How shipment monitoring helps businesses overcome global supply chain disruptions
If there’s one thing the pandemic has driven home to many businesses, you can’t take for granted your ability to ship to customers.
A wide range of challenges have disrupted shipping globally, including border delays, security concerns, and a sharp increase in order volumes. However, out of adversity comes innovation, and the shipping industry has accelerated its adoption of digital capabilities.
Of these innovations, few offer as great an impact for businesses as Shipment Monitoring.
As a dedicated Internet of Things (IoT) solution, Shipment Monitoring gives companies the ability to accurately track and monitor shipments at a package or item level in real-time. This includes highly detailed location data, as well as the condition of its shipments. Businesses not only get peace of mind about the status of their shipments and the information they need to make changes that ensure the safe, secure and compliant arrival of goods, but also provides the opportunity to automate a more reliable shipping process.
Track shipments with confidence
For any company, shipments that are delayed, lost or damaged will severely impact business. But once goods leave your warehouse, you used to have little visibility beyond what the shipping firm reports—or when customers complain.
Shipment Monitoring provides in-transit visability, enabling you to take control of your shipments and ensure clients receive their goods as they expect. IoT sensors placed on shipments report live location, conditions, and the handling of your shipments, whether inbound or outbound, so you know their status at a pallet, package or even item level.
In addition, automated milestones report shipments as they depart from their point of origin, complete each transfer and then arrive at final destination. Over time, the data of past and present shipments feeds into insights that help companies identify and manage choke points, dwell time and bottlenecks, optimize shipping routes across all modes of transport, and accurately predict arrival times.
Even in the best of times, such clarity and flexibility to improve transit efficiency can become a big competitive advantage. But we are in a moment when supply chains have been disrupted and delays quickly ripple around the world. These days, dependable shipping could provide a vital lifeline to your own supply chain or to your customers.
Maintain integrity across any border
Getting shipments on time means nothing if they arrive damaged or spoiled. Shipment Monitoring enables companies to also track the condition of the cargo. IoT sensors continuously monitors and reports on the integrity of the shipment through its various milestones.
If the shipment is opened, for instance, a sensor will detect the increase in ambient light, which can help deduce it may have been tampered with. Similarly, the system gathers data about abnormal shock, vibration and tilting to identify and alert you to potential cargo damage. In fact, you can automate sending a replacement to a customer before the damaged shipment even arrives. Over time, this data collection can help determine if a particular shipping route is prone to damage—due to bad road conditions, for example—and you can take action to plan an alternative.
Smart secure shipping
Even with dedicated shipment tracking and real-time integrity analytics, theft and compliance remain critical business risks.
A smart locking service integrates predictive analytics, live data, and alerts into a physical lock. This provides the user with 24/7 control over their shipment’s security and the ability to enact change in the event of a security breach. The lock itself will notify the user if it detects any signs of tampering.
In addition, data from the lock as well as the various other sensors play a vital role in ensuring shipments are compliant once they reach their port of destination. With the smart tracking software, companies can easily keep track of all aspects of their packages to ensure they meet the demands of their final destination.
Innovate for the present. Expand for the future
The success or even survival of a business can depend on reliable shipping. Integrated just-in-time supply chains have been especially tested by the pandemic, but the risks have always existed. Through Shipment Monitoring with IoT integration, companies can now track shipments with greater accuracy than ever before. And with dedicated tools designed to increase effeciency and ensure shipment interity, companies have more control than ever overe how their products reach their destinations.