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Tag: IT

Last-mile delivery firms boost retention with technology

Posted on by David Priestman

The UK last-mile delivery market is integral to fulfilling consumer demand and getting vital products to the doorstep of consumers. However, as soaring costs continue to affect business owners, finding innovative ways to retain their best self-employed talent have become even more important.

Self-employed delivery drivers are the lifeblood of these businesses, heading out on daily routes for a variety of carriers and making sure that parcels get to their intended destination.

In recent years, the churn and turnover rates of these subcontractors between different delivery firms has been a constant headache for business owners, who have constantly needed to recruit and onboard new drivers to meet demand. Now, many of these firms are looking to address this turnover rate by using cutting-edge workforce management technology to improve the self-employment experience that they can offer.

Wise is a technology firm that specialises in helping last-mile delivery firms to manage their self-employed workforce, with an integrated platform helping over 250 UK businesses save time, money and stress.

James Orton, Chief Technology Officer at Wise, said: “We know that key areas of engaging subcontractors such as recruitment, onboarding, documentation and payments have always caused headaches for both delivery firms and their drivers. By bringing all of these processes into one simple, digital platform we’ve been able to vastly improve the experience that our clients are able to offer their subcontractors, helping them to improve their retention in the long term.”

As the industry moves towards winter and its busiest time of the year, the competitiveness around recruiting self-employed drivers is only set to intensify as this comes at a time when the UK has seen a 2% decrease in the total number of self-employed individuals.

 

School of logistics honours young SCM experts

Posted on by David Priestman

The Dortmund based PhD School of Logistics, the summer school of the Graduate School of Logistics, has recognised five doctoral students who, as a team, had developed the best solution to a live case study in the field of fashion logistics. Univ. Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael Henke, Speaker of the Board of the Graduate School of Logistics at TU Dortmund, congratulated the group consisting of Dominik Bons (Chair of Corporate Logistics, TU Dortmund), Simon Kammerer (Institute of Energy Systems, Energy Efficiency and Energy Economics), Lara Kuhlmann (Graduate School of Logistics), Alexander Lunin (TU Darmstadt) and Julian Brinkmeyer (Chair of Corporate Logistics, TU Dortmund).

Four interdisciplinary teams with a total of 19 young men and women took part in the live case study during the 7th PhD School of Logistics (July 4th to 8th ) at the Fraunhofer Institute for Logistics and Material Flow IML. The organiser invited experts from the Open Logistics Foundation and from Bochum-based SCM software provider Setlog as cooperation partners. The IT specialists from the Ruhr region helped to develop the assignment and provided data that had previously been generated from Setlog’s SCM software OSCA.

In the context of a volatile economy, the participants were given the task of analysing current data from the apparel industry and presenting a SCM concept that is flexible, resilient, sustainable, and future-proof. Background: The supply chains in the fashion industry are very complex. A pair of jeans is transported up to 20,000km from production to the store. The supply chain consists of at least 20 milestones. To make matters worse, the current crises are lengthening delivery times and pushing prices up.

The teams could decide for themselves which key figures they wanted to optimise – for example, costs, delivery times or transport routes. However, they had to provide suggestions on how to optimise supply chains using platforms based on blockchain technology. They also had to specify which well-known open-source components would help to implement the solution.

“A particular challenge for the teams was the time pressure during the live case study. Only nine hours were allotted for the development, and only 15 minutes for the presentation to the jury,” reports scientist Michael Henke. He is very satisfied with the results: “The participants showed that modern supply chain management benefits enormously from digital technologies such as blockchain and open-source components. Without them, the flexible, resilient and sustainable supply chain networks of tomorrow are unthinkable.”

Ralf Duester, board member of Setlog, emphasises: “Supporting open-source activities is not a contradiction for us as a software provider either – on the contrary: only together can we design solutions that are used everywhere in industry. And only in this way we can increase the speed of developments. That is also why we are a founding member of the Open Logistics e.V. association and supported this very realistic live case study.”

