PowerFleet Secures COVID-19 Healthcare Supplies Across Africa

Vehicle tracking company PowerFleet has partnered with the French Red Cross, a major player in the French humanitarian response plan, to provide it with a plug and play traceability solution that would be used to protect shipment of healthcare equipment and supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The PowerFleet solution Cellocator will be responsible for securing, controlling, tracking and managing these assets across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Aside from keeping the shipment safe, the French Red Cross also has to monitor the environmental conditions like temperature, humidity, shock and light, as medicines often have to be preserved under certain conditions. 

"The valuable medicine is traveling all the way from France or India to remote locations across the African continent. They were looking for a solution that would enable them to control and optimize the quality of shipments and demonstrate that their shipment processes comply with the strictest operational procedure standards," said Avi Magid, president of Pointer by PowerFleet and Cellocator by PowerFleet.

Cellocator's MultiSense devices are inserted inside the packages shipped by the French Red Cross. The devices log sensor data in real-time, transmitting it along with the shipment's location to Cellocator's mobile application. The MultiSense can transmit real-time sensor data using different threshold settings, creating event-based alerts, or alternatively store the sampled data when there is no receiver available and send it to a dedicated hub or mobile application upon detection.

The recent mission involved sending 16 tons of goods from northeastern France to Brazzaville, Congo, via an aircraft. From Brazzaville, the cargo was then transported by barge on the Congo River to Kinshasa and finally taken via road to local Red Cross storage centers in Mbandaka. 

In all, the cargo was hauled over 6,000 miles, involving multiple modes of transport. Cellocator's solution is critical. Before its deployment, the French Red Cross had limited information about the environmental conditions their cargo was put through during shipment. 

"Bad conditions could lead to losing valuable goods due to the lack of ability to monitor their shipments. With Cellocator, they can enhance security, improve confidence in their supplied products' quality and elevate their logistics chain efficiency," said Magid. 

The collaboration between PowerFleet and the French Red Cross is a part of the former's activity in France and Africa. Magid explained that Cellocator presented the Red Cross with a strong value proposition to address a known need for visibility into supply chain operations. 

"Top management levels at the French Red Cross are sponsoring this project. They were thrilled about their new ability to address issues in real-time, which reduces the risk of quality loss and or inadequate transport conditions," said Magid. "We are proud to take part in this special COVID-19 operation. Effective monitoring of supply chain conditions is fast becoming mandatory to ensure the integrity and safety of pharmaceutical shipments, and technology is a critical part of making it possible."

Photo by Victoire Joncheray on Unsplash