There’s no doubt that the logistics industry has absolutely transformed international business and whether you ship your goods via plane, ship or lorry, it will no doubt be a core element of your company. Unfortunately, just like with most good things, there are drawbacks to the logistics industry and one of these is security.
It has to be said that security breaches generally tend to affect lorries, although that’s not to say there haven’t been cases of goods being damaged or even stolen on ships and planes. This has been one of the big problems in the logistics field for quite some time and is probably one of the big reasons why companies seem to chop and change their carriers. Fortunately, solutions have been developed and if we take a look at several examples from Loksys, it’s easy to see that the logistics industry is moving to resolve the issues that have blighted it for so long.
Solution #1 – Trakalok
This is a product that seems to be applicable to all forms of logistics and is designed to prevent the standard security breach. In simple terms, it’s a tamper-evident lock which can be strapped or attached to any sort of container – whether it’s on a ship or part of a lorry.
The other major benefit with Trakalok is that it contains a GPS device, with this able to track any cargo in the world. Furthermore, this tracking information is sent to a specialist centre that is designed to deal with any inconsistencies in relation to where the container is meant to be heading.
Solution #2 – Protrak
If you’re looking for an even more sophisticated solution, Protrak could be the answer. Unfortunately, it’s only possible to use this in the haulage industry – with the device only designed to fit around the typical truck trailer.
However, if you do ship your goods via this method, it will provide you with reassurance on every element of security thinkable. First and foremost, it contains a number of locks meaning that it’s almost impossible for intruders to enter.
However, it’s the other features which make Protrak one of the more exciting solutions on the market, with this containing a chip that records the data in relation to the opening and closing of the trailer. This could be to show when it was opened, how long it was opened for or any other relevant information and it is all compiled into a database that can be easily accessed by the container owner.
Another one of the common security issues that the haulage industry has to deal with is access into a container via a foreign route. This could be through the side of the container, with some thieves known to use power tools to prevent any alarms. Protrak manages to deal with these threats as well, allowing the container owner to detail a perimeter which informs a central computer of the areas of the container which can be used for access. Therefore, if any person attempts to enter the container via another route, an alarm will automatically be triggered.
Solution #3 – Assetrak
This is a slightly different solution and doesn’t necessarily have to be used in logistics. While it can most certainly be utilised in this industry, some people simply use Assetrak for standard machinery items.
The basis of the product is that it contains all of the features of Protrak, only that it is designed to be a bit more flexible in relation to the goods it can be attached to. Furthermore, alerts don’t have to be processed through the central system, but can instead be sent to the owner via several means such as email, SMS and voice. Therefore, if your company tends to manoeuvre cumbersome machinery between locations, this is probably the most suitable solution out of the three.