SINGAPORE: March 14, 2019. Unilode Aviation Solutions has won this year’s US$20,000 IATA Cargo Innovations Award at the World Cargo Symposium from finalists Air New Zealand and the team from SITA, Safran and CHAMP.

Winner Unilode has developed a Bluetooth-based tracking solution for load devices to create transparency across the whole supply chain that will allow for the fast and easy introduction of Internet of Things (IoT) to the world of ULD management.

Air New Zealand has launched a thermally-insulated aeroTHERM fabric door that insulates 25 times better than regular ULDs and curtains, allowing shipments to stay within desired temperature ranges for longer, reducing the use of thermal covers, wraps and heavier temperature controlled ULDs.

SITA, Safran and CHAMP have developed a ‘Smart ULD’ combining the latest mobile, IoT and blockchain technologies that digitally tracks and monitors ULDs during their transport, providing geolocation, temperature/shock/vibration/pressure alerts and digital damage reports.

IATA received 56 entries from start-ups, SMEs and multinational corporations for this year’s competition with start-ups representing 40 percent of the submissions.

While the independent panel opted for digital solutions this year, other ideas covered drones, dangerous goods, artificial intelligence, humanitarian relief, environment, mobile technologies, sensors and pharmaceuticals.

IATA competition jurists included Noor Adan, Coordinator Supply Chain, Universal Postal Union; Holger Bürskens, Partner, Arnecke Sibeth; Liana Coyne, Chief Operating Officer, Coyne Airways; Wendy Eitan, Coordinator e-Commerce & Physical Services, Universal Postal Union; Goh Puay Guan, Associate Professor, National University of Singapore; Serene Ho, Director, National Trade Platform (NTP) Office, Singapore Customs; Darryl Judd, Chief Operating Officer, Logistics Executive Group; Wolfgang Lehmacher, Senior Supply Chain Executive, Consultant and Entrepreneur; and Bernd Maresch, Owner, Maresch Ltd.