This article originally appeared in the April 2012 issue of INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine.
Cargo theft on our nation’s highways accounts for $25-30 billion in lost assets each year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ also reports that cargo theft is on the rise, due to its relative ease, its profitability, and the fact that penalties for cargo theft are light when compared with other crimes.
As a result, insurance premiums are also on the rise, increasing the cost of transporting food, beverages, electronics, clothing, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, tobacco, metals, jewelry and other high-value items. High insurance premiums are not only a concern for transportation and logistics companies, but they also factor into the price that retailers charge (and consumers pay) for anything transported through the supply chain.
In response to these trends, Global Services Insurance Solutions has introduced a first-of-its-kind logistics management program that protects cargo from accidents, crimes, and forces of nature, while lowering insurance premiums for customers.
The Integrated Cargo Security Program secures the movement of freight, cold-chain, and high-value goods from origin to destination, by combining:
- patented 24x7 monitoring technology;
- proactive recovery services through coordinated law enforcement contacts;
- and insurance liability services with discounts and incentives.
The program leverages the coordinated efforts of OnAsset (News - Alert) Intelligence, Flemming Cargo Securement, and Global Services Insurance Solutions.
OnAsset’s SENTRY asset tracking and control solution features a number of sensors – for temperature, pressure, humidity, light, motion, shock and vibration – that are specifically designed to monitor fixed and mobile assets transported via trucking, air cargo, rail, or intermodal freight.
SENTRY is the industry’s only tracking solution accepted by the FAA for commercial air flight, due to patented technology that detects operable aircraft, and intelligently controls its functions to comply with FAA regulations.
OnAsset’s Vision is a SaaS (News 
- Alert) platform that provides Internet-based access from any web-accessible device to manage securely the data sent from SENTRY units deployed in the field. The technology provides a wealth of data. Interpreting the data is the next step.
FCS is a cargo claims management firm that specializes in monitoring the OnAsset sensing technology, interpreting the data, and managing the response plan in the event of a theft. It establishes an end-to-end security plan with the shipper, which includes geo-fencing services from origin to destination. If any deviation from a planned route is identified, FCS initiates a series of responses that range from contacting the driver, to deploying a nationwide network of law enforcement contacts to find and recover missing cargo.
The combination of the tracking technology, expertise to monitor and interpret the data, and the ability to immediately deploy law enforcement contacts in the event of a theft, is what makes the Integrated Cargo Security Program a turnkey solution that eliminates the worries associated with transporting goods anywhere in North America.
GSIS specializes in insurance programs for global and domestic logistics firms. The company’s executives have spent decades working for multi-billion dollar logistics firms providing warehouse, motor carrier, broker, freight forwarding, NVOCC, rail, intermodal, and container delivery services.
Before GSIS was founded, insurance offerings for the transportation industry had not yet evolved to meet the unique needs of shippers. So GSIS’s founders began developing their own insurance, risk management, and risk scoring metrics. These efforts created a new approach to providing insurance and risk management services to all aspects of the logistics industry.
Today, GSIS’ track record of successful intervention to prevent loss is well documented. GSIS’ vision and its relationships with OnAsset and FCS have laid the groundwork for the Integrated Cargo Security Program.Edited by Jennifer Russell
