6 Tips for Cargo Theft Protection in 2022

As if the industry doesn’t already have enough problems to deal with, cargo theft has become an increasingly common issue lately. Of course, this is hardly the first time the professionals in the transportation industry have had to tackle this. But, with constantly rising operation costs and other issues, things can get a little overwhelming if one’s goods just go poof. Naturally, this means that you need to up your efforts to protect your cargo! To that end, here are 6 tips for cargo theft protection in 2022.

Track your cargo

The first of our tips for cargo theft protection is to always track your shipments. There are several ways to do this, such as Apple’s AirTags. Most solutions are actually not that expensive, even if the large number of shipments a typical company needs to deal with is immense. The costs might ramp up, but the tags are retrievable, so realistically speaking they are not a single-use item. Of course, you can just focus on tracking your trucks instead of tracking the cargo itself, since that requires a lot less effort. Still, the fleet tracking solutions and benefits for the moving industry and other transportation branches are immense, too. So, if you do not want them solely for the sake of safety, maybe their other benefits will convince you to make the investment.

Verify all documents

Cargo theft protection needs to be your priority at every step of the transportation process. It may seem like an unreasonable thing for someone to do, but it is perfectly possible for people to try and falsify documents in order to try and steal your cargo from you right out of your own warehouse. To this end, it is essential that you always review and verify all the documents you receive and never release your cargo until you are certain it is the right person coming to pick it up. This is similar to how the bill of lading requires you to carefully review the documents your movers offer you to prevent being scammed and have your items stolen. The same logic also applies when getting ready to drop off a shipment. If you cannot be one hundred percent sure you’re giving it to the right person, don’t do it.

Secure your warehouse

Anyone who puts in the effort to learn about the world of transportation will easily find out how important a warehouse is to the business. We mentioned previously that one of the ways you might face theft is people openly coming to claim ‘their’ goods. However, it is just as possible for someone to try to steal from your warehouse sneakily. For this reason, you need to make sure to properly secure the perimeter of your warehouse. Hiring guards is actually very essential, even if you think that you’ve covered the place with cameras and all the entrances are locked. This is because security systems can, with enough effort, be breached. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can skip installing them either, since they are an additional layer of deterrent.

Make sure to hire trusted transporters

Your cargo is perhaps the most vulnerable while it is in transit. One just needs to think about the recent string of fiascos in which FedEx drivers had chosen to just dump the packages they were supposed to deliver to find out just how easily your reputation can be damaged by hiring the wrong person. The experts from Evolution Moving also advise people to pick their partners carefully and for the long term. If you switch your transportation partners often, you are definitely bound to get burned eventually. Only by forging a lasting bond of cooperation can you really put your mind at ease and entrust your cargo to someone. You would also benefit from a higher level of cooperation, since over time you would get to know each other’s schedules better and the flow of your goods will become that much smoother for it.

Do internal audits

Nobody likes the thought of their own employees harming their business. Unfortunately, it is necessary to acknowledge that this can happen. Of course, internal theft by employees will be immediately or even easily noticed. They will not steal an entire shipment. However, if you notice small items slowly missing from your cargo, then it is probably the work of an employee. It may even be impossible to notice at all if they doctor the books as a means of covering up what they’re doing. For this reason, it is very important to do regular internal audits. These should go over the records and look for anything fishy, as well as examine the behavior of your employees. This isn’t just good for cargo theft protection, either. You will have the opportunity to examine the quality of your employees’ work. As such, you should be able to find low-ranked employees worth promoting.

Get your cargo insured

Our final tip for cargo theft protection is a slightly stark one. Simply put, you cannot really expect to always avoid all issues with your cargo. Even getting your cargo stolen, however, is not the end of the world if you prepare well. The importance of transport insurance really shines through here. With a proper insurance, you can relax and just do the best you can to prepare. Once things go wrong, because they inevitably will, you will have your insurance to fall back on. As such, you will have more leeway, both in what you can do to help yourself and a reassurance that you will be able to compensate your clients if you were in charge of moving the cargo.

Final word

With the 6 tips for cargo theft protection in 2022, you should be able to keep your shipment on course and safely see them to their destinations. Just remember that you need to be cautious every step of the way. In transit, in your warehouse, or even nearly to its destination, your cargo can get stolen in a single moment of carelessness.

Author Bio:

Adrian Kelly has worked first as a trucker and then a manager at a logistics company and is in charge of the management of several warehouses. As such, he is well acquainted with the world of transportation and lives to write about it in his blog posts.