The world’s first container electronic label international route was born in Shanghai
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World shipping will remember today: On March 10, 2008, the world’s first commercial container electronic label route officially opened at Shanghai Port. One month later, domestic electronic tags will arrive at the port of Savannah, the fourth largest container port in the United States.
For this day, Shanghai and even the global shipping industry have been looking forward to it for a long time. Two years ago, when the container electronic tag device was listed as a national science and technology support plan, Bao Qifan, the project leader, firmly believed that a small step in his personal invention career was a big step in the history of shipping. The revolution in the online age of the world logistics industry will set sail from this, and the construction of Shanghai International Shipping Center will also gain influence and drive momentum from it.
Make the logistics process fully transparent
As early as two years ago, the scientific research level of Shanghai Port caused a sensation in the world. In May 2006, at the 105th Paris International Invention Exhibition, the “Container Electronic Tag Device” project brought by Bao Qifan, Vice President of Shanghai International Port Group, won the Gold Award for Invention. The chairman of the French jury predicted that this invention “will trigger a revolution that will change the way humans are transported.”
Now, the prophecy has come true. Yesterday, the reporter saw an electronic tag on the Waigaoqiao Phase II terminal. It turned out to be just a palm-sized black box, hung inconspicuously on the door bolt of the container, but the chip in it stores almost all the information of the container: the name of the goods, the number of pieces, the port of departure, the port of destination, the shipping company, the owner, etc. An electronically labeled container is like having an “electronic ID card,” and the master computer in the port area can clearly show its ins and outs.
“This is only a small part of the functions of electronic tags. The container electronic tags that will be launched on the Shanghai-Savannah route can not only realize the rapid transmission of information in the port area, but also carry out real-time online monitoring of the entire logistics process. The biggest highlight of this invention.” Bao Qifan said that after the sailing ceremony today, all the containers from Shanghai Port to and from Savannah Port will be tagged with electronic tags. After the staff read the contents of the tags for the first time at the packing point, All the information of the container can be uploaded to the Internet via wireless local area network or GPRS/CDMA public network. After that, when a container with an electronic tag passes through a dock crossing or is hoisted by a bridge to load the ship, the fixed reader will read the latest data and upload it to the Internet as soon as possible until the container arrives at the destination port, and the goods are handed over to the owner. . In this process, shipping companies, container owners, cargo owners, ports, customs, commodity inspections and other service objects can query the real-time status of containers online.
Bao Qifan and his scientific research team also developed a dedicated website called “China Container Electronic Labeling System”. After logging on to the website, the reporter found that as long as the container number is entered on the query page, the detailed query results of the container can be clear at a glance, including the weight of the container, the level of dangerous goods, the temperature, and the UN number. At the same time, dynamic information such as when the container enters the port for loading and when it unloads and leaves the port can also be clearly displayed on the Internet. What’s more important is that in the entire logistics process, if the container is opened illegally, the electronic tag will automatically record the “attack” and display a red alarm signal on the web page. The container is like a conscientious Electronic sentry”.
Inspired by mailing moon cakes
With electronic tags, it becomes even more difficult to violate regulations and laws in transportation, and this is exactly what the international shipping community expects.
The Washington Customs in the United States once caught a group of smugglers at a container terminal in Seattle. They were hiding in a container and embarking on smuggling. When, where and how did you enter the container? Because there is no real-time monitoring system, all parties are in agreement. “In fact, it is not only the smuggling issue. The poisonous dumpling incident that has been heated up in recent days also reflects the security risks of modern logistics. Many experts have analyzed that the root cause of the dumpling poisoning incident is very likely to appear in the long transportation and storage process, but Because there is no concrete evidence, the case has become confusing. If there are electronic tags, these problems will be solved.”
Bao Qifan explained that the introduction of network technology and smart technology into the traditional shipping industry has made the logistics process controllable and visible. Transportation no longer tests the patience of both the sender and the receiver of the goods, but runs more “sunny” under the nose. , This is the significance of the invention of electronic tags.
