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Tracking Beer by Satellite

By chaoticutopia on November 3, 2006.

i-e04da515df49db48af98c31dcd83feca-beer.jpgThe other day, I jokingly suggested that a surplus of red tape might lead to human extinction. Leave it to a brewery to take such a threat seriously. Apparently, beer can generate large amounts of red tape, especially when shipped overseas. (One bottle of Heineken, for instance, requires at least 30 documents to enter the US.) In an effort to reduce the amount of paperwork involved with international shipping, Heineken has begun tracking its beer by satellite:

The Beer Living Lab pilot, designed by IBM and the University of Amsterdam, will see 20 beer containers shipped to Heineken's UK distribution centre.

The containers will be fitted with wireless devices and tracked using GSM, GPRS and global positioning systems, providing real-time visibility at all stages.

The data is transmitted to an IBM-hosted centre for analysis using service-oriented architecture on its WebSphere platform.

Heineken reports that RFID tags aren't as convenient as satellite tracking, due to their short-range limits:

A Heineken spokesman says the company decided against radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

'Satellite tracking can report a container's location wherever it is, whereas RFID can only be observed when the container is near a reader,' he said.

The brewing company hopes the new tracking technology will lead to faster and more efficient shipping, and lower costs, by eliminating up to five billion documents a year.

So, while you enjoy your imported beer this weekend, you may be encouraging others to help save the world... from a glut of paperwork, at least.

Image via Heineken USA.

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