Theft in the supply chain is a massive, costly problem that is only getting worse. In 2022, a global report indicated that nearly one in 10 consumers suffered parcel theft or loss during a 12-month period, equating to more than one billion packages. According to CargoNet, the problem is growing, with cargo theft incidents up 57% in 2023, and nearly $130M worth of goods stolen.

To reduce theft, suppliers of high-end electronics will go as far as paying for armed escorts or booking dedicated truckloads with multi-team drivers, so the truck doesn’t need to stop overnight. These are costly and high-risk steps for businesses to take, as they make the truck that much more of a target.

The lower-profile alternative is to ship individual pallets via less-than-truckload (LTL) and put the pallet through a trucking company’s crossdock operation. While cheaper from a transportation perspective, however, it increases the opportunity for additional handling and theft.   

To date, technology has helped reduce theft, but it’s an ongoing battle to stay ahead of bad actors. For example, GPS trackers with light and motion sensors are used to monitor shipments in transit. A tracker is placed at the tail of the trailer, so when the truck stops and the trailer doors are opened, and it isn’t at the right location, a light alert is triggered. However, criminals are outsmarting these devices, driving alongside trailers, and grabbing items off of the trucks at night so light and motion detection never gets triggered.

With introduction of the internet of things, Bluetooth devices have been placed in trailers to “listen” to pallets and send alerts if they’re no longer sending a signal. But the reality is that until now, this technology has been too expensive to track shipments at the piece level. It’s been fairly easy, with low risk and high reward, for criminals to grab individual items like laptops, phones, even furniture from pallets without the piece showing up as missing until it doesn’t reach its final destination. Businesses have been flying on a hope and a prayer that all of their pallets in the LTL network show up together intact at the final location.

Advances in thin-film, non-dangerous goods batteries, however, have disrupted the field of tracking goods with the introduction of a smart device whose form factor is slim and discrete. The device looks like a standard shipping label and doesn’t appear to be an active battery-powered beacon. This advancement can finally give retailers and suppliers peace of mind when it comes to knowing where each item is as it moves along the supply chain.

With this innovation, smart labels can be printed at scale from a barcode printer and applied to each pallet rather than just the shipment. Alternatively, they can be adhered to each item in a pallet, whether that’s a laptop, mobile device, TV or e-bike. Either way, these paper-thin labels continuously communicate with a Bluetooth-enabled tracker or gateway and trigger an event immediately when an item is separated from its shipment. Whether the issue is theft or human error, companies are alerted in real time to the incident, pinpointing exactly where in the supply chain the separation is taking place.  

For high-tech companies shipping high value electronics all over the world, this is a game-changer. They can know that their multi-million-dollar shipments got delivered in full to retailers, and if not, where and when an item went missing. The same is applicable to any product where shipments are delivered short due to theft, under-reporting, misloading, or split shipping. This technology automates stationary and in-transit inventories in real time. Whether the products are pharmaceuticals, high-end alcohol, cosmetics, home and garden supplies, or luxury goods, the parties all along the supply chain can be rest assured that the product is being tracked 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

The introduction of thin-discrete smart tracking technology marks a significant advance in securing supply chains against theft. By providing real-time monitoring and alerts, these devices offer businesses invaluable peace of mind and streamline inventory management. As we continue to embrace these innovations, we pave the way for a more secure and efficient future in global logistics.

Keiley Ostrow is vice president business development of Reelables.