Therefore, many experts at home and abroad believe that the use of electronic tags will have a profound impact on the entire shipping industry. For shipping companies, in the past, because it was impossible to monitor each container in real time, the company had to bear the risks in the transportation process and could not shorten the logistics cycle. Now with the electronic label system, the safety of goods is guaranteed, and the logistics process has become transparent and controllable. This will greatly reduce the cost of logistics enterprises, thereby improving the service level of the entire industry. For cargo owners, changes in the circulation field will inevitably affect the production field. Now that every detail of the logistics process can be understood, the production plan can be arranged more compactly and reasonably, and the capital utilization rate will also be greatly improved. In addition, for the customs, border defense, inspection and quarantine and other national functional departments, the use of electronic tags also gives them the opportunity to improve supervision methods. While improving supervision efficiency and detecting illegal acts more effectively, it further increases the speed of customs clearance. , Provide high-quality services for enterprises. This series of changes has made the container electronic label attract the attention of the world, and it has also made it a world-class influential invention.
However, few people know that the original inspiration for this invention came from missing loved ones. Since his son has been studying abroad for a long time, Bao Qifan will select a box of mooncakes to send to Acacia every year before Mid-Autumn Festival. But after the mooncakes were sent, whether they could be received on time, whether they were fresh or not, and whether they would be tuned on the way, etc., he couldn’t rest assured. In 2001, Bao Qifan after sending mooncakes suddenly had an impulse: Why can’t we develop a system so that “every step” of delivering mooncakes can be clearly displayed on the Internet? Thus, an invention that may trigger an “earthquake” in the shipping industry was born.
Promote the construction of shipping centers
The first international electronic label route was born in Shanghai, which will further promote the process of Shanghai’s construction of an international shipping center.
What is an international shipping center? Bao Qifan has his own understanding. “The shipping center should be recognized by the industry and recognized by the society. Only those ports that are influential, driven, and have been widely studied by the global shipping community, can lead the world’s shipping to make progress together in order to be a true shipping center. It is said that Shanghai Port is second to none and possesses the primary characteristics of a shipping center, but does it represent the world’s highest level in terms of technology, equipment, and management?” In Bao Qifan’s view, Shanghai must continue to improve its position in the international shipping industry. , It must be both “soft” and “hard”, and electronic tags may be a technological breakthrough.
It is the first to use electronic container tags worldwide, which enhances the international status of Shanghai Port. According to reports, there are dozens of international standards in the field of container transportation today, but they are all formulated by European and American countries. In other words, the “game” rules of container transportation are actually the foreigners’ final say. After opening the China-US electronic label route, China has taken the lead in digital shipping and has more say in formulating new international standards. It is reported that at the ISO Container Standards Conference held in Hamburg, Germany next month, Bao Qifan will submit a draft of relevant electronic label standards on behalf of China to promote the formulation of international standards.
The research and development of new products has also brought the service quality of Shanghai Port to a higher level and has become a highlight of Shanghai’s development of modern service industry. Since electronic tags ensure transportation safety, the containers sent from Shanghai Port will be regarded as “top students” by many foreign ports in the future, thus enjoying the “green channel” treatment. After a series of inspection procedures are exempted, the operating costs of shipping companies will be greatly reduced, which has become a powerful weapon for Shanghai Port to attract more ships to call.
Changes will bring about many derivative industries, which may benefit Shanghai Port for a long time to come. “Take the electronic label website as an example. If the world promotes digital transportation in the future, this website will be a good shipping value-added service platform. Although the website is now free to browse, as long as it has a scale, you can refer to the development of business websites such as Alibaba. Membership management is implemented. At that time, even if the electronic tags are given to users for free, the browsing fee alone will be a considerable income.” In Bao Qifan’s eyes, opening a route is just the beginning, and there are many things that can be done in the future. These are important opportunities to enhance the soft power of Shanghai International Shipping Center.
Memories are always inevitable when you toast to celebrate. Bao Qifan told reporters that when he talked to the chairman of Port Savannah for the first time in 2006 about the idea of opening a Sino-US electronic label route, the foreigner had a dubious look on his face. And a year later, when he showed up in Savannah Port with a large amount of experimental data on the Shanghai-Yantai route, the United States responded with long applause. “Since the conditions for opening international routes are immature, we will test electronic tags on domestic routes. With data, we have the capital to persuade others. Then, the data accumulated on the world’s first container electronic tag line will be a big talk. Right!”
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