People involved in dispatching cargo are aware of the dangers involved in the process. One of the top concerns in the trucking industry pertains to making sure your equipment is always accounted for. If you leave it unattended for a long period of time (the holidays) you are vulnerable to cargo theft. And not just that – if you have a cargo that is of interest (or the truck itself) you will be a target.

It is an age old truth that as long as you have something of value, someone else wants it as bad as you do. This is the reason keeping a domesticated animal in an enclosure stems from time immemorial. You want to be able to find your goods where you last left them.

Operations managers know the importance of asset tracking. It is a priority regardless of the size. You need it if you deal with small municipal fleet or with a large commercial fleet. And you needed if you rent equipment.

Modern society is complex, but fortunately, the tracking tools at disposal of asset managers are mind-boggling. You can easily find a track trailer for sale online. They offer systems that will allow you to filter all the noise with ease. The assets are usually managed via a dashboard and if you purposefully employ tags you can account for every single piece that is under surveillance. You don’t want to spend your days counting trucks on a screen. The people that design this kind of software are aware of this. You can additionally customize the program with specific alerts and notification systems. A feature that is very popular allows you to impose a geofence over the GPS map. So you key staff (or yourself) will get a notification when certain vehicle has left a predetermined perimeter. The area can be as small as shipping dock, or as large as a whole country. If the asset is moved from an approved location, you will know. If someone uses the truck outside work hours, you will know.

These principles are effective and apply to logistics of every scale. Even if you own one (or just a couple of) valuable assets you can use the same trailer tracking solutions.

Equipment tracking devices are not gaining ground only because of the nice user interface. Feel free to ask others in the business and you will see that tracking increases the likelihood of recovery. Obviously you will avoid having to pay for new equipment. There are studies and reports that analyze the data on theft. They have singled out several reasons for the low recovery rate of stolen goods. When it comes to construction equipment in particular they identified three main problems: delay in discovering (as well as reporting) the theft, inaccurate records and ill organized equipment identification systems. Your gps tracker for equipment knock all of them.

No thief wants to get caught. They take advantage of opportunities when nobody is looking. The trouble with lost trucks is you might be facing a well organized group. Remember that we are talking about trucks and trailers here. This is not someone that is after your mobile phone. It is not easy to get rid off a truck unless you are part of a network engaged in stolen goods black market.

You can definitely counter this. As the old saying goes - it takes a thief to catch a thief. So start thinking through the eyes of someone that wants to take your truck. You can install protective layers that get triggered if the space is violated. Using an acoustic alarm systems is guaranteed to attract unwanted attention at the intruder. You can employ more than one locks thus making the thiefs job harder and time consuming. Increase the risk of being caught in flagrante and many will give up.

These mechanical means to secure your track can work in conjunction with your trailer gps security system. Some offer starter disable feature that can be preset to protect your truck. For example, you can control the time in which the truck can be used. By limiting the hours in which a truck can be operated you give a dead lift to a thief. It will serve to discourage many.

Task your human resources division to conduct a vetting of your employees. Screen anyone that has access to shipping data or specific logistics details. And obviously vet your drivers. You have to make drivers aware of the different aspects of cargo security. It is not enough just to get track trailer for sale. The drivers must be vigilant because their behavior can help prevent theft. Don’t give valuable cargo to new truck drivers. Eliminate the temptation they might have to ‘lose’ it along the way. And those that do end up taking your assets on a long journey have to be briefed to practice precaution. Ask the drivers not to make stops during the first four hours of the trip – this is an unwritten rule. When they do stop, as this is inevitable at some point, encourage them to engage in counter surveillance. An extension of this is to park in well-lit and secure lots.

Outwitting a thief doesn’t work every time. Cargo criminals will eventually find a gap they can exploit to defeat your system. You have to be on your top game to avoid this from happening. Perform periodic supply chain audits to identify the week links in your system. If you are able to find a vulnerability in your shipment protection, probably everyone else can do the same. Move quickly to close them in. Staying one step ahead in the game is enough to get your cargo safely to its end destination.