Vodafone, Sumitomo Corporation, Deloitte and Nexxiot join forces to support autonomous freight handling and trade compliance (2024)

Pairpoint (Vodafone and Sumitomo Corporation’s Economy of Things business), Deloitte, and asset-intelligence company, Nexxiot, have joined forces to offer digital services that speed up the flow of goods worldwide.

The new service will automatically verify the provenance of data on the movement and content of cargo, allowing companies to improve freight handling whilst complying with trade laws. This will lead to faster customs and port authority clearance and expedite the digital transformation of the logistics sector.

The partnership combines Pairpoint Digital Asset Broker (DAB) platform, which among other things can improve the provenance of data relating to the routes and contents of shipping containers, with KYX, a new service comprising Deloitte’s Know Your Client and Know Your Cargo services, and Nexxiot’s freight solutions, including smart connected sensors. The KYX solution is the result of a recent partnership by Deloitte, and Nexxiot, which specialises in enabling the autonomous collection of asset data to optimise the costs in moving freight, including shipping containers and railcars.

The audit trail generated by DAB will assist organisations in meeting forthcoming regulatory requirements, including the accurate reporting of the origins of sources within their supply chains and ensuring the integrity of shipments and associated records. DAB also enables customers to create programmable smart contracts, further advancing the digitalisation and automation of supply chain processes. This enables shipping containers to become intelligent agents capable of seamless interaction within the Economy of Things (in which goods and devices transact securely with each other), including features like customs self-clearing containers and end-to-end shipping document digitalisation.

Jorge Bento, Chief Executive Officer of Pairpoint said: “Through this collaboration, we aim to offer significant advantages to stakeholders in the logistics sector by promoting surety and provenance of data in the shipping industry. Our goal is to enhance the efficiency of maritime logistics and streamline goods clearing customs and ports without introducing additional risk.”

Helena Lisachuk, Global IoT Lead at Deloitte, added: “We are dedicated to establishing ‘Green Lanes’ to minimise disruptions for cargo in global transit. Achieving this requires close collaboration with port authorities and engagement with global and regional justice organisations. Applying Nexxiot’s and PairPoint’s technology and knowledge to enable real-time monitoring and door-related event tracking, along with Deloitte’s expertise– offers new mechanisms to monitor data integrity during cargo movements.”

Stefan Kalmund, CEO of Nexxiot, said: “Our strategic collaboration with Deloitte, Vodafone, and Sumitomo Corporation aligns with our vision to enable smart assets out of existing shipping containers and railcars. We aim to identify operational inefficiencies or safety concerns while providing data provenance to various stakeholders, including shippers, carriers, port authorities, and trade financing partners. This is a significant step in supporting the digital economy of connected cargo and global goods movement.”

Note to Editors

The Pairpoint, Deloitte and Nexxiot partnership

The partnership between Pairpoint, Deloitte and Nexxiot is particularly timely because port authorities around the world increasingly will only process shipping containers if a full audit trail is presented. By protecting a shipping container from being opened and improving the reporting about the container’s contents to the port authorities, cargo can be moved much faster through customs.

Freight and shipping companies and other brokers and logistics organisations can also comply with multiple country specific regulations no matter how complex the supply chain, even if it involves cross-border shipments and offshore entities.

Together, the companies are providing a secure service to allow other parties to join the ecosystem, and leveraging the respective geographical scale of Vodafone, Sumitomo Corporation, Deloitte and Nexxiot to cover shipping routes throughout the world.

About Pairpoint

Pairpoint (the brand name of DABCo Limited) is based in the United Kingdom, with offices in London (UK) and Lisbon (Portugal). It is supported by an investment of 60 million euros from Vodafone Group and Sumitomo Corporation Group and employs 50 people with specialist skills and experience in IoT and financial technology.

Learn more about Pairpoint tech and industry solutions on the website.

Join the EoT revolution at https://pairpoint.io

About Vodafone

Vodafone is the largest pan-European and African telecoms company. Our purpose is to connect for a better future by using technology to improve lives, digitalise critical sectors and enable inclusive and sustainable digital societies.

We providemobile and fixed services to over 300 million customers in 17 countries, partner with mobile networks in 46 more and are also a world leader in the Internet of Things (IoT), connecting over 175 million devices and platforms. With Vodacom Financial Services and M-Pesa, the largest financial technology platform in Africa, we serve more than 73 million people across seven countries.

We are committed to reducing our environmental impact to reach net zero emissions by 2040, while helping our customers reduce their own carbon emissions by 350 million tonnes by 2030.We are driving action to reduce device waste and achieve our target to reuse, resell or recycle 100% of our network waste by 2025.

For more information, please visitwww.vodafone.com, follow us on Twitter at @VodafoneGroup or connect with us on LinkedIn atwww.linkedin.com/company/vodafone.

For more information, please contact:

Investor Relations

Investors.vodafone.com
ir@vodafone.co.uk

Media Relations

Vodafone.com/media/contact
GroupMedia@vodafone.com

Registered Office Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2FN, England. Registered in England No. 1833679

About Deloitte

Deloitte provides industry-leading audit and assurance, tax and legal, consulting, financial advisory, and risk advisory services to nearly 90% of the Fortune Global 500® and thousands of private companies. Our professionals deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in capital markets, enable clients to transform and thrive, and lead the way toward a stronger economy, a more equitable society and a sustainable world. Building on its 175-plus year history, Deloitte spans more than 150 countries and territories.

Learn how Deloitte’s more than 457,000 people worldwide make an impact that matters at www.deloitte.com.

About Nexxiot

Nexxiotis digitalizing freight asset management with technology that now oversees the world’s most extensive network of connected shipping containers and railcars.

Clients gain access to unparalleled real-time data, which streamlines fleet management and automates logistics processes. Our devices, built for resilience, withstand extreme conditions and provide long-term, detailed insights into events affecting containers and railcars, including impacts, delays, security incidents, and loading activities.

Our Asset Intelligence technology significantly improves operational efficiency, enhances safety, enriches digital capabilities, and contributes to CO2 reduction by encouraging a shift from road to rail freight.

Based in Zurich, Switzerland, Nexxiot’s influence extends globally. Our team, comprised of industry experts, operates from offices in Europe and North America and maintains a presence in over 450 depots, ports, and rail yards.

To learn more about how Nexxiot is leading the digitalization and optimization of logistics and supply chain management, please visitwww.nexxiot.com.

Deloitte Press Contact

Inger Hund
Deloitte
ihund@deloitte.nl

Nexxiot Press Contact

Felix Zimmermann | MedienbüroamReichstagGmbH
+49 163 300 06 61;
felix.zimmermann@mar-berlin.de