Into the Clouds:
The season of gift-giving is here – and so is an increased risk of cargo theft. This year, with the global COVID-19 pandemic affecting in-person shopping, many people are opting to shop online, which means shippers around the world are working hard to deliver an unprecedented number of packages. Unfortunately, cargo theft seems to be keeping pace with the increase in online shopping. In the third-quarter of 2020, cargo thefts increased by 23% compared to the previous year and the estimated total of cargo stolen across the United States and Canada during this period is $33.77 million.
One way for transportation companies to protect trailers and cargo in the lead up to the holidays is to utilize IoT technology in the form of a GPS fleet and cargo tracking solution.
Many transportation companies track the location of their trucks, but advancements in technology are now making it possible to also track trailers and the cargo inside. CloudHawk’s fleet and cargo tracking solution is comprised of GPS tracker devices, IoT sensor technology, and a cloud-based software portal. Together, these solution components enable fleet vehicles and assets to be tracked and monitored in real-time from any device. What’s more, the tracker devices can be integrated with IoT cargo sensors and installed inside trailers to monitor cargo position, volume, and linear footage. With data from the sensors transmitted in real-time to the portal, companies can keep tabs on both the location of the trailer and the status of the cargo inside. Door sensors can also be installed on trailers, so companies are made aware of whenever a trailer door has been opened and the duration that it stayed open. Having this information in hand enables companies to react faster when problems arise. If, for example, a trailer door has been opened at a location that is not part of the planned route, dispatch can quickly check in with the driver to find out if an issue has arisen. Likewise, if the cargo volume has unexpectedly changed, management can quickly investigate or call the police without losing time.
CloudHawk’s fleet and cargo tracking solution also enable automatic alerts to be set up so companies are notified when conditions go outside of pre-defined ranges or parameters. For example, geofences can be set up around important areas, like depots or customer locations, so that management receives a notification when a trailer arrives at or leaves the area. This allows dispatch teams and managers to have the information needed in order to make a quick decision and begin taking the correct course of action to recover the stolen goods.
Without a GPS tracking solution, transportation companies who fall victim to cargo theft are often left in the dark and unable to recover the lost goods. This is a global problem that’s costing companies millions. For example, just this past month nearly $7 million worth of Apple products were stolen in a highway robbery.
CloudHawk's GPS trackers are engineered to be compact and easy-to-hide, which helps to ensure they are not found and removed by thieves. This is important when trying to recover stolen cargo, as having exact details about the last known location of the cargo helps management - and police - know where to start the search. If the trailer itself is stolen, then the real-time location data can be used to locate its exact whereabouts. Historical data can also be used to determine the location and time at which the theft occurred, and the route thieves took afterwards. By using GPS fleet tracking technology, transportation companies are more easily able to track down and recover stolen cargo, potentially saving the economy millions of dollars.