Caption
The winning team of the live case study (from left to right): Dominik Bons (Chair of Corporate Logistics, TU Dortmund), Simon Kammerer (Institute of Energy Systems, Energy Efficiency and Energy Economics), Lara Kuhlmann (Graduate School of Logistics), Alexander Lunin (TU Darmstadt), Julian Brinkmeyer (Chair of Corporate Logistics, TU Dortmund). Explained in a keynote the necessity of a new supply chain management and the advantages of open source developments: Professor Michael Henke (TU Dortmund and Fraunhofer IML). Photos: Graduate School of Logistics

 

 

Synergy Logistics celebrates 50 anniversary

Posted on by David Priestman

Synergy Logistics, one of the world’s pioneers of cloud-based warehouse management software, is celebrating its half century milestone.

Established in 1972, Synergy initially focused on developing innovative solutions for vehicle route scheduling but 35 years later launched its best-in-breed SnapFulfil WMS, for which it is renowned.

Back in 2007, the SnapFulfil suite was architected for the web utilising Adobe Flex and Microsoft.NET-based C# programming.  Its launch spearheaded real time data information to optimise warehouse management, without sacrificing any functionality. Today, its unique rules-based configuration engine delivers a highly flexible and agile solution that is used in leading e-commerce, D2C and 3PL warehouses around the world.

Included since 2012 in Gartner’s elite WMS Magic Quadrant, Synergy has a global footprint with offices in the UK and North America. It continues to pioneer with remote and self-implementation capabilities that empower customers to handle their own multi-site rollouts and develop more sustainable business models.

Synergy Chairman, Hugh Stevens, has been at the helm of the company for more than 40 years and proudly remembers launching one of the world’s first warehouse management systems, Locator, in 1985 after being approached by Unilever. Locator morphed into Locator Expert using PowerBuilder on the latest client server technology – and was utilised by Coca Cola in the 90s at its huge new distribution centre at Wakefield in West Yorkshire, the largest soft drinks factory in Europe.

Hugh continues to innovate and shape the future of warehouse infrastructure, saying: “My mantra has always been stick to your knitting! It’s easy to be distracted by market noise but our specialism is warehouse management and I never lose sight of that. We have survived and thrived for half a century by looking ahead. Rather than fearing change, I’ve always embraced it, anticipating what’s next and investing today in tomorrow’s product.

“We continue to make a tangible difference through rapid ROI, industry-leading deployment speed and low total cost of ownership (TCO) and while many competitors have fallen by the wayside over the last five decades, Synergy Logistics and our SnapFulfil WMS has stood the test of time and continues to lead the way.”

The 50th anniversary is being celebrated throughout the year with staff and customer rewards as well as events and competition initiatives.

 

Hödlmayr optimises internal vehicle logistics processes

Posted on by David Priestman

Hödlmayr International AG continues to make progress with its digitalisation strategy. This includes the end-to-end digitalisation of internal logistics processes for around 500,000 vehicles annually. For the areas of yard and workshop management, the Austrian vehicle logistics expert relies on the SYNCROTESS solution from the Aachen-based software company INFORM. The project will initially start at Hödlmayr’s four Austrian locations and will then be expanded to all other locations in Europe.

Starting with the company headquarters in Schwertberg, east of Linz, the cooperation of the vehicle logistics expert Hödlmayr with the internationally active software company INFORM from Aachen begins. There and at three other Austrian locations in Vienna, Wiener Neustadt and Graz, the new systems based on operations research and artificial intelligence will replace the previous in-house developments of the Austrian family-owned company. It is planned to connect all European locations with the new software over a period of four years.

Digital decision support in the yard and in the workshop

Hödlmayr specialises in the entire supply chain of vehicle logistics, from the takeover of vehicles from the factory or port of entry to delivery to the fleet owner, vehicle dealer or end customer by means of home delivery. With around 600 vehicle transporters and 20 block train systems, the company operates one of the largest transport fleets in Europe.

In 12 vehicle logistics centres, the company stores, maintains, checks, services and modifies new and used cars, commercial vehicles and agricultural machinery. The 1,590 employees handle over 1.7 million vehicles annually.

