Published:  23.6.2020

GSGroup Finland Oy has recently started taking advantage of Digita’s IoT network, which has allowed it to provide increasingly cost-effective tracking solutions for its customers.

With almost 30 years of tracking experience, GSGroup Finland Oy decided to start the new decade with a bang and deploy LoRaWAN technology. GSGroup Finland Oy has now been relying on Digita’s nationwide LoRaWAN-based IoT network since May 2020.

The company is using the new technology, among other things, to ensure the standard of transport services and to track valuable cargo.

“We have a lot of customers who are interested in using IoT technology to track their assets more cost-effectively. Digita’s LoRaWAN network responds well to this need”, explains Business Unit Manager Pekka Naukkarinen.

GSGroup is one of Europe’s largest suppliers of sensor technology, and its market area covers the entire continent.

Examples of businesses that use GSGroup’s sensor technology include Nordic transport service providers Post Nord and DB Schenker. Naukkarinen believes that the use of IoT technology will increase rapidly especially in the transport and logistics sector. Real-time information in particular is in high demand.

“Knowing the exact time when goods will arrive is becoming more and more important to our customers. The need to know can be based on, for example, a company’s drive to improve its delivery performance or not wanting to keep extra stock sitting unnecessarily in a warehouse.”

“Many companies see chaos where we see opportunity”

Smart tracking can help to increase productivity and efficiency in many sectors. In the transport sector, for example, being able to reliably track large quantities of pallets and containers is crucial for asset management. The ability to track tools and machinery on a construction site can save valuable time when resources do not need to be wasted looking for equipment. Up-to-date tracking of food deliveries helps to reduce waste.

GSGroup is headquartered in Norway, and its Finnish subsidiary supplies vehicle and asset tracking systems and site management services. Prior to the deployment of LoRa technology, the company’s tracking solutions were based on GPS satellite navigation and operators’ conventional networks.

“Conventional tracking systems are extremely accurate, but considerably more expensive than systems based on LoRa technology. Digita’s LoRaWAN network allows us to offer much more cost-effective solutions especially for customers who need to track large volumes of goods”, Naukkarinen explains.

The biggest benefits of Digita’s LoRa-based IoT network include its nationwide scope and the speed of transmission with small amounts of data in particular. Digita’s IoT network has a population coverage of 99% outdoors and 96% indoors. According to Naukkarinen, these are the reasons why the company chose to partner with Digita.

“We have been very happy with the partnership so far. Our first shipments to customers are already on their way”, Naukkarinen said a few weeks after the partnership was announced.

Naukkarinen believes that the Internet of Things is still difficult for many entrepreneurs and businesses to get their head around. There are too many service providers to choose from, and migrating to a new technology can feel like a huge, time-consuming project.

“Many companies see chaos where we see opportunity: we understand how this technology can help us to improve our services and generate more value for our customers. GSGroup has a long history that makes people trust in the reliability of our services. The fact that we are able to offer a higher standard of customer service than our competitors is also important.”

IoT is taking the world by storm

The Internet of Things (IoT) is spreading fast and will only gain momentum in the coming years. The technology is already used in multiple sectors, where it has become part of the routine. Water companies have introduced remotely readable water meters, and construction sites now have smart access control systems. Tracking solutions are integral to the smart technology that is becoming ubiquitous in our homes and businesses.

“I believe that, in the future, construction companies, for example, will want to be able to track even the smallest of hand tools on site. Wasting time looking for tools and machinery can be incredibly expensive”, Naukkarinen says.

Any technology that enables businesses to cut costs quickly and economically is bound to become more widely used. Naukkarinen’s other real-life example relates to various kinds of maintenance visits, which at least for now always require the physical presence of a qualified engineer.

“With IoT technology, ad-hoc maintenance visits, for example, can be executed much more efficiently. An engineer who finishes a job faster than expected can check the best location to visit next using an app on their smartphone. This reduces unnecessary trips back and forth and makes work more proactive.”

Digita’s IoT network

• A national network that can be used for IoT (Internet of Things) solutions
• Designed for wireless and energy-efficient data transfer
• Based on LoRa (Long Range) technology, which is especially well suited for sending and receiving small amounts of data over long distances
• Key features of LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) technology include two-way data communication, portability, tracking solutions and easy deployment
• The sensors used to collect data are lightweight and easy to install wirelessly
• A wide range of sensor solutions available

This article was originally published on the mtvuutiset.fi website as part of a commercial partnership.