(Photo: KRONE)
The German company Krone, the European giant in the production of trailers, has been dedicated to developing new equipment and software systems for the digitization of road transport for years.
- Our strategy - to be a digital pioneer - is reflected in the constant improvement of vehicles, including their maximum networking, i.e. literally turning a semi-trailer, trailer or removable cargo box into a small computer, which contributes to more economical and safer transport, but also to environmental protection - says Maximilian Birle, head of Krone`s Telematics & Digital Services department.
(Photo: KRONE)
- Our Smart Assistant is an important part of digital transformation, comparable to a powerful operating system. It has initiated a real revolution, for example, in the document management of all Krone trailers, radically simplifying the manipulation of the accompanying transport documents of the vehicle, such as, for example, the electronic waybill (e-CMR) and other services - without the need for additional applications. Krone`s `smart assistant` is the simplest offer of its kind on the trailer market and provides real added value to the users of our trailers on a daily basis, making a significant difference in the world of logistics - Mr. Birle assures.
(Photo: KRONE)
The bill of lading, an important document that enables the administrative management of transport throughout Europe for decades, was previously used in paper form and in quadruplicate. On Krone trailers, it is now completely "replaced" by a QR code that enables access to the electronic waybill. Easily and quickly scanned using a smartphone or other digital device. Thus, easy access to e-CMR is provided to everyone involved in the transport chain, from the driver to the end user of the transport service.
Among the companies that already apply Krone`s technology for "reading" the electronic waybill, is the large Austrian transport company Walter Group, also well known to us, more specifically its company for road and combined transport LKW Walter. The company is celebrating its first century of existence this year (it was founded in 1924). Today, it has 1,650 employees, realizes more than 1,700,000 complete loads per year, and in the business year 2022/2023 it achieved a total turnover of EUR 2.79 billion.
(Photo: LKW Walter)
LKW Walter owns around 15,000
Krone semi-trailers that are used throughout Europe in combined transport and realizes more than 1.5 million transport operations with them every year. Previously, each individual shipment required a paper waybill (which means as many as six million such documents per year!) containing information about the sender, the recipient and the goods. The most important cargo document is now transferred to a fully digitized environment and is extremely simplified, ultimately making administration cheaper, with an undoubtedly great contribution to the reduction of human environmental pollution and the preservation of natural, forest resources.