In the long term, the parking space and workshop processes of all logistics centres are to be planned, controlled and optimised with the help of a uniform, but regionally configurable IT solution. “It was important to us that we create a uniform, flexible IT solution for all compounds of the Hödlmayr Group. The standard solution from INFORM supports us in this. This allows us to react independently, flexibly and as quickly as possible to new process and customer requirements,” says Robert Horvath, CFO and Board Member of Hödlmayr International AG.

“Mathematical optimisation algorithms and artificial intelligence processes will recalculate by the second which tasks need to be carried out with which resources, where and in which order, so that the respective location operates optimally,” says Hartmut Haubrich, Director Vehicle Logistics at INFORM.

“In Hödlmayr’s case, the algorithms will in future take over, for example, the allocation of vehicle movements to employees, the selection of parking spaces and the sequence of orders to be processed in the workshops. This automatic scheduling will take place in a central control station on the basis of the rules defined for each location.

“In addition, media disruptions are avoided, as data from all relevant sources converge in the solution. This enables Hödlmayr to manage by exception, i.e., the dispatchers only intervene in special cases, but for their part have holistic transparency of the condition and status of each vehicle and order,” adds Haubrich.

Experts share challenges faced by B2B businesses

Posted on by Keith McKinley

The post-pandemic era has caused amplified expectations from customers, which has prompted B2B retail businesses to evolve drastically. Because of this, several businesses are facing challenges to balance supply and demand and maintain strong customer relationships.

Here, Flowlity, an innovative AI-based supply chain planning and forecasting solution, sheds light on the top five challenges currently faced by businesses in the B2B retail sector and insight on how these issues can be tackled.

Customer acquisition and retention

Customer retention has become one of the biggest challenges faced by B2B retail businesses. This is largely due to what businesses can offer their customers to guarantee retention. There are two key things that customers are always looking for, which is often a challenge to provide – lower costs and higher efficiency. Ensuring that these are guaranteed is a top priority for businesses, to acquire and retain customers. If these can’t be provided, customers may switch to an alternative source that can provide them.

By introducing a solution to optimise businesses supply chains, lower costs are likely to be a benefit that can be provided to customers, to ensure retention. This is because it ensures a more efficient system, accounting for less overstocks and shortages – meaning businesses can keep costs lower.

Shipping constraints

B2B retail suppliers are currently facing more shipping constraints than ever before – causing substantial challenges and overwhelming businesses. According to a report by the UK’s Road Haulage Association last year, the UK was short of 100,000 HGV drivers, which they stated was a crisis for the industry. They highlighted many factors for this shortage, including the pandemic and Brexit. This figure is only likely to grow, putting more pressure on businesses to keep up with supply and demand.

To combat this, businesses need to take into consideration various factors, including repeat and bulk orders and real-time tracking, before they proceed with their shipping strategy.

The shift towards e-commerce

It’s no great surprise that the pandemic has supercharged the shift towards e-commerce. In fact, Gartner’s forecast predicts that by 2025, over 70% of B2B retail businesses will have adopted an e-commerce platform. This isn’t all bad news for businesses, as generally speaking companies who have made the switch appear to be having greater success. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t come with its challenges. The shift from offline to online is a drastic change for some more traditional businesses – requiring various levels of upskilling and reassessing processes.

In order for B2B businesses to sustain themselves during the e-commerce shift, they need to think wider than their own geographical location and local brands – providing greater opportunities and prospective customers. Introducing an effective and efficient solution to manage businesses supply chains can help support this move, by taking away any stock uncertainties that may occur following the e-commerce expansion.

A solution such as Flowlity, takes external and unpredictable factors that could impact stock into consideration – to allow businesses to replenish stock uncertainties and have what is known as ‘safety stock’, so that businesses can keep up with supply and demand.

Outdated supply chains

It’s evident that there are several B2B retail businesses still utilising traditional and outdated methods for their supply chains, some who are very reluctant to change. This is without a doubt leading to substantial problems for businesses, as these methods don’t provide a holistic view of their supply chain. This results in problems including stock shortages, overstocks and most importantly – a revenue loss.

