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By Greg Bartlett

People have been shipping raw materials and completed products between countries and overseas for as long as they have been navigating the world’s oceans. At different times and in different parts of the world, piracy has been a major source of lost shipments and lost income for the shippers. Even in our modern world, piracy is a real problem that affects shipping on the world’s oceans nearly every day. Adding a GPS device to overseas shipments helps to build a stronger relationship of trust between buyer and seller.

Lost shipments are a problem that ends the business relationships of many companies. The one expecting the shipment usually has a scheduled time that the shipment is needed by and failure to deliver is viewed as the fault of the shipper, no matter what reasons may cause the shipment to be late.

GPS satellite tracking of shipments traveling overseas is a very good method for shippers to prove to their customers that they have done all they could to ensure that the shipment is received in a timely manner. Once a container is aboard ship and has gone to sea, it is in the hands of the courier or shipping company to see to it that the ocean crossing is handled according to schedule.

Problems can develop at sea from time to time that can delay a shipment in transit. When this happens, the person responsible for shipping the item can be made aware quickly by a lack of movement on the part of the item. This will allow him to bring his customer into the loop early so that contingency plans can be made to deal with a delayed shipment.

Some ships are still being boarded and hijacked by pirates, even today. When this happens, the shipment is often lost forever. Having a GPS device on-board can make it possible to follow the movements of the container when it deviates from the planned course. Again, an opportunity presents itself to contact the customer and salvage the business relationship. In addition, the tracking system may assist international authorities in locating and recovering the missing shipment and possibly making some arrests of the people responsible for pirating the shipment.

A global positioning system can save companies millions of dollars in claims over lost or delayed shipments. They may also help to improve relations between the buyers and the sellers in the event a shipment is lost or delayed.