Getting stuff from here to there. Sounds simple, right? And it is. At least conceptually. The reality is different for trucking fleets, whose businesses depend on making sure nothing goes haywire during the process of trucking goods 24/7 all across America. With so much competition and profitability dependent on so many factors, asset tracking is a key element in ensuring positive outcomes for every rig on the road.

A variety of people connected with asset-tracking products and technologies believe things have changed dramatically over the last few years.

Customer define asset tracking and how they apply it in their operations as knowing where vehicles or equipment are at any given time, but asset tracking is much more than that, those using telematics or GPS tracking in their fleet have access to a wealth of knowlegde beyond simply tracking the physical location of your trailer or power unit, for example, vehilce location data provides a strong base for fleets to optimize routing, making it more efficient and dynamic, with the ability to locate a driver, monitor road conditions and communicate changes with the customer and driver at any second, real time location data means fleets can quickly and efficiently communicate with shippers, tracking and monitoring for customner load ETA's.

Specifically, asset tracking data can show internal personel current and historical positions of their equipments and freight, and to provide freight customers with accurate ETAs for deliveries and pickups. Fleet managers are better able to schedule eqipment maintenance and balance equipment polls and loss prevntion specialists can monitor high value shipments and determine cargo theft situations in near or real time.