Heineken to track shipping containers via GPS

We're not exactly sure why Heineken needs GPS to monitor the location of its beer shipments, but they probably know more about global shipping logistics than we do. According to RFID Journal, starting this month, the Dutch beer giant will begin the first test of its "Living Beer Plan," tracking 10 shipping containers of beer from Heineken headquarters in The Netherlands to the United Kingdom and the United States. Customs data, such as whether or not the containers' doors have been opened, will be available online to British and American customs officials, (as well as the researchers monitoring the project at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) even before the cargo ships reach UK and American ports. Heineken claims it will save on the 30-odd pages worth of printed customs forms and other documents by using GPS and online tracking instead. Surely with the money saved on not printing up documents, Heineken wouldn't mind sending its friends at Engadget a free case of brew? Pretty please?

[Via Brandish]

Read - VNUNet
Read - RFID Journal

[- @ Nov 9th 2006 5:33AM]

I need one of those devices on my suitcase to see where it's at when the airlines (*cough*united) lose it. And if it can shoot video to see which airport worker steals my stuff when they open it, even better.

[Jon @ Nov 9th 2006 5:47AM]

Maybe they can now track the Skunking process : )

[Pete @ Nov 9th 2006 6:16AM]

A friend of my Dad used to freight beer through a certain port in Australia and every time they freighted a pallet load a couple of cases used to go missing out of the middle of the pallet. The solution was to give the guys on the wharf two cartons everytime they sent a pallet load so that the shipments would arrive to their destination complete. Maybe Heineken should do the same?

[Jef @ Nov 9th 2006 7:41AM]

Heineken is a pisbeer, like we say in Belgium. Ever tried a Belgian beer?

[Cyrus Farivar @ Nov 9th 2006 10:46AM]

Belgian beers are my favorite! Chimay (blue) and Vuuve always!

[Qwikstreet @ Nov 9th 2006 2:59PM]

Chimay is where its at!

[Niles @ Nov 9th 2006 8:00AM]

This is why Heineken (or other brewers) needs GPS to monitor the location of its beer shipments...

Moosehead beer thief given 19� months in jail
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2005/03/07/beer-050307.html

[Shane @ Nov 9th 2006 10:03AM]

Using GPS to track cargo shipments is nothing new...Many trucking companies have been doing this for years!

[Jerry Whiting @ Nov 9th 2006 12:27PM]

Oh please. I blog about auto ID technologies and I love beer (though not necessarily in that order).

This is one of the dummest (sic) ideas I heard yet.

barcodenerds.blogspot.com

[nilram @ Nov 9th 2006 3:56PM]

Not as dumb as you might think. There's been other research in this area, one company has a unit that can communicate to the shipper by wi-fi, cell phone, or satellite phone. (Doing whizzy things like passing messages to the poor sod container on the bottom of the pile that can't phone home itself.) Some of their test units went far, far away from their intended destinations -- literally on the other side of the world. The shipping company's usual response to inquiries is "I dunno, it'll turn up sometime and we'll get back to you." With one of these things, you can at least tell the company where it's at.

[StreetStealth @ Nov 9th 2006 7:46PM]

Fancy GPS transceivers on the shipping containers, eh?

Just think what the clubs will be able to get away with charging for a bottle now!