Freight tracking and protection solutions from the starting point to the finish line

In Latin America, freight robbery is one of the toughest challenges for the industry, as it faces huge losses and exposes drivers to kidnapping, a crime in which they make up a large share of the victims.

This criminal trend is due, in some cases, to complex social problems, such as drivers’ excessively low wages, which may predispose them to commit robberies as a way to compensate for low pay.

Also, in countries like Colombia and Mexico, there are well established criminal organisations that finance their operations with the money obtained from these robberies and, if that were not enough, there are drug trafficking cartels disputing territorial control where they prefer uncrowded roads, and can even use the carriers to smuggle their products.

In order to solve this trenchant problem, different solutions have been devised and tested for many years, with a relatively positive impact that only lasts for short periods of time, given that concurrently, the thieves have managed to find ways to circumvent them.

Why do traditional solutions fail to prevent freight theft?

1.    Conventional padlocks

These padlocks can be easily opened with methods traditionally used by thieves, such as the use of lock picks or cutting tools.

2.    GPS tracking

     GPS tracking is a solution that has been in place for many years, which, in theory, allows the location of the load to be known at all times during the journey thanks to the technology of the global positioning system (GPS).

However, there have been cases where the technology has been hacked by the criminals with jammers (priced at about 40 dollars), which are capable of blocking the signal and causing the GPS to lose track of the freight.

3.    Geofences

Geofences are locks installed in the trailer container, which can only be opened upon reaching its destination; however, they are also vulnerable after blocking the GPS tracking systems and subsequently damaging the operation of the lock.

4.    Seals

Many companies use seals, which criminals can easily open with tools sold at any hardware store.

On the other hand, sometimes there is a risk of internal theft of the cargo: they use special machines to replicate the seals, so they open them, extract part of the cargo and then put them back in place to outwit detection. This practice generates losses in merchandise.

5.    Recording cameras inside the trailer container

Recording cameras have been installed in trailers to review all the activities within the container, but these cameras have limited autonomy; additionally, the moving truck vibrations and the surrounding dust lower the quality of images or distort them significantly.

Also, these cameras are quite expensive and their monitoring is not very practical, since several operators, over the course of many hours, are required to carry out this tedious and ineffective task.

6.    Theft insurance

This insurance covers part of the cost of the freight, but not the total value. In addition, the theft of cargo, even if insured, can generate other problems in the affected companies, such as re-manufacturing the stolen products, or the dissatisfaction of the customers of the freight companies who complain about insufficient security conditions, and therefore decide to turn to other more reliable freight companies.

PROTEC2 CLIQ^™, high protection during loading, moving and unloading

Abloy's solution PROTEC2 CLIQ offers the logistics industry high-end padlocks with security levels 4, 5 and 6, that combine mechanical and electronic elements to eliminate the problems of traditional solutions.

• These padlocks cannot be opened with common tools such as picks or shears, as they are made with several layers of hardened steel. Moreover, they are stainless, drill-proof, lever-resistant and highly immune to mechanical or heat cuts.
• The electronic component makes sure each of the interactions between the key and its padlock are recorded (up to 2,000 interactions)
• These padlocks are battery-free, shock-protected and water immersion-resistant.
• The GPS locking systems do not affect ABLOY padlocks

Freight tracking is done online: from the origin, throughout the journey to arrival at the destination. The electronic mechanism of this solution allows different data to be recorded and stored, such as the time the padlock was opened and the amount of time it remained open.

Protection at loading

The cargo is locked at the distribution centre and can only be opened at its destination by the manager who has been entrusted with a key.

Protection at moving

During the transportation of the cargo, the driver does not have any means to open the lock, since he does not have the key. In the event of a robbery, the thieves will not succeed at opening the padlock and they may end up giving up.

Protection at unloading

Additionally, the padlock only opens with a permit that the keyholder must request. Upon receiving the authorisation, the system starts recording each time the key has been introduced into the padlock, each time the padlock has been opened, the key that has been used and at what time. The storage capacity is up to 2,000 movements per padlock.

Once the merchandise is unloaded, the truck will close again, and in case of a partial load of cargo, will continue its journey to the next destination.

ABLOY’s technology is a reliable, secure and versatile solution in the market to protect freight.

Which type of companies is this solution suitable for?

This solution is recommended for companies of all sizes whose cargo is of high value as well as logistics companies interested in keeping strict control: arrival times of trailers, unloading times, opening hours, the person in charge of opening, etc.

Your bridge to the future: ABLOY BEAT Bluetooth padlocks with digital keys

Abloy has been in the market for 110 years and is a pioneer in the world in this type of security development. This experience allows us to constantly innovate and integrate high levels of security and cutting-edge technological solutions; for this reason, our next generation of freight solutions involves the use of digital keys.

Leonardo Origel
Key Account Manager for the Northern Region of Mexico
ABLOY Mexico