Nippon Express Gains Real-Time Chassis Visibility at Tokyo Port with Hoopo’s IoT Solution

Major Strategic Chassis Tracking Deployment Enhances Efficiency and Service Reliability

Tokyo, Japan, 8 September 2025, Nippon Express Co., Ltd., a global logistics leader, has completed a large-scale deployment of Hoopo’s fleet intelligence solution at the Oi Terminal in Tokyo Port, equipping hundreds of chassis across 17 parking lots with real-time tracking capabilities. The initiative represents a major strategic chassis digitization project, improving fleet visibility, optimizing port operations, and strengthening customer service levels.

Faced with growing complexity in locating and dispatching available chassis, Nippon Express’s International Ocean Shipping Operations Department sought to eliminate manual search processes, reduce idle time, and increase responsiveness across Tokyo Bay. The company selected Hoopo’s advanced tracking solution, integrated with Multisoup’s iField management platform, to power this digital transformation and provide more efficient, data-driven asset allocation.

"The ability to monitor chassis location and container mount status in real time has brought significant improvements to our daily operations. By introducing Hoopo’s tracking solution, we’ve reduced search time, improved asset rotation, and streamlined dispatch decisions across our Tokyo Port operations.”

Said a representative from the International Ocean Cargo Operation Division, Forwarding Business Unit at Nippon Express.

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The Challenge: Complex Multi-Site Fleet Management

In daily container transport operations, 20ft and 40ft containers must be matched with compatible chassis and dispatched efficiently. Prior to digitization, operational teams spent significant time manually searching for available units across multiple yards—leading to dispatch delays, inconsistent asset rotation, and increased costs. High-demand chassis were overused while others remained idle, creating operational inefficiencies.

Solution: Real-Time Visibility with Smart Tracking

Each chassis is now equipped with Hoopo’s hoopoSense Tracker, providing real-time insights into location, motion, and mount status.

Advanced Sensing Technology: The device combines multiple location and sensing technologies, including Hoopo's unique low-power radar sensor, to accurately detect both chassis location and mount status. The system automatically determines whether each unit is carrying a mounted container or is bare and available for immediate deployment.

Intelligent Power Management: Using integrated motion sensors, three communication protocols, and four location protocols, the trackers automatically optimize communication and location captures, transmitting accurate data, with minimal power consumption. This advanced functionality enables exceptional battery life of three to eight years, significantly outperforming alternative solutions in the market.

Minimal Maintenance Requirements: Each tracker is powered by six lithium batteries that can be easily replaced during routine vehicle inspections, minimizing maintenance needs and avoiding operational disruptions that plague other tracking solutions. 

Integrated Platform Intelligence: The solution integrates seamlessly with Multisoup's iField management platform, providing comprehensive fleet visibility through real-time chassis location, availability status, utilization patterns, and operational history analytics.

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Impact: Streamlined Operations and Reduced Downtime

Since deploying Hoopo's advanced tracking solution, Nippon Express has achieved measurable operational optimization across their Tokyo Port chassis fleet management:

Immediate Operational Gains:

• Eliminated manual chassis search time, with teams now instantly locating available units through real-time visibility
• Accelerated dispatch cycles by removing guesswork from chassis availability decisions
• Balanced fleet utilization across the entire fleet, eliminating the previous pattern of overusing easily accessible units while others remained idle
• Enhanced operational responsiveness at one of Japan's busiest container terminals

Strategic Fleet Management Improvements: The solution's comprehensive data analytics have enhanced asset management beyond day-to-day operations. With long battery life and minimal maintenance requirements, the system delivers consistent performance and operational continuity that enables:

• Data-driven maintenance planning and inspection scheduling
• Optimized asset rotation strategies based on actual usage patterns
• Improved resource allocation across the 17 parking lots
• Enhanced decision-making capability for fleet expansion and deployment

Operational teams can now rapidly locate and dispatch empty chassis with complete confidence in availability status, resulting in faster customer response times, increased asset utilization rates, and a more agile, responsive logistics operation. The rollout has established Nippon Express's Tokyo Port operations as a model for efficient chassis fleet management in maritime logistics.

About Nippon Express

Established in 1937, Nippon Express is a comprehensive logistics company and the core entity of the NX Group. By utilizing a wide array of transportation modes, including air, sea, rail, and truck, as well as warehouses and IT systems, the company delivers high-quality logistics services on a global scale. The International Ocean Freight Operations Department is responsible for international maritime container transport, operating out of Tokyo Port, the largest international container port in Japan, comprising the Shinagawa, Oi, Aomi, and Outer Central Breakwater container terminals.