Industry Applications

The patented NaviTag Cargo Tracking Unit (CTU) provides a simple but efficient means of monitoring cargo within your supply chain anywhere in the world. The flexibility of this portable, self-contained unit allows you to apply this solution across multiple transportation modes and service providers as your organizational needs require. The NaviTag CTU allows you, the cargo owner, to control and manage the data through a customized profile that you designed based on geography, commodity, customer requirements or whatever criteria is considered important.

The NaviTag CTU can provide you with savings within your supply chain through a variety of applications.

Container Cargo Visibility
Domestic Trailer Cargo Visibility
Cargo Theft
Homeland Security

Container Cargo Visibility

The NaviTag CTU is designed to allow you to monitor the in-transit status of your cargo as it advances through the supply chain. The NaviTag CTU will fit on any container universally as the vertical locking bars (keeper bar) are built according to ISO standards. This allows you to change service providers and still receive the status information in a consistent format. There are no terrestrial based reader networks or software requirements so with a single CTU, an activation unit (PDA), and an internet connection you now have visibility of your cargo anywhere in the world. This type of visibility can benefit your company through:

Reduced cost of inventory within the supply chain

Proactive notification of transit delays allowing investigation and resumption of transportation
Ability to redirect cargo while in-transit
Proactive notification of cargo arrival
Reduction/ elimination of demurrage charges

Increased revenue

Improved customer satisfaction
Improved customer service
Increased sales

By knowing the location and status of your cargo, you have the ability to reduce inventory levels through a shortened supply chain and provide your customers with improved customer service. This adds up to a more profitable bottom line for your company.

Domestic Trailer Cargo Visibility

Being able to monitor the in-transit status of your domestic cargo is just as important as the container cargo you ship internationally. The flexibility of the NaviTag CTU applies just as readily to domestic trailers as the mounting system will apply to all trailers equipped with barn door style rear doors (overhead door mounting system is currently being designed). With the portable, self-contained NaviTag CTU, you can monitor any domestic shipment in a consistent format regardless of the service provider. You no longer have to rely on the service provider to supply information about the status of your cargo because you own/control the CTU and as a result you own/control the information. The NaviTag can provide you with timely actionable data that can confirm smooth transport of your cargo or proactive notification of a problem, allowing you to take the steps necessary to resolve the issues before it becomes a major problem. Your costs are reduced and your customers are satisfied.

Cargo Theft

Global cargo theft is a $50 Billion per year problem and growing. Typically the theft is not discovered until the cargo is delivered, at which point the ability to establish where and when the theft took place is severely diminished. The NaviTag CTU has two security sensors that will report any door openings or cargo tampering and record where and when it took place. The door hasp sensor will report an alert if it is disconnected in the process of lifting the handle to open the door. The light sensor, placed on the inside of the door, will report exposure to light as a back up security system. While no system is infallible, the combinations of these two sensors provide the most effective security reporting system available today.

The cost of cargo theft can far exceed the replacement of the freight stolen. Some of the factors to consider when calculating the cost of good stolen are:

An unhappy customer when the reduced order is discovered
An expensive replacement program
The potential for the customer to purchase a replacement order from a competitor
The competitor now having a sales relationship with your customer
The potential for the stolen cargo to resurface in the market and you have to compete against you own goods

The NaviTag CTU will provide the information necessary to establish where and when the theft took place, allowing you (and your insurance company) to identify which service provider was in custody of the cargo at the time. This type of information can be of great assistance to law enforcement and insurance companies in their efforts to eliminate reoccurrences. The ability to be notified of an in-transit security breach can provide numerous benefits to the cargo owner.

Reduced cargo loss
Reduced cost of theft investigations
Reduced insurance premiums
Identification of problematic area within the supply chain
Improved customer satisfaction and sales

The proactive notification of a cargo theft can have direct benefits to both the cargo owner and their customers by minimizing the inconvenience/expense and reduce future incidents.

Homeland Security

With over six million containers entering through U.S. Ports annually, the concern about port security has been well documented. Al Qaeda has publicly stated that the ports are a target and the estimates of the financial impact on the global economy are in the trillions. The U.S. chief of border and port security, Asa Hutchinson, stated that “most experts believe that a terrorist attack using a container as a weapon is likely”.

NaviTag Technologies was awarded a grant through the Port Security Grant Program to develop a proof of concept prototype of a satellite based remote reporting electronic seal. The goal was to build a device that could report the incidence of tampering while the cargo was still in the supply chain and avoid a catastrophic incident.

NaviTag designed the CTU to work in conjunction with the government initiatives such as OCS, CSI, 24 hour rule and C-TPAT to provide the “chain of custody” that is being sought to ensure the security integrity of the cargo while in transit. If either of the security sensors are activated by a security breach the CTU will report the event to the designated party/parties, initiating a proactive investigation before the cargo can proceed further within the supply chain. The NaviTag CTU provides the “chain of custody” that C-TPAT compliance requires and offers the potential of expedited customs clearance. It also instills a sense of confidence knowing that you will be notified of any tampering of you cargo within the supply chain.

The NaviTag CTU is simple to operate, portable, requires no alteration of the service provider’s equipment and is cost effective. The cargo centric, self contained design allows you to be selective in the cargo you choose to monitor and requires no terrestrial based reader network or software installation. A CTU, an activation unit and an Internet connection are all you need to monitor your cargo anywhere in the world in consistent format based on your custom designed profile. The transportation industry just became much more transparent!

For additional information, email sales@navitag.com.