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The Basic Guide to Freight Tracking for Shippers and Dealers

Freight tracking provides real-time insights about shipments, ensuring retailers and customers receive your products on time. You can monitor goods as they move from your warehouse to your final destination and quickly identify delays, stolen items, and other problems in the supply chain. This guide will tell you more about how a GPS-enabled freight tracking device, like those made by LandAirSea (LAS), enhances this process.

What Is Freight Tracking?

Freight tracking means monitoring goods as they move through the supply chain. Whether transporting freight via road, rail, sea, or air, shippers and dealers can generate real-time updates about their products and discover their whereabouts.

The Freight Analysis Framework estimates freight volume will rise by around 1.6% per year from 2023–2050. As companies ship more products, there's an increased risk of congestion on transportation routes, meaning retailers and customers might not receive your goods on time. That's why it's important to track freight and quickly respond to delays. Freight tracking can also help you identify products that get stuck in customs, goods delivered to the wrong address, and stolen freight.

How Can GPS Help With Freight Tracking?

Using GPS trackers is one of the best ways to track freight. These devices receive signals from the Global Positioning System — a series of satellites that orbit the planet — and send location data to your desktop or smart device. That way, you always know the whereabouts of your products. A freight tracking device from LAS is small and discreet enough to be placed on shipping boxes and containers or inside packaging with the provided magnets or cables. You can then sync location data from your tracker to the SilverCloud app and view your shipments in real time on a map, no matter where they are in the world. The LandAirSea 54, for example, is a waterproof and dustproof GPS device that doesn't require Wi-Fi or a cellular signal, meaning you will always know the location of your products.

Use Cases For GPS Freight Tracking For Shippers And Dealers

A GPS vehicle tracking device can prevent the theft of your shipments, improve the customer experience, and enhance logistics. Learn more about these use cases below.

Prevent Theft

Cargo theft costs retailers and trucking companies at least $15 billion a year, according to estimates from the FBI. While GPS trackers can't prevent theft from happening, these gadgets help you identify stolen products so you can recover them. That's thanks to a technology called geofencing. Creating a virtual parameter around a real-world location — a process known as geofencing — can improve theft protection when managing your freight. Say you attach a GPS freight tracking device to a container in your warehouse and create a geofence around the building. If the container leaves that vicinity, which suggests someone has stolen it, you'll receive a notification on your smartphone. You can then view the whereabouts of your container as it moves to a new destination. With LAS, it's easy to send information about stolen shipments to law enforcement with ShareSpot's location-sharing system. You can also send real-time maps of missing cargo to your insurance company and prove you are the victim of theft.

Optimize The Customer Experience

Customers like to track their orders after they leave your warehouse and receive information about how long it takes to receive their goods. With GPS trackers like the LandAirSea Overdrive, you can share real-time maps with consumers, allowing them to check on their orders as products pass through different stages of your supply chain. Providing customers with GPS-powered location information can improve the customer experience by managing their expectations. They will have a better idea of when they will receive their goods rather than having to contact your team for a delivery estimate. Customers can also learn about shipment delays. Again, LAS makes it simple to share shipment data thanks to ShareSpot.

Improve Logistics

GPS trackers like the LandAirSea Global 54 provide an incredible amount of information about the freight in your supply chain. For example, you can find out how much time it takes for products to reach their destination and what routes they take. If a particular journey takes too long or experiences too many delays, you can change your logistics processes or choose another carrier. You can also find out where products are located in your warehouse. For example, you can attach a GPS tracker to your most popular items and locate them quickly to meet demand. Alternatively, use a GPS vehicle tracking device to monitor drivers who transport goods. You can find how long it takes for them to deliver items and whether they make any stops along their route. Use this information for future performance reviews and increase productivity in your organization.

How LAS Helps With Freight Tracking

Freight tracking generates real-time updates about products as they move through your supply chain, so you can make sure retailers and customers receive your goods on time. Using a GPS tracker for this purpose can prevent theft, improve the customer experience, and enhance logistics. LAS has pioneered GPS surveillance technology since the 1990s and provides its services to industries such as law enforcement, border control, and local government. It has several freight tracking device products that make your life easier, including the LandAirSea SYNC, which requires no batteries as it plugs straight into a delivery truck's OBD II port. Benefits of using LAS devices include easy setup and installation, online tutorials, and affordable pricing. These items are also up to 80% cheaper than others on the market. View GPS products for shippers and dealers or email ian.conley@landairsea.com to learn more.