# An Architecture for Reliable Transportation of Delicate Goods
## 1 Introduction  
Freight transport is one of the world's main economic activities and an essential pillar of many other activities. It has been growing around 3% per year [1]. The service provided is based on the major premise of transporting goods between two locations, charging for this service. The scale of this activity is so huge that it gives rise to very distinct contexts and requirements, reaching the point of supporting intercontinental commercial circuits with deadlines and periodicities that are quantified in hours. Besides the delivery time and guarantee of delivery, other requirements are now critical, namely the transport conditions, whether as a result of the quality requirements of the end customer, or simply as a way of making certain transactions (business) feasible, which without the guarantee of the transport conditions are not viable. Current practice assumes that the service provider complies with transport conditions. However, even when such conditions concern only the deadlines (which most of time are effectively accomplished), it is also accepted that the service is not 100% guaranteed. When transport also lacks controlled conditions, such as temperature or humidity, the confirmation that the service was provided as agreed is often based on an empirical verification of the status of the goods after the product delivery (or, at most, in audits carried out, with some regularity, on the transport service). In most situations, the guarantee that the service is provided as agreed is based on a commodity insurance which, in case of loss or degradation of the merchandise, safeguards the customer. But that does not avoid undesirable costs, either for the insurance itself, or for compensation when needed. Further costs can be added, namely those related to non-compliance with contractual supply obligations or stock failure, which can have repercussions in terms of the corporate image of those involved or even lead to lost business opportunities. In addition, there may be environmental costs: a commodity that required a certain amount of resources to be produced and transported, once spoiled/unusable turns into waste, most likely with a direct environmental impact or extra costs in order to be recycled. The principle that there is insurance that protects the target in case of damage or loss of goods, particularly as a result of not safeguarding the transport conditions, is antagonistic with the current social requirements that foster a sustainable and circular economy, whose main premise is to avoid the production of waste. Moreover, transport conditions are particularly relevant for delicate goods [2; 3; 4]. This is the case of food, such as meat, fish, fruit or vegetables, which must be transported under very well-defined (and often regulated) conditions of temperature, humidity, or even ventilation. This type of merchandise is tradable on a global scale, whether in fresh, frozen or other forms. Brazil, for example, is one of the major world exporters of animal protein (namely of bovine origin [5]) supplying markets as far away as China or Russia, with long and distant routes (mostly done by sea). In this case, the origin of the meat, who produces it, and what certifications it has, are some of the important factors for the valorization of the product, and also for the sustainability of the business. They demand investment and time, aiming to convince and win consumer confidence, which is not an easy task. However, it is not enough to produce the best product if the transport conditions jeopardize this quality and recognition. The transport of delicate goods quite normally involves road transport with refrigeration chambers, often operated by subcontractors or individual workers, who do not respond directly to those who hire the transport service and, as such, are less concerned with the quality of the provided service and more with their own profit.