The Internet of Load Carriers - Design of a Cloud-based Service System for Smart and Connected Load Carriers

Nowadays, a main problem of special load carrier supply chains is the lack of transparency. This can lead to underor overstock as well as the loss of load carries. To address this problem, the present research proposes the digitalization of the load carrier supply chain by equipping special load carries with sensor systems and using the generated data to offer financial, special-load-carrier, and data-based services. Especially data-based services are proposed to increase transparency and to enable companies to optimize their supply chain. Supply chain digitalization by means of smart load carriers combined with new services within a cloud-based service system can gain competitive advantages for involved companies, and enable new business models. Thus, the proposed services can improve overall quality, save time, and reduce cost while increasing sustainability for load carrier manufacturers and their customers.