Danish shipping giant Maersk will enhance its Remote Container Management (RCM) platform later this year with a virtual assistant, named ‘Captain Peter’. The app will assist customers throughout the journey of their cargo.

The app is currently being tested by a group of select customers and technical improvements are being put in place to simplify the processes integrated into the Remote Container Management (RCM) platform. In the first half of 2019, Maersk will release the new platform with a revamped design and new product features.

Anne-Sophie Zerlang Karlsen, Head of Global Reefer Management at Maersk said, “Our goal is for the RCM product to look and feel like your favourite smartphone app. There is still a lot of paperwork and difficult processes in global trade. Captain Peter will help take care of some of this complexity, by seamlessly engaging with the customer from end to end in the supply chain.”

In the beginning, Captain Peter will follow some simple rules, sending up-to-date information via customers’ preferred channel, for example, SMS or e-mail, on container temperature and atmosphere conditions, as well as a timeline on its end-to-end journey. Should any deviations be observed, or the shipment be delayed, Captain Peter will notify the customer.

Once the container has arrived at its destination, Captain Peter will also check on its state and send an update to the customer. In time, customers will receive information configured to their specific needs.

The RCM technology makes a reefer’s location, temperature, humidity and power status easily available to the customer. Should any issues be detected, the customer can alert his supplier or have the shipment checked by local surveyors, potentially saving the customer millions of dollars in lost cargo.

Anne-Sophie Zerlang Karlsen concluded, “With the number of active users of the RCM platform constantly growing, the aspiration is for Captain Peter to gather enough information to be able to predict potential cargo damage and provide configuration suggestions before containers are shipped.”