Cable drum tracking and counting

Our customer is a European cable manufacturer with a history spanning multiple decades. They are a key player in supplying cable solutions to various sectors such as construction, industry, and energy.

Our customer often delivered cable drums to sites that have more cable than the end-users needed. The user would cut a piece of the cable, and note how much is remaining, so that the remaining cable can be used for a new project. In practice, notable amounts of cable often were often left on the drum and drums 'forgotten' at the site. It could take up to 1.5 years before our customer recovered a drum. This results in needless production of new drums. Also, a lot of time was wasted on the recovery of cables as there was no real-time location tracking. The entire process was inefficient and taxing on the environment.

Approached to work on this case, KCS partnered with a large telecom operator to develop the TraceME P3K3 cable tracking solution. This innovative solution integrates cross-border LPWAN tracking and rotation counters into one, thereby providing real-time visibility into the reels' location and the cable's remaining length.

The implementation of the TraceME IoT solution has brought significant advantages for both our customer and their clients. Our customer can now provide a higher level of service while making substantial environmental gains through waste reduction and operational streamlining. For their clients, the benefits are even more tangible as they experience improved efficiency, cost savings, and the ability to make informed, data-driven decisions about their cable usage.