InPlay and Hubble Expand Smart Labels for Cold Chain Visibility
What Happened
InPlay has expanded its collaboration with Hubble Network to support a new class of IN120-based smart labels and wireless sensors. The solution is designed to provide global asset visibility across both terrestrial and space-based infrastructure.
The expanded partnership targets multiple logistics and industrial applications, including cold chain monitoring, pharmaceutical monitoring, smart packaging, returnable transport items, and condition tracking in remote or infrastructure-limited regions.
How It Works
The solution combines InPlay’s IN120 platform with Hubble Network’s terrestrial Bluetooth gateway network and satellite connectivity. Hubble says its network includes more than 95 million gateways, allowing connected labels and sensors to transmit data without dedicated infrastructure or cellular connectivity.
The IN120 platform includes a high-precision temperature sensor with ±1°C accuracy and adds patent-pending data logging capability. This enables continuous capture of sensor data, time-sequenced condition monitoring, and preservation of shipment data throughout an asset’s journey.
For cold chain applications, this is important because location data alone is not enough. Buyers need to know whether a product stayed within the required temperature range, when an exception occurred, and how long the product may have been exposed to risk.
Why It Matters
Cold chain monitoring is moving from checkpoint-based tracking to continuous condition visibility. Traditional tracking methods often depend on manual scans, fixed readers, cellular devices, or limited logistics milestones. These systems can leave data gaps during long-distance transport, ocean freight, airfreight transfers, or remote delivery routes.
Smart labels with embedded sensing and data logging can help close those gaps. For pharmaceuticals, biologics, fresh food, and high-value perishables, a complete condition record can support product release decisions, claims management, compliance reviews, and customer trust.
B2B Impact
For cold chain packaging suppliers, smart labels create an opportunity to move beyond passive thermal protection. Packaging can become part of a connected monitoring system that records both location and environmental conditions.
For pharma and food logistics buyers, the business value is stronger traceability at lower deployment complexity. If smart labels can operate at scale without dedicated readers or cellular modules, companies may be able to monitor more shipments, more items, and more routes with fewer infrastructure barriers.
For the wider cold chain industry, this partnership reflects a clear direction: the future of temperature-sensitive logistics will combine packaging, sensing, connectivity, and data history into one integrated solution.