Email

By Greg Bartlett

The world today seems to be shrinking as each day goes by. A global economy allows providers to supply goods and services from any part of the world to any part of the world. The goods must be tracked as they make their way from supplier to consumer. How do both the supplier and the purchaser know where they are at any time? Personnel are routinely sent out on the road to customers and suppliers. Away from the office, does the employer know with any certainty that the employee is actually working or relaxing somewhere? Where is it and where are they? GPS technology has the answers for the inquiring mind.

When people think of GPS tracking, they usually think of their application to automobiles. Tracking devices have been placed in automobiles for 10 years or more. This technology has provided for the recovery of stolen vehicles, tracked runaway teenagers and provided spouses with incontrovertible evidence of a cheating spouse. As with many technologies, this technology has, as its acceptance has grown is today, cheaper and smaller in physical size.

Today’s smart phones are equipped with GPS technology. This enables the owner to reach their next destination in the quickest and most economical method possible. This technology however can work in a reverse method. The phone that provides directions to the next sales call or service call can also be utilized to pinpoint the location of the owner.

This location based technology allows the employer the ability to accurately determine where the employee is and in many cases what they are doing. The employee who is “on the road” is seldom out of reach of the employer who desires to ensure that the employee is performing assigned tasks in a competent and timely manner.

Tracking devices can be inserted into the packaging of products. This insertion can be either into a container of goods or inside a pallet of goods. In many cases, should the shipper fear that the goods might be stolen or hijacked, the transmitter can be inserted into the goods themselves. Whether the transmitter is inside the container, in the pallet or concealed within the goods, the location of the product is always available. This location is vitally important due to the common practice today of lean manufacturing.

Lean manufacturing requires that minimal stocks of goods or raw materials be stocked in a warehouse. The goods or raw materials are either utilized or distributed in a very short period of time once they reach a warehouse distribution center. Knowledge of where goods are in transit ensures that both production and sales schedules can be met.

GPS vehicle tracking technology employed by both shippers and consumers answers the question “Where is it?” and “Where are they?” Without the utilization of GPS technology neither of these questions can be answered with any great deal of certainty.