When the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA) first made electronic logging devices (ELD) mandatory, many shippers, brokers and freight forwarders thought they might have found a new method for tracking. It finally seemed that there was a new, innovative way to gain greater visibility into their shipments in real time. But ELD was never meant to help you track your freight — its purpose is to track driver hours for carrier information. And it’s become clear that ELD falls short in a number of ways for shippers seeking pallet-level intelligence™. Instead, sensor trackers have proven to be a far better solution.
So when can ELD technology provide useful data about your freight, and when does it miss the mark? Certainly, its capacity to provide real-time location data offers a big improvement over the days of check calls to your driver or customer service rep. But ELD doesn’t eliminate the need for those calls. What’s more, although some electronic logging devices track harsh driving events, you usually get those insights when it’s too late to mitigate the damage.
Let’s take a look at 4 scenarios in which ELD falls short at providing the insights, automation, and tracking information you need most.
1. The tractor is often separated from the freight
In a tractor-trailer, the electronic logging device sits up front with the driver. That means when you’re using an ELD, you’re actually tracking the driver — not your freight. This becomes a problem when you consider that tractors are detached from their trailers on a regular basis, across a variety of scenarios.
This is what makes pallet-level intelligence™ different on a fundamental level. The sensor tracker lives within the freight, so it knows the status of your shipment, every step of the way.
2. Electronic logging devices can’t track intermodal or international shipments
When you’re shipping freight intermodally or internationally, it doesn’t do you a lot of good to track it via an ELD housed within a single tractor-trailer. After all, your freight will only spend a fraction of its journey on any particular mode of transportation, so any ELD will only offer fragmentary insights that leave you just as uncertain about the fate of your freight as you ever were.
3. ELD can’t track across Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) shipments
Because Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) carriers tend to transfer your pallets in a hub-and-spoke distribution model, pallets are constantly going to be exchanging hands. LTL will always involve multiple trailers, multiple warehouses and, at times, even exchange between carriers in order to get your shipment to its final destination. It’s truly an impressive operation.
Freight can sometimes get misplaced or damaged during this process. But where did it happen? To whom shall the claim be sent? Where is the freight currently? Have you ever called an LTL carrier requesting an ETA? Well, an ELD won’t provide an answer like our sensor trackers can.
4. Only sensor trackers can deliver real-time damage reports
What’s happening in the cab isn’t necessarily what’s happening in the trailer. Only pallet-level intelligence™ can alert you immediately if there’s been a dramatic temperature change or a severe impact to your freight. Receiving this knowledge in real time can help you mitigate the damage and minimize your losses. It can also offer insights later on when determining who’s accountable for the damage.
Pallet-level intelligence™: The future of freight
It’s clear that ELD isn’t really a viable solution for providing real-time insights on the status of your freight. If you want to know where your shipment is and what the condition is down to the pallet-level, every step of the way, Delivery Chain is the best solution on the market. From real-time email and SMS alerts to tracking, geofencing and mobile solutions, we offer next-generation supply chain intelligence for every step of your journey. Get in touch today.