Container tracking systems keep a detailed track of your shipments throughout the transportation process from the moment of discharge to waiting at the ports to finally reach their destination.
Shipment tracking solutions protect your cargo from unforeseen losses and thefts and help you secure your cargo whether it is in transits, at the ports, or at container yards. Containers are likely to be stolen at the premises of an airport or lost due to the inability of the port authorities to keep a track of your container among a sea of other containers.
This is where a good container cargo tracking system is of utmost importance. An advanced container tracking software is able to give you proactive alerts about your shipment and tell you what could possibly go wrong so that you can take timely actions and reduce the chances of losses and theft.
In this article, we discuss some factors to help you choose the right tracking system and keep them safe and secure throughout the transportation journey.
Container Tracking for Safety and Security
One of the major concerns that shippers have about their containers is to protect not only the containers but also the goods they carry. Vehicle tracking systems like GPS are often employed to the fleet that hauls the shipping container. But there are a few problems with using GPS for container tracking.
GPS trackers are most often rented from the market vehicles and hence you cannot attach these to your truck unless you own them. Secondly, if you ship your container by rail, you would hardly get any visibility through such trackers. And lastly, there is a high chance of your goods being stolen because you would have no idea about the exact location of your container.
Therefore, what you need is a portable and wireless tracking device attached to your fleet that has good connectivity and travels everywhere with your goods. The sensors inside this device will tell you everything about your container’s location and whereabouts and keep it secure throughout the journey.
Container Tracking to Reduce Operational Costs
When your shipment arrives at a port or airport, it is stocked upon arrival and moved to the exit point only after it goes through customs clearance. The process could take days to weeks with more chances of security risk and shipment delays.
This raises a concern of shipment goods being damaged or lost that disrupts the company’s supply chain rhythm and increases operational costs to compensate for the damaged containers and goods.
Using RFID is not as reliable and efficient for monitoring shipments at the port level and also leads to heavy infrastructure requirements. This situation renders the use of an IoT device that can convey the precise location of a container and identify the rack that the container is on.
An IoT device with an active GPS antenna will provide you with accurate shipment information and enables real-time monitoring of your container to reduce the operational costs of your business.
Container Tracking on Sea or Air
A container traveling on high seas or flight is relatively more secure as compared to when it is on the surface or at a port. But that doesn’t mean you should stop monitoring its location and condition.
Being on the sea or air poses a risk of weather changes that can affect your container and goods. In this situation, you can use an IoT device that has sensors to detect the change in temperature, humidity, track my container pressure, and shock to reduce the risk of damage to goods especially if they are fragile.
In Summary
Choosing a container tracking system wisely across different shipment routes can help keep your shipments safe, secure, and efficient that will potentially reduce the costs of your business and make your supply chain operations reliable and convenient.
