IoT Enables Enhanced Security and Control in Jewelry Shipping
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Feichtinger Schmuckhandel is one of Austria's largest jewelry retailers, operating the country's biggest goldsmith workshop. Founded in 1979 in Graz, this Styrian family business currently runs 20 branches throughout Austria. The company provides nationwide coverage, offering high-quality jewelry, wedding rings, and custom-made pieces for women, men, and children.
A significant portion of production takes place in their own workshops. With approximately 50 highly qualified goldsmiths, the company ensures both professional manufacturing and excellent customer service. However, the centralized production, combined with on-site consulting, requires sophisticated logistics to transport jewelry between the headquarters and branches.
A significant challenge emerged: "Occasionally, packages would arrive empty. Someone had opened the packages and stolen the jewelry," reports Christian Feichtinger, owner and CEO. After removing the jewelry, the perpetrators would reseal the packages, making the theft difficult to detect at first glance.
While the company's jewelry is insured, Feichtinger emphasizes, "You can't just look at the material value. We handle family heirlooms and wedding ring modifications. These pieces hold sentimental and emotional value far beyond their monetary worth." In such cases, insurance compensation offers little consolation.
Conventional Transport Tracking Proves Insufficient
Addressing this issue required more than just tracking packages through the logistics partner – the packages’ condition needed monitoring as well. "Our goal was to secure the goods and to be able to respond immediately in case of theft, implementing appropriate measures," explains the CEO, describing their plan to implement additional protection measures and help identify perpetrators.
Proof of Concept in Multiple Stages
The jewelry retailer sought advice from A1 Digital experts to solve this challenge. "We clearly needed a professional partner who could complement package tracking with an innovative approach, informing us not just about the route, but also about any opening of the packages," explains Christian Feichtinger.
Together, Feichtinger and A1 Digital launched a proof of concept aimed at solving the jeweler's challenges: initially, transport boxes were equipped with GPS trackers. "We first integrated GPS trackers to enhance security," says Feichtinger. "However, as long as the package stays within the expected route, irregularities aren't immediately apparent." For Feichtinger, this wasn't sufficient.
By adding sensors to the transport boxes, package openings could be detected. "Yet even this enhanced monitoring with the first version of A1 Digital's Asset Insight solution didn't achieve the desired results. While openings were detected, real-time information was missing," says Feichtinger.
Real-time Monitoring with Instant Alerts
The next step expanded the monitoring capabilities: "A1 Digital enhanced the solution to include real-time monitoring with instant alerts," explains Christian Feichtinger. A1 Digital created functionality to communicate opening detections in real time via mobile network to a pre-defined contact at the jewelry company. This required powerful trackers with sufficient battery life to monitor the entire journey.
"A1 Digital solved this in the final version of the solution," Feichtinger notes happily. "Now we can seamlessly monitor our boxes from preparation for shipping in-house until their arrival back in our hands."
I am very satisfied with the collaboration with A1 Digital because our challenges are taken seriously and we are committed to working on solutions.
The Solution
The implementation uses trackers that detect and report both the position and opening/closing of jewelry transport boxes. The opening and closing detection works through a magnetic contact.
The tracker, installed in Feichtinger's transport boxes, uses the magnetic contact between box and lid to detect opening and closing events, recording these along with the current position. Upon unauthorized opening, a real-time alarm is triggered, and designated contacts at Feichtinger receive email or SMS notifications.
The company now knows the exact location of packages at all times and receives immediate alerts if anyone tampers with them.