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Asset Tracking Software Buying Guide for Manufacturers & Shippers

Asset Tracking Software can help manufacturers & shippers locate and monitor trailers, containers, equipment, and other mobile assets. Evaluate each option against how your team manages suppliers, production, inventory, orders, facilities, carriers, and customer delivery commitments.

Why this category matters here

For manufacturers & shippers, the most relevant fit is container & equipment tracking. Confirm that the product supports this workflow in practice and fits the people, systems, controls, and exceptions already in place.

Capabilities to evaluate

  • Supply chain visibility
  • Asset recovery
  • Location and movement history
  • Geofence, dwell, and exception alerts
  • Asset inventory and utilization views

Questions to ask vendors

  • Which assets, sensors, and coverage environments are supported?
  • How are battery life, connectivity gaps, and missing events handled?
  • Can events flow into yard, transportation, maintenance, and customer workflows?
  • How will this fit the way your team manages suppliers, production, inventory, orders, facilities, carriers, and customer delivery commitments?

14 marketplace profiles are listed for Asset Tracking Software and Manufacturers & Shippers. Compare their listed details with your requirements and confirm fit with each provider.

Options for Manufacturers & Shippers

  • BlackBerry Radar Portal

    Radar asset visibility for trailers, chassis, containers and railcars, with a unified portal and alerts.

    