Maersk buys 14,800 ‘smart’ reefer containers

Maersk Line has ordered 14,800 new reefer containers this year, all of which feature built-in Remote Container Management (RCM) technology – a key component of its plan to offer enhanced supply chain visibility next year.

In a press release, Maersk Line said combined with the 30,000 reefers acquired in 2015, this will drive the average age of its reefer container fleet down to 7.9 years – well below the industry average of 12 years.

Boasting the world’s largest reefer fleet, with more than 270,000 containers, Maersk Line said the expansion of its reefer fleet aims to cater to its future growth in the reefer segment.

It is also part of the line’s investment in the latest technology in supply chain visibility and cargo care in order to enhance transparency and care for its customers’ perishable products, said Maersk Line’s head of reefer management Shereen Zarkani.

RCM technology turns each reefer into a digitally connected device. Speaking to the industry at Cool Logistics in Bremen, Germany, Zarkani said Maersk went live with the technology last year and plans to give customers access to this technology in 2017.

“Reefer visibility only makes sense if applied to the entire fleet…so with more than 270.000 reefers in operation it has been a massive undertaking to get to where we are today.

“Since we launched RCM in 2015 we matured our internal processes and gained operational experience in handling the data. We have now entered the next stage and will be ready to offer this enhanced data visibility to our customers in the coming year,” she said.

Maersk said key milestones it plans to reach before next year’s launch include a customer facing IT-platform and customer pilots.

Source: http://www.maerskline.com/da-dk/countries/int/news/news-articles/2016/09/maerskline-orders-14800-new-reefer-containers
Image:  https://twitter.com/MaerskLine/status/781031380893466624