The demand and pressure placed on B2B retail businesses is rapidly increasing, meaning implementing a sophisticated solution that offers demand forecasting and replenishment optimisation is essential for businesses to stay afloat and ensure success.

Time to change

For B2B retail businesses to prosper in the future, they must introduce modern supply chain solutions by integrating technology and moving away from traditional methods. Armed with its innovative AI-based tool and unique new planning and stock optimisation methodology called ‘Resilient Planning’, Flowlity is already working with several companies in the retail sector to better inventory management and improve customer relationships simultaneously.

For La Redoute, the software has already led to an inventory reduction of 40% and at e-commerce retailer Camif, stock shortages have reduced by 10%.

Turnkey mounting solution for forklift fleets

Posted on by David Priestman

The stalwarts of any distribution operation, forklift trucks serve multiple purposes in today’s fast-paced warehouse and distribution centres, writes Ian Davies, Director of International Sales for Gamber-Johnson on the Panasonic Toughbook website. To ensure that those vehicles and their drivers stay efficient and productive in today’s “want it now” E-commerce distribution world, more companies are using tablets. They enable inventory tracking; assist with cross-docking and put-away; maximise material movement; and reduce the number of empty forklifts driving around the facility.

However, the same technology that helps companies replace their manual, paper-and-pencil inventory management methods also presents new challenges for firms that want to attach a mobile computing device to their forklift. How to create a safe, secure, and ergonomic experience for drivers?

Choosing the right device

Managing the middle piece, where the technology has to be securely mounted to the actual vehicle, can be difficult. The IT team that’s ordering the technology will ensures it connects with the infrastructure in the warehouse or distribution centre, but they are often not so familiar with the equipment mounting and operator training that is required to make the investment worthwhile.

The challenges don’t end there. In the fast-paced fulfilment environment, the technology itself has to be easy to use and include all of the adaptations that users want, for example, will keyboards and scanners be required? Without these peripherals, the technology itself quickly becomes a burden versus an efficiency-booster. There also has to be a place on the vehicle for those extras – something that IT purchasing departments don’t always fully appreciate when placing orders for tablets.

Flexibility is key

Another important consideration is labour turnover. If it’s high, it means you need solutions that can quickly adapt to any worker’s experience, size, weight, and preferences. A 150cm-tall forklift operator who weighs 50kg versus a 180cm-tall operator weighing 115kg will need their onboard computers placed in different ergonomic positions. No matter what type of technology is put on the vehicle, it needs to be ergonomically suitable for any operator with some simple adjustments.

A device-agnostic approach to mounting can be a smart move. As the mounts are vehicle-specific and clamp onto the forklift, the installation process is easier and requires no drilling (in most cases). Standard VESA and AMPS fittings on mounting plates mean that most vehicle docks can be attached with ease. This ensures longer lifespans for the mounts, which can continue to be used even as companies upgrade their technology.

Using an isolated power supply, also ensures that there’s always enough power for the device – and that the power is evenly distributed. At Gamber-Johnson, we have developed a 4.5m wiring harness to enable fast, efficient installation and it also helps to complete the entire mounting solution.

By providing the docking stations, power supplies, and mounts, it provides a one-stop-shop to bring mounted technology up to today’s standards and to update older, bulkier vehicle-mounted devices in favour of lighter tablets that require docking stations.

Questions to consider

When choosing a turnkey vehicle mounting solution for a lift truck fleet, companies should ask themselves these four important questions:

  • Which specific devices are being mounted? Identifying your device ensures that you get the right dock or cradle to support your specific need and desired connectivity.
  • Which vehicle model is the device being mounted to? This is important because it allows you to select the best possible mounting solution for mounting and installation of your device.
  • What is the vehicle’s voltage? Knowing the voltage or power requirement of your forklift vehicle ensures that you can get the appropriate power supply for your specific need.
  • What accessories need to be mounted? Barcode scanners, keyboards, printers, cup holders or other peripherals may need to be mounted. This makes a big difference to the ultimate solution.

This simple Q&A goes a long way in making sure companies get the best turnkey vehicle mounts for their specific applications. It also helps IT departments more readily determine what type of equipment and technology they need to be buying for their fulfilment operations.

