This IoT startup disrupts GPS tracking, gets Deutsche Telekom backing for smart logistics

These Storm Troopers got their shipment of new weapons right on time.

A quick search on Alibaba will show you over 9,000 GPS tracker devices. And yet, Roambee, a startup based in Mumbai and Santa Clara, decided to make one more. The difference is that it’s a smart device, which does a lot more than tracking vehicles and packages.

Roambee’s IoT device is no bigger than two smartphones held back-to-back. It has a SIM card for GPS tracking. But it also comes loaded with sensors to capture everything about a shipment: temperature, humidity, shock, pressure, altitude, tilt, and so on.

All that combined with real-time big data analytics on the cloud provides unique value to enterprises in transforming their logistics, and cutting costs.

Founder and CEO Sanjay Sharma shares with Tech in Asia the example of pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, which is among 300 enterprises currently using Roambee in the US, Europe, South Africa, and India.

Today it announced a series B funding round of US$4.1 million led by Deutsche Telekom.

For Glaxo, the integrity of its pharma products in transit is of paramount importance, because any tampering can have drastic effects on consumers and the company. Now, when shipments move out of Glaxo’s main warehouses in India at Bhiwandi and Nashik, Roambee’s IoT devices go with each of them. They capture a documented chain of custody data at all points of those shipments until their final delivery. Route deviation gets analyzed and unscheduled stops trigger alerts.

The device’s camera can transmit video to show any handling or shifting of packages. Its sensors can even detect spoilages by correlating temperature and other data with what happened in the past.

What’s more, Glaxo can cut its insurance costs by showing compliance with security requirements and reducing risks of tampering, theft, and spoilage.

See: This IoT startup is competing with GE and winning. Here’s how.

Order-to-cash cycle shrinks

Sanjay points out a host of other benefits Roambee clients derive from the IoT product and analytics.

Ceat Tyres was able to pinpoint where its shipments were getting stuck and shaved a whole day off its delivery time. The IoT devices also transmit digitally certified proof of delivery as soon as the shipment reaches its destination. This reduces the order-to-cash cycle by a week in most cases.

Inventory can be reduced, too. Predictive analytics provide a reliable ETA, so enterprises can now safely take into account the inventory in transit.

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