German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd is equipping its two million container fleet with smart devices from Australian firm WiseTech to trial the integration of IoT technology for real-time global container visibility, tracking and data collection.

The IoT devices frequently transmit location updates directly to WiseTech’s ecosystem of platforms for the logistics, global trade and supply chain industry. This pilot will test the ability to ingest and process millions of data points daily, applying algorithms to transform the IoT data into meaningful milestones and products used to drive decision-making.

WiseTech can then distribute the location and positioning data to Hapag-Loyd’s customers via a range of channels such as the CargoWise cargo tracker and container automation. More distribution channels are planned, including via GLO, Inttra and Neo.

Moving beyond standard milestone updates, the collaboration aims to provide accurate, real-time insights on container positioning, transit conditions and arrival predictions. Hapag-Lloyd’s customers will not only see where a container is, but also detect anomalies such as deviations or delays that might impact its arrival at the next critical handover point, delivering accuracy for data-driven planning and execution.

In addition, Hapag Lloyd delivers a dynamic estimated time of arrival (ETA) prediction – Live ETA (www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/online-business/track/live-position.html) – that adjusts in real time based on actual movement and location data collected via IoT pings from GPS tracking devices on the containers, regardless of the mode of transport, to provide dynamic arrival time calculations. For shipments where Hapag-Lloyd manages the entire journey from port to customer location, this tool improves delivery time accuracy by 75% compared with traditional static schedule predictions.

“The shipping industry has long relied on discrete and often inaccurate event updates that may lag by hours or even days,” said Zubin Appoo, CEO of WiseTech (www.wisetechglobal.com). “By bringing IoT-driven live container data and tracking into CargoWise, we’re revolutionising supply chain visibility. This collaboration with Hapag-Lloyd harnesses data at significant scale to turn them into intelligence that customers can act on, to reduce uncertainty, improve efficiency and make smarter decisions.”

Karsten Schmidt, director at Hapag-Lloyd (www.hapag-lloyd.com), added: “We’ve invested in equipping our entire dry container fleet with IoT technology to provide better service and reliability to our customers. Working with WiseTech, we can integrate the data from our smart containers into the systems our customers use every day, providing actionable predictive insights rather than just dots on a map. This partnership represents an important step towards a more transparent, resilient and digitally enabled global supply chain.”

As the trial progresses, both companies will review and refine the data quality, accuracy and usability of live IoT feeds at full scale, while gathering feedback from joint customers to inform further product development and commercialisation. The goal is to deliver unique, value-added ocean container visibility that integrates seamlessly into WiseTech’s platforms.