Asset tracking - preventing loss and cutting costs

Knowing the exact location of all your assets and products can have massive benefits for your business – whether it’s preventing losses, managing resources or savings costs. IoT asset tracking lets you immediately locate any tracked item, whether it’s a van, a pallet, an excavator or a box of builder’s tools.

Find out more about our asset tracking solutions

IoT asset tracking means you can open an app and instantly see where your products or assets are; by boosting efficiency and improving resource management, investment in tracking devices can quickly pay for itself.

Reduce asset theft and losses

Theft from building sites has been a significant problem for Kiwi construction companies over the past few years, with the Police warning that tools and vehicles are particular targets for burglars, along with high-value materials like machinery, copper, timber and GIB. View warning from police about burglary targets

One security company reported an average of one break-in per day at construction sites across Auckland and Hamilton. View Stuff article about security break-in

Goods and assets aren’t safe when they’re on the move, either. Cargo theft is a multi-billion-dollar problem, with port congestion creating more opportunities for people to steal from ports, trucks and vessels. Vehicles are the most common target for cargo thieves, according to the 2022 Cargo Theft Report, along with warehouses. There are also newer schemes, like route diversion and fictitious pickups, making it even harder to detect and catch thieves.

Read the full 2022 Cargo Theft Report

Asset tracking allows you to tag any valuable items, from tools to utes to heavy machinery, and track them anywhere. Tags feed data to a centralised platform that shows asset locations. Items can be tagged at any level: from an individual object to a box of goods, and from a pallet of timber to an entire transportation fleet. Find out more about Spark Asset Tracking

There’s also the option of geofencing an asset, so a notification is pushed out if the asset leaves a set perimeter, such as the area around its current worksite. With geofencing, a business can quickly find out about any potential theft and you can track the object in real time.

Eliminate manual tracking

Manual tracking is time-consuming and can be inaccurate. IoT asset tracking eliminates manual tracking and provides real-time instant location data for any tracked item.

Local logistics powerhouse Mainfreight experienced the difference first hand when it switched to IoT tracking. Previously, the business had been using manual tracking to keep tabs on its segregation bins, which are used specifically for transporting hazardous materials.

It’s vital to know precisely where these are and ensure they're treated cautiously and safely. But manual tracking meant locations were often out of date as soon as they were entered.

After switching to IoT tracking devices, the bins’ locations are now available in real time, and Mainfreight has been able to save costs because employees spend far less time on manual tracking. As a bonus, this smoother asset management means they now need fewer bins in circulation. View IoT tracking devices

Find out more about Mainfreight’s asset tracking solution

Reduce costs with improve asset management

Asset tracking can save money in other ways, too – whether you’re tracking a single bin, five excavators or an entire fleet of vehicles. It can allow businesses to spot use patterns, optimise future purchases, and track maintenance on assets to extend their lifespan.

Fleet tracking can allow head office to efficiently move people and assets around, improving responses and getting the most from expensive equipment. View Spark Fleet Tracking options

Thwaites Diesel Nelson uses asset tracking on the vehicles of its 12 mechanics, which has helped cut response time by providing accurate location data for each technician. Sister company Momentum Equipment Services specialises in repairing forklifts and now uses IoT tracking to boost utilisation for each of its forklifts – monitoring running hours and maintenance schedules. Asset tracking across both teams is saving $4,000 annually, while simultaneously cutting response times. Find out about the Bolt OBD

Discover more about asset tracking at Thwaites and Momentum

Instant visibility for your assets

Reduce losses, improve utilisation and cut costs – IoT asset tracking can deliver huge benefits for businesses that with valuable equipment, goods to transport or fleets to manage.

You can learn more about Spark’s IoT asset tracking solutions

Or talk to one of our IoT team to find out how asset tracking could help your business achieve more.

Customer stories and resources