Smart and Secure Tradelanes Extends Network to Track Meat from Africa to UK in Cooperation with SIMTAG, WCO and USTDA.

WASHINGTON -- Next-Generation RFID-Enabled Containers and Automated Vessel Identification System (AIS) are Integrated into the Networked Software Systems for First Time

Containers transporting cartons of chilled and frozen beef from Namibia to the United Kingdom are now being secured and tracked "end-to-end" by Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies and networked software. The "SST for Africa" project was co-announced today by participants in Smart and Secure Tradelanes (SST), including the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the World Customs Organization (WCO), SIMTAG (50% funded by the European Union), South African Port Operations (SAPO), the Namibian Port Authority (Namport), and MEATCO.

SST seeks to improve the visibility and security of containerized cargo with proven and emerging advanced technologies. In the "SST for Africa" project, participants are examining whether tagging shipments from MEATCO, a supplier of additives for meat and fish products, will improve quality management of perishable products, including customer satisfaction, security and efficiency.

In a related press release, SIMTAG co-announced its participation in the "SST for Africa" project to integrate intermodal management and security technologies that SIMTAG and SST have previously demonstrated independently. Francis Frost, Projects Director of Thomas Miller & Co. Ltd., the international insurance services firm and coordinating company for SIMTAG said: "Everyone benefits from this trial . . . SST provides end-to-end visibility solutions in near real-time, but in this particular trade lane, SIMTAG is providing 'final mile' data and access to other services and trading partners."

"The WCO's keen interest in trade security and facilitation, and its active efforts to develop international security standards encouraged us to participate in the SST for Africa project," said Jouko Lempiainen, director of Compliance and Facilitation, World Customs Organization. "Our contribution will primarily focus on the provision of guidance and advice on the use of our international instruments and procedures. Of course, we hope to use information gained on smart containers to further enhance our own security initiatives that are currently being refined and consolidated in an effort to promote better understanding of this high-impact Customs issue."

Within the "SST for Africa" project, refrigerated trucks and containers that transport beef from the interior of Namibia have been secured with active battery-powered RFID sensor bolt seals. The RFID sensor seals are supplied by Savi Technology, a leading provider of real-time networked solutions for supply chain management, visibility and security, and the single use E-Seal supplied by EJ Brooks, one of the world's leading providers of intermodal security systems.

The tagged shipments are then tracked automatically by fixed and mobile handheld RFID readers at key inland and seaport checkpoints between Namibia and the UK's Port of Tilbury. Additional tracking methods are used for the last-mile movements into the interior of the UK. Other technologies deployed include Savi's Transportation Security System (TSS) solution and the SIMTAG software portal which receives data from TSS to automatically create a Journey Plan that extends visibility of the shipment's location to "the last mile" of its destination as well as to additional supply chain partners. Additionally, for the first time, TSS incorporates vessel latitude and longitude information supplied by the Automated Identification System (AIS) onboard the feeder vessels transporting the containers from Walvis Bay to Cape Town.

The USTDA announced a grant earlier this year to help fund this project using best practices and advanced technologies. Last year, the USTDA also helped to fund the STAR-Best project, which deployed similar RFID technologies and software used by SST that was demonstrated by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in a trade lane between ports in Bangkok and Seattle.

Both SIMTAG and SST participants have designed open network platforms that can incorporate data from all types of other software applications and AIDC technologies, including bar codes, sensors, passive and active RFID and satellite tracking systems. As a result, networks can communicate with each other to provide the right information to the right user at the right time. The "SST for Africa" project includes automated data feeds at key checkpoints involving two different routes, and when completed within another month will have involved a total of about 50 "smart" container shipments:

--One route involves loading beef into a refrigerated container at the Okahandja Plant in Namibia, electronically sealing it and transporting it by truck to the Port of Walvis Bay. A Feeder Vessel ships it to the Port of Cape Town, where it is transshipped on a Deep Sea Vessel heading to the Tilbury Container Services terminal, where it's unlocked and unloaded.

--The other route involves placing the beef into a refrigerated truck at the Windhoek Plant in Namibia, sealing it and transporting the product to Table Bay Cold Stores, where it's unsealed, unpacked and put into storage. When ready for shipment, it is loaded into a refrigerated container, sealed and trucked to Cape Town where it's loaded onto a ship also destined for the Port of Tilbury.

This project extends SST's presence to a fifth continent - Africa - after having installed and tracked containers at installations in more than 15 other port operations in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. More than 2,000 containers equipped with active RFID sensor seals have been shipped under the auspices of SST-related programs.

About SST

Smart and Secure Tradelanes is an industry-driven initiative involving commercial and government participants to develop a global information and supply chain security and visibility network leveraging proven Automatic Identification and Data Collection (AIDC) technologies, including Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), existing supply chain execution data, and international data standards. It is designed as an open and flexible platform that can be integrated with other networks and emerging advanced technologies for extra layers of security and real-time visibility. Founded in 2002, SST has extended its network to the trading communities involving more than 15 major sea ports around the world.

About SIMTAG

The SIMTAG Consortium is a group of market-leading companies representing the manufacturing, transportation and logistics services industries that have come together to develop innovative solutions for the improvement of efficiency, security and safety in the Intermodal Supply Chain. SIMTAG is an internet connectivity and integration solution that provides access to web-based services through an innovative journey identification and registration mechanism. SIMTAG services exploit this technology to deliver a new concept in management of the Intermodal supply chain to improve efficiency, security and control, assisting the user to comply with emerging regulation, and generating real benefits of cost reduction, risk management and insurance efficiency. In short, it creates and delivers in an operationally flexible manner the smart, efficient and secure intermodal container management system required for the 21st century. The SIMTAG programme has been 50% funded by the European Commission. For additional information, visit www.simtag.org.