Container tracking systems are the new norm for companies that ship their goods overseas. In order to keep track of their valuable products, a number of innovations have been devised to allow the precise tracking of even small containers. This allows companies to ship and receive goods on a more precise timeline and to keep operating expenses lower, even while shipping more product.
Shipping containers represent ‘returnable assets’. These are objects that have a value to the company because they can be used multiple times. Any sort of container can be thought of as a shipping container, and any shipping container is a returnable asset.
From large containers on a container ship to a keg that holds beer or wine, if it is used to ship something and can be used repetitively, it is considered a returnable asset and so should be tracked.
The reason that tracking systems for containers is so important, besides the obvious concern for the product being shipped inside of them, is that a shipping container represents a valuable asset for a company.
Not only is it a hard asset, in that the loss of it would cost the company money to replace it, but it also has a soft cost, which is the time and energy (and thus profit) lost in tracking down containers that have gone missing, or arguing with suppliers and customers about count discrepancies.
For example, the inability to properly track a shipping container, such as 50 kegs for example, can present a logistical problem for a beer production facility when it comes time to ship their product to a bottling plant. A large shipping container used to ship sneakers from China represents a much bigger monetary investment and thus a bigger loss to the company if it goes missing.
A well designed tracking system can thus be invaluable to a company that has many shipping containers that are being shipped all over the world. It can track multiple shipping containers at one time, manage their storage and return to the home base of production, and coordinate the shipping process so that the minimal amount of time and energy are used.
Using a tracking application, a company can input info about the container and its contents, track its location to the exact coordinates around the globe, control its movements through ports, and even be send feedback when its operational life has been reached.
In short, a well-designed container tracking system is an important investment for the security, control, shipping, and eventual recovery of any returnable asset, big or small. If used correctly it can keep costs down and production up, and is an invaluable aid to any company that ships their goods to anywhere in the world.