Volumes recovering at Chinese ports

Posted on by David Priestman

FourKites, a leading real-time supply chain visibility platform, has seen a recovery in import and export ocean shipment volume at Chinese ports over the past weeks as COVID-19 lockdowns have eased.

Volume at the Port of Shanghai has increased since mid-May, with the 14-day average ocean shipment volume now up 2% compared to 12 March (the day before lockdowns went into effect) for shipments tracked by FourKites. This is up from mid-May, where shipment volume was down as much as 25% over the same period. For other Chinese ports, volume tracked by FourKites has remained strong, with volume at the Port of Shenzhen up 37% and volume at the Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan up 32% compared to 12 March.

FourKites has continued to see strong recovery in volume traveling from China to the United States. The 14-day average shipment volume for loads traveling from China to the United States is now up 8% compared to levels seen on 12 March. Volume along this lane had previously reached a low of 43% lower in mid to late April. Delays have decreased correspondingly, with the 14-day average percentage of shipments delayed along this lane at 27% compared to the high of 39% seen in mid to late April.

Average transit times for loads arriving in the United States from Shanghai remain elevated but show some signs of recovery. The 28-day average transit time for shipments traveling from Shanghai to the United States is now at 69.2 days, up 24% from 12 March. This is down from the peak of 75 days seen in mid-May.

Dwell times for export shipments for Chinese ports has shown some signs of recovery over the past weeks. The 14-day average ocean dwell time for export shipments tracked by FourKites is now at 7.5 days, an increase of 11% compared to 12 March. This is down 17% from the high seen earlier in June. Import dwell time at Chinese ports remains above levels seen before the lockdown, with the 14-day average ocean dwell time now at 4.5 days. This is a 12% increase compared to 12 March.

FourKites has also continued to see a recovery in over-the-road and rail/intermodal shipment volume in the city of Shanghai. The 14-day average shipment volume for loads being delivered to Shanghai is now up 3% compared to 12 March. Volume being picked up from Shanghai continues to climb, but is still down 74% compared to 12 March.

 

Dangers of cyberattacks in digital commerce

Posted on by Keith McKinley

For E-commerce sites, hackers and cyberattacks will always be a risk to the job. For thieves and their technical know-how, E-commerce sites are gold mines of personal and financial data. In addition to this, for businesses of all sizes, the cost of a breach both in loss of data and customer trust can be hugely damaging. Yoav Kutner, Co-Founder and CEO of Oro Inc, explains why E-commerce business owners need to remain vigilant.

E-commerce business owners are all too aware of these issues and are increasing their security measures. The VMWare Carbon Black 2020 Cybersecurity Outlook Report found that 77% of businesses surveyed had purchased new security products in the last year and 69% had increased security staff.

Cybersecurity is essential for E-commerce, as it is the combination of people, policies, processes, and technologies employed to protect its cyber assets.  Cyber attacks result in loss of revenue, data and overall viability for businesses. For online sellers especially, it is not just their physical computer systems which are at risk of E-commerce security breaches, but also their software, networks, and infrastructure.

Are there different types of cyberattacks? The answer is yes – which is why it’s more important than ever to have security measures in place. Here are three of the most common attacks to be aware of.

DoS attack

A denial-of-service (DoS) attack is designed to overwhelm the resources of a system to the point where it is unable to reply to legitimate service requests. A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is similar in that it also seeks to drain the resources of a system. A DDoS attack is initiated by a vast array of malware-infected host machines controlled by the attacker. These are referred to as “denial of service” attacks because the victim site is unable to provide service to those who want to access it.

With a DoS attack, the target site gets flooded with illegitimate requests. Because the site has to respond to each request, its resources get consumed by all the responses. This makes it impossible for the site to serve users as it normally does and often results in a complete shutdown of the site.

MITM Attacks

Man-in-the-middle (MITM) types of cyber attacks refer to breaches in cybersecurity that make it possible for an attacker to eavesdrop on the data sent back and forth between two people, networks, or computers. It is called a “man in the middle” attack because the attacker positions themselves in the “middle” or between the two parties trying to communicate. In effect, the attacker is spying on the interaction between the two parties.

