Press Release
For Immediate Release
Vienna, 6 May 2020
EU's GNSS Agency Leverages Sixfold's Cross-Border Transport Expertise to Develop the Galileo Green Lane App
European supply chains, retailers and logistics service providers can download an app giving real-time information on delays being experienced by trucks at European borders resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic
Leading shipment visibility providerSixfold,application development specialistsFoxComand consulting firmSpaceTecPartnerstoday jointly announce their participation in the Galileo Green Lane initiative led by the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA), the provider of the European Navigation System Galileo.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission requested Member States to designate TEN-T border-crossing points as ‘Green Lane' border crossings, with the expectation that these border crossings, including any checks, should not exceed 15 minutes on internal land borders. Galileo Green Lane will support the management of transit across borders, relieving the pressure of handling goods and allowing the quick passage of critical goods such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including COVID- resistant theatre gowns and masks.
Galileo Green Laneaims to provide transparency to border authorities and freight transporters on the border crossing times at Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) border points. It leverages the positioning accuracy of the Galileo navigation system to locate incoming vehicles in a defined geo-fenced area surrounding critical borders. Location data generated at the border can also be combined with a geo-tagged photo to provide additional information. The solution relies on European GNSS services and infrastructure and demonstrates the resourcefulness of Galileo in crisis situations.
Through Galileo Green Lane, Europe's logistics industry gains access to a real-time overview of border traffic hold-ups, built on the foundation of Sixfold'sCOVID-19 map. As part of its growing role within Europe's supply chains, Sixfold took the initiative in mid-March 2020 to provide supply chains, retailers and shippers with a free live border crossing map which is updated in real-time. The map enables shippers to better understand the expected delays in receiving shipments as a result of the increasing number of border checks due to the COVID-19 crisis. Over 500,000 logistics professionals across Europe have since used the border map to better plan their transport routes to avoid lengthy delays at borders.
Sixfold, a leading European real-time transport visibility platform, is also the exclusive provider of such data for Transporeon, Europe's largest transport network. Integrating its real-time transportation data and advanced visibility platform into the Galileo Green Lane app forms an integral part of the EU's response to outbreaks of the COVID-19 disease.
The Galileo Green Lane mobile app itself was developed by FoxCom, a leading-edge software architecture and development studio focused on analysis, architecture, implementation, integration, deployment and maintenance of database driven software. Based in Prague near the GSA's headquarters, FoxCom took on the challenge of rapidly prototyping and developing an app solution tailored for freight transporters and border officials.
FoxCom and Sixfold were brought together by the specialized consultancy firm SpaceTec Partners who oversaw the coordination and operational management of this dynamic project. "The combination of Galileo Green Lane data and Sixfold's real-time visibility platform is a powerful tool for logistics companies to better understand delays being experienced by trucks at European border crossings," says Rainer Horn, Managing Partner of SpaceTec Partners. "In these troubled times, the app should become a stalwart tool of supply chains."
Wolfgang Wörner, Sixfold's CEO adds: "Sixfold has grown rapidly over the last couple of months and is now the real-time visibility provider-of-choice for shippers, logistics service providers and carriers. Building upon that momentum, we decided at the outset of the COVID-19 crisis to utilize our market-leading visibility platform to help all in Europe's supply-chains to better manage delays in crossing borders. Clearly, we are delighted to collaborate with the GSA and the European Commission to serve even larger audiences."
"The Galileo Green Lane app is an excellent example of how Galileo is enabling young European smart companies to produce innovative apps that tackle global challenges," adds Pascal Claudel, Acting Executive Director, European GNSS Agency.
About Sixfold
Sixfold is one of Europe's leading real-time logistics visibility platforms for the supply chain. Shippers and carriers seamlessly integrate their transport management systems with the Sixfold visibility platform to know where their shipments are and when they will arrive with minimal manual work from either of the parties. The platform aggregates data from all telematics systems into one data stream giving true end-to-end visibility of shipments. The Sixfold platform has powerful AI capabilities and singularly predicts delays and provides proactive alerts on any shipment delays. Up to 500 million euros worth of goods are monitored by Europe's supply chains each day using the Sixfold platform enabling customers and shippers to gain business advantage and to better plan operations. Sixfold supports customers in more than 25 European languages and data distributed on its platform is totally secure and GDPR compliant. Visitwww.sixfold.com
About FoxCom
Based in Prague, FoxCom was established in 1995 with a mission to develop internet, intranet and server-based applications using scalable and robust technologies. The firm provides services for European and global companies including Germany, Switzerland, USA, Austria and Great Britain. FoxCom has successfully developed more than 1,100 projects and co-operates with many companies as developers and as consultants. Visitwww.foxcom.cz
About SpaceTec
SpaceTec Partners is a specialised space-industry consultancy. SpaceTec Partners assists its clients with management consulting, market development and innovation advisory services for the space and space applications domain. SpaceTec Partners advise venture capital firms and provides business coaching for start-ups. Visitwww.spacetec.partners
About the European GNSS Agency (GSA)
The European GNSS Agency (GSA), is the European Union Agency in charge of managing operations, security and service provision for Europe's Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Galileo and EGNOS. By working with stakeholders, industry, service providers and user communities, the GSA ensures the highest return on European GNSS investment, multiplying the benefits of space applicationsfor European citizens and business, boosting innovation and competitiveness, and securing sustainable economic growth.
Ends
Media contacts for further information and images:
Armin Tüll,Head of Marketing
Sixfold
Hugh Paterson, CEO
Whoosh PR
Tel. +33 (0)9860 77819
Mobile: +44 (0)746596 2446
Tomas Liska, CEO
FoxCom s.r.o.
+420 (222) 718 459
Rainer Horn, Managing Partner
SpaceTec Partners
+49 171 377 5555
Cristina Comunian, GSA Communications Officer
European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency
Tel. +420 234 766 780
Mobile: +420 778 537 344
Cristina.COMUNIAN@gsa.europa.eu