and data protection standards.

System in Use for Years

The Austrian Post has been using Heliot’s system for about two years. Roll containers are continuously being equipped with trackers. In addition, the Post is now also using the technology to locate the approximately 2,400 swap bodies that the company uses for road transport, about 1,000 of which now have a tracker. “Heliot’s technology allows us to make the distribution of our assets significantly more efficient,” says Franz Leitner. “Thanks to the commitment of Heliot’s consultants, we have found the optimal solution for our processes. The increased transparency also allows us to plan better and significantly reduce our buffer of containers and swap bodies. At the same time, we always have our assets in view, which means fewer containers and swap bodies are lost. Thus, the system not only helps us to make our processes more efficient but also to significantly reduce procurement costs and increase the lifespan of our assets.”
Photo: © Österreichische Post