In a MITM attack, the two parties involved feel like they are communicating as they normally do. What they do not know is that the person actually sending the message illicitly modifies or accesses the message before it reaches its destination. Some ways to protect yourself and your organisation from MITM attacks are by using strong encryption on access points or using a virtual private network (VPN).

Whale-phishing Attacks

A whale-phishing attack is so-named because it goes after the “big fish” or whales of an organisation, which typically include those in the C-suite or others in charge of the organisation. These individuals are likely to possess information that can be valuable to attackers, such as proprietary information about the business or its operations.

If a targeted “whale” downloads ransomware, they are more likely to pay the ransom to prevent news of the successful attack from getting out and damaging their reputation or that of the organisation. Whale-phishing attacks can be prevented by taking the same kinds of precautions to avoid phishing attacks, such as carefully examining emails and the attachments and links that come with them and keeping an eye out for suspicious destinations or parameters.

When it comes to security, Oro is the optimal choice – it allows you to focus on growing your B2B E-commerce business safely and worry-free. Oro applications are built from the ground up to support sizable B2B enterprises and complex, multi-level organisational hierarchies with thousands of employees and millions of website customers.

GateHouse and leogistics form visibility collaboration

Posted on by David Priestman

GateHouse Maritime, a leading provider of ocean supply chain visibility and predictability services, has announced a collaboration with leogistics GmbH, an innovation leader in operational logistics and supply chain management, to integrate its OceanIO data services with the myleo / dsc cloud logistics platform for greater visibility of goods in transit.

Michael Rölli, Co-Head of Product and Solution Management, myleo / dsc, said: “Today, digitisation and changes in communication offer a huge opportunity for more integrated services and greater customer satisfaction. However, to achieve this means we have to rethink collaboration in the business and logistics world. Working together with GateHouse Maritime, we can advance the capabilities of myleo / dsc and move closer to our goal of delivering an easy-to-use, efficient and future-proof logistics execution and collaboration platform for all industries and modes of transport.”

Martin Dommerby Kristiansen, CEO at GateHouse Maritime, said: “There has never been more value placed on alliances and partnerships, as users look increasingly to manufacturers and service providers to solve the challenges of integration, reducing the complexity and increasing the efficiency everyday tasks companies and individuals face daily. This exciting new collaboration with leogistics will add the power of OceanIO – the industry’s most comprehensive and robust ocean data foundation – to myleo / dsc, helping it supply higher levels of visibility and more predictable delivery of goods in transit across the world.”

Under the terms of the agreement between the two companies, GateHouse Maritime will provide Ocean Visibility and Ocean Prediction Services including Container tracking, Vessel tracking and Arrival Prediction to leogistics. OceanIO provides a foundation to enable predictive services such as the position and movements of shipping containers and freight, where it is in the customs clearance cycle and time of arrival. Myleo / dsc customers can use the data provided to streamline their incoming and outgoing goods processes, automate complex yard and port processes as well as improve communication with supply chain partners regarding the status of containers in transit.

The two businesses are collaborating with the joint objective of delivering a connected API during Q2 2022, a designed backend including the preparation of data structures with integrated container data and data visualisation. This will be further augmented by connecting container numbers to business documents (e.g., SAP documents, Bill of Lading numbers), the addition of Multimodal Transport Stages, map-based data visualisation and port congestion information.

myleo / dsc is a unique cloud platform for site and transport logistics. Utilising real-time data, the cloud software simplifies yard, supply and transport management in a single user-centric Process-as-a-Service solution, connecting producers, suppliers, warehouses, freight forwarders, and stores to create a holistic supply chain network.

myleo / dsc provides transparency and visibility services with a wide variety of data such as alerts, maps, inventory or status are consolidated and flexibly displayed on a launchpad. Moreover, myleo / dsc includes a powerful status and event management, allowing the user to model and control both the planned and unplanned events which influence logistics processes every day in a granular way. A Connectivity Service integrates customer data sources and formats as well as upstream and downstream system such as warehouse or transportation management systems to create the appropriate database.

