Leverage GPS tracking for trailer theft prevention

During holidays and other slow periods, fleet vehicles are often left unattended for long stretches of time, making enclosed trailers and their cargoes vulnerable to theft. While you can’t watch every vehicle every hour of the day, you can use your GPS fleet tracking system in a number of ways to help protect your assets and improve your trailer security.

 Easily locate your trailers

Knowing where trailers are at a moment’s notice can go a long way toward trailer theft prevention. Even if you have thousands of assets to track, with GPS fleet tracking you can monitor all of them on a single web-based dashboard that clusters similar assets and offers fast searching and tag filtering. Tracking the location of your valuable assets can help you reduce the risk of theft, increase the likelihood of recovery and prevent the additional cost of purchasing new equipment.

Through the simple and quick installation of small, mountable asset-tracking hardware, you can easily monitor the location of your equipment via your laptop or smart device. Daily location updates on trailer activity also mean less time spent making phone calls and searching for your trailers and drivers. 

 Set geofence notification alerts

In addition to tracking arrival and departure times as a means of trailer theft prevention, a comprehensive GPS fleet management solution allows you to automate geofence alerts to send key staff notifications when a shipment is nearing your customer’s loading dock. When trailers are delivered and left, you can track this information without having to pick up the phone or follow a paperwork trail.

For an added layer of security around your trailers or cargo, you can also create a virtual perimeter for equipment that should remain stationary, so that an alert is triggered when a piece of equipment is moved from the approved location or moved outside of work hours.

 Stay connected with drivers

Communication is key to sustaining a profitable business. GPS trackers help you to stay in touch with your drivers to keep them on the timeliest route while reducing unnecessary stops where a truck might be left unattended. 

Telematics also makes it easier to communicate with your drivers as a group, allowing you to distribute materials covering winter safety tips, for example, to help your drivers ensure your cargo is being safely transported to reduce the risk of accidents on the road. 

 Additional benefits of GPS tracking

In addition to helping with trailer theft prevention, GPS tracking platforms automate the often-manual process of tracking maintenance and inspections, reducing the potential for human error that could lead to losses for your business. It also allows you to set automated alerts for individual assets, streamlining the maintenance process while helping you preserve their value and extend their lifespan.

 Theft protection in action

Zayo Group manages more than 350 vehicles in the field, with mobile workers spread across the US and Canada. They knew that they needed a mobile telematics solution that could help manage their field workers, vehicles and equipment. They also needed to lower operating costs and streamline operations while improving driver safety, security systems, engagement and customer service. 

But those weren’t the only benefits they were able to realize from implementing telematics. According to Doug Kraus, Director of Operations with Zayo Group, "We were able to recover a stolen vehicle in Arizona and also give the police the information they needed to try and track down who stole it. It saves insurance costs because we were going to have to get a new vehicle — they pay whatever the depreciated value was. Then we have to buy another $25,000 truck. There's probably $12,000 in our pocket right there. [We also] saved [our fleet coordinator] six hours of paperwork."

To learn more about how GPS tracking features can help protect against trailer theft, visit verizonconnect.com or call 866.844.2235 to schedule a free live demo of Verizon Connect fleet management technology today.