What guarantee do you have that freight will arrive at its destination undamaged and unspoiled? You may be taking the correct preventative measures to protect your freight before it leaves your sight: ensuring perishable cargo leaves in a suitable temperature-controlled environment or securing fragile shipments against damage with an abundance of tie-downs, straps, and packing materials. But what happens after it’s out of sight?  

Recent statistics from the logistics space show just how vulnerable delicate cargo is in transit and how much it can cost your business.

• 11% of product arriving at distribution centers is reported as damaged 
• Pharmaceutical companies lose an average of $35 billion annually due to inadequate temperature control in transit 
• About 20% of temperature-sensitive product incurs damage due to a broken cold chain 
• 14% of the world’s food spoils during the shipping process 

Those goods may travel hundreds–if not thousands–of miles through various weather patterns and over unsure terrain before reaching their destination. Without visibility over your goods in transit, it’s anyone’s guess what condition they’ll arrive in. 

Data Loggers and Human Error: Obstructions to Quality Control 

Traditionally, companies have used data loggers to track the quality of their shipments. These devices are attached to freight at origin and collect data about shipment conditions in transit. When the shipments reach their destination, the receiving staff retrieves the data loggers and downloads the information they collected.  

This may sound simple, but there are a lot of things that can go wrong when you rely on manual data loggers. What if they stop working mid-travel? What if someone loses them before the information can be downloaded? What if the receiving staff isn’t properly informed and disposes of them prematurely? What if there’s a problem with the software or hardware? There is a lot of room for human and technological error. 

Even if everything goes as planned–the data loggers are received by the right people and the information is successfully downloaded–you’ve only got access to that data once the shipment is complete. That means that if something goes wrong and spoils or damages the shipment en route, the first chance you’ll have to hear about it is upon arrival. And it may have been preventable.  

The Cargo Signal Solution 

The IoT-powered sensors that Cargo Signal attaches to global freight track real-time data about shipments, providing end-to-end visibility, security, and quality control. Our technology is supported by a Command Center staffed by logistics professionals who monitor your shipments around the clock, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  

Unlike data loggers, Cargo Signal’s sensors transmit data about your shipments in real time throughout their journey. If your shipments are exposed to undesirable temperatures, humidity, or light, or they are mishandled, an alert will be generated and sent directly to you and your chosen stakeholders.  

Knowing in the moment when your cargo is threatened can make the difference between losing thousands of dollars on a spoiled or damaged shipment and making slight alterations in transit to ensure safe arrival of your goods.

Ditch the Data Loggers and Take Control of Freight Quality  

How many times have you used data loggers to assess where, when, and how a damaged or spoiled shipment occurred, only to have someone second-guess your findings? With Cargo Signal’s sensors monitoring your shipment from point of origin to destination, you’ve got up-to-the-minute data at your fingertips to substantiate your claim. Our devices can track location, temperature, humidity, light levels, movement, handling, speed of movement, and other environmental factors.  

If something goes wrong, you’ll know exactly when and where, down to the very second and street. Maybe the ambient temperature of a trailer full of vaccines fluctuates one too many degrees for comfort. Or maybe a pallet of glass hasn’t been properly secured and is shifting dangerously back and forth. With sensors monitoring your cargo, you can intervene in real time and problem solve before your shipment incurs damage. 

Since there’s no need for extra hardware to access shipment information, you’ll always have instant access to historical shipment data on one easy-to-access platform. So the next time someone challenges your assessment, you can back it up with hard facts, reference historical risk trends, get them swiftly on board with a Corrective Action Plan, and protect your operations and company image. 

Cargo Signal Can Help You: 

• Maintain a higher level of visibility than is offered by traditional data loggers, assuring you in real-time of your shipment’s safety and location 
• Identify the exact time and location that changes like shock and tilt, environmental change, or temperature fluctuation affected the quality of your shipment 
• Provide peace of mind that your shipment remains within acceptable safety parameters set by internal company policy or government regulations
• Avoid disappointed customers and maintain brand integrity by ensuring that shipments arrive undamaged and unspoiled
• Decrease losses due to damage, alerting you and your chosen stakeholders directly of the exact moment and location in which your freight has been compromised

If you want to improve your supply chain performance using sensor-based logistics, Cargo Signal is a great option. Contact a representative today and request a demo to get started. 

Download Cargo Signal's free Guide to IoT E-book here.