Inmarsat launches push-to-talk communications

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Global Beam Telecom, Cobham Satcom and Inmarsat have launched a new Push-To-Talk (PTT) offering, BGAN PRISM PTT+, in partnership with Hytera. This complete satellite-enhanced connectivity solution, now available through Hytera mobile radios, will help businesses overcome coverage redundancy and operational downtime associated with traditional radio systems.

This new unified network solution combines leading expertise in satellite connectivity, radio systems (LMR/DMR) and cellular devices (3G/LTE) to create a unique PTT offering that will accelerate advanced connectivity adoption among businesses in the Middle East.

Supported by Inmarsat’s BGAN service – powered by the company’s unparalleled, global ELERA (L-band) satellite network – the solution provides industry-leading reliability of 99.9%+ uptime and enables seamless radio over internet protocol (IP) capabilities. It will ensure businesses have access to real-time communications and telemetry capabilities, increasing their visibility of operations and the safety of remote workers and assets.

Mike Carter, President of Inmarsat Enterprise, said: “In this new partnership, Inmarsat is proud to build on our longstanding relationships with Global Beam Telecom and Cobham Satcom, by welcoming Hytera into the fold. This collaboration will be a game-changer for remote workers in the Middle East. It will combine top-of-the-range hardware and software with the best connectivity to provide a new, unmatched PTT service for customers.

“The expertise and technological strength in ELERA, Inmarsat’s industry-leading narrowband network, makes us the perfect connectivity partner to power this new PTT solution. Combined with the immense capabilities of our collaborators, this partnership will keep remote workers safe and connected wherever they are, even in the most remote locations.”

The sophisticated solution will transform customer experience across three key areas: coverage, interoperability, and capability. Incorporating satellite coverage provides exceptional network resilience, enabling seamless switching between radio and satellite while sustaining constant coverage anywhere in the world. Enhanced interoperability will allow for a range of communication methods to mix and connect effortlessly and encourage cross entity transmission, while digitalisation will provide enhanced end-user capabilities such as conversation recall, replay, and expanded data-analysis possibilities.

The unique BGAN PRISM PTT+, one of Global Beam Telecom’s integrated connectivity solutions, features Inmarsat’s highly-reliable ELERA capabilities and brings together hardware components from Cobham’s EXPLORER 323 Terminal and EXPLORER Mobile Gateway, Hytera’s lightweight but robust digital two-way radio (PD505) and professional Digital Mobile Radio (MD785i). The partnership provides the ultimate offering, supplying real-time GPS, telemetry, and PTT capabilities to create a consistent solution for businesses.

Shabeer Mohammad, Managing Director at Global Beam Telecom said “We are looking forward to sharing BGAN PRISM PTT+ with our customers. As the system integrator, configuring the expertise of the four companies – all of which boast years of experience in their respective fields – provided us the perfect opportunity to bring the ultimate flexible connectivity solution to enterprise customers.”

Stanley Song, Deputy General Manager of Hytera Overseas Sales Department and Sales Director of Hytera MENA, said: “Following the successful completion of our two-phase testing process, we have established a solution that is exceptionally well-suited to the Middle East. With robust hardware – capable of withstanding temperatures up to 60°C – combined with the durability of Inmarsat’s global BGAN offering, we are able to provide customers with the most impressive solution currently on the market, ensuring the ultimate safety and operational efficiency of their fleets.”

Henrik Nørrelykke, Vice President and Head of Critical Communications at Cobham Satcom, said: “We are excited to help bring this powerful and very cost-effective platform to customers across the Middle East. By building on existing terrestrial infrastructure, it enables enterprise customers to enhance their operations by adding the extensive capabilities of satellite connectivity without the need for significant CAPEX investment. This allows them to prioritise the day-to-day expenses of quality operations and implement a more scalable business model in the long-term.”

Inmarsat’s ELERA network is the world’s most reliable satellite network for IoT and secure narrowband connectivity. ELERA offers more global spectrum than any L-band provider, with its recently launched I-6 F1 satellite (and I-6 F2 launching in Q1 2023) making the best use of the available spectrum and providing 50% more capacity per beam.

 

 

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