A tractor-trailer is parked at a warehouse or truck stop in the United States filled with hidden surveillance equipment, reports ABC News. And authorities are sitting back and waiting for thieves to come steal it.

During the holidays, thieves tend to come out of the woodwork, looking to steal merchandise from retailers who are loading up for the shopping season. This is exactly why prevention efforts are put in place, according to security company FreightWatch International located in Austin, Texas.

These efforts are nothing new. Sting trailers, over time, have provided authorities with a look at how these types of thieves operate and have improved security for truck owners.

The FBI says that cargo theft has turned into a big problem causing up to $30 billion in losses annually in the US. The insurance and Law enforcement industry are fighting back by placing these ‘sting trailers’ equipped with GPS tracking devices and cameras inside the inventory and trailers to tempt thieves.

Nationwide, there were over 150 cargo thefts in the months of July, August and September. This dropped by 24 percent from last year during the same months, FreightWatch reported. Still, the cargo theft average value of almost $200,000 showed a 7 percent increase from April through June. Read the rest of this entry »

Setting up Christmas tree lots is a Thanksgiving holiday tradition for many people. However, it’s not always a happy ending story. In two recent cases, trailers filled with Christmas trees were stolen.

Bob Brannon, member of a well-known service club called the Greenville SERTOMA Club, was just one of these cases. He has been selling Christmas trees for 61 years in Greenville for charity; however, on Friday morning he arrived at the McAlister Square lot to find his trailer had been stolen.

He says that it looked as if the Thanksgiving thief also stole lights, tree stands and tables and the overall loss will impact them at least 35 percent.

According to volunteer Mike West, to spend your Thanksgiving stealing from a charity designed for helping children in need, you have to be pretty low.

The Police Department of the Greenville Technical College is currently investigating the case.

In the second case, South Florida police are searching for the Grinch who stole a couple semi-truck trailers also loaded with Christmas trees.

Vice president of floral delivery service, Florida Beauty, Frank Ducassi, informed The Miami Herald that on Tuesday, his two company trailers were left at the Kendall Costco.

He says that each trailer held 500 trees valued at $35,000 and the two trailers were valued at around $78,000. The theft happened at approximately 11:45pm on November 24 in the parking lot of Costco located in Kendall at 13450 Southwest 120th Street. Ducassi says, they were new made in 2015. Read the rest of this entry »

It can be a challenge for your fleet drivers to drive around during the winter season. The icy roads and blowing snow can make driving conditions harsh. Even experienced and careful drivers can find it difficult.

Companies that have to manage a fleet of vehicles often face more challenges during the winter time which can have an effect on their bottom line. The good news is there is GPS fleet tracking which can help companies to handle obstacles put in their way due to bad weather driving conditions.

By installing GPS tracking into your fleet vehicles, you are provided with real-time information, such as where drivers are going and in what direction. Managers are able to see their fleet’s live position, which is really important if one of their vehicles should run off the road in a secluded area. They can easily track the vehicle and dispatch emergency rescue or a tow truck to the area.

If an Accident Does Happen

Obviously, no fleet manager wants to deal with an accident, but if you do have a fleet driver get into an accident, you can be alerted with an instant notification to your mobile device or computer letting you know that something has happened. You will also receive all recorded data from the accident in the notification which will educate you and allow you to make a quick decision on what to do and what you will need. Read the rest of this entry »

Delivering Christmas trees and wreaths is different from other businesses that make consistent deliveries day in and out. Over time, primarily non-seasonal businesses work out the most efficient, and cost-effective routes. But routes that only operate seasonally often require assistance in order to work out the best possible routes. That’s where GPS fleet tracking services can help.

These are just a few ways that GPS fleet tracking services can help your Christmas tree and Wreath deliveries.

Eliminate Wasted Mileage

While most businesses understand the ability GPS tracking technology has to enable more cost-effective delivery of items, many have yet to understand the benefit of telematics for improving the speed of delivery. Think of it as dispatch software that allows you to create the most efficient delivery routes available to you.

The benefits of this are numerous. Not only are you able to eliminate unnecessary mileage and time between deliveries, which saves on fuel costs, but you are also able to conserve man hours, which cuts the labor costs for your business. When combined, these two factors result in increased profitability for your wreath and christmas tree delivery business, which is very seasonal. Read the rest of this entry »

As the holiday season approaches, many retailers will be faced with bigger concerns than holiday sales and the rush of people. They will now have to worry about employee theft, which, according to a new report, is a bigger part of retail loss in the United States than shoplifting.

The Global Retail Theft Barometer is an extensive report on shrink (loss of inventory) cost. It uses statistical research based on the loss of inventory to help retailers measure how they perform against averages for specific vertical markets, merchandise and regional geographies.

Shrink which is made up of supplier and employee fraud, administrative errors and shoplifting, increased in America from 1.28 percent of sales between 2013 and 2014 to 1.97 percent in 2014 through 2015.

These statistics were determined based off common retail respondents’ responses both years to Global Retail Theft Barometer surveys. Shrink was up from their previous .94 percent of the past year average of surveyed common retailers to 1.42 percent. Read the rest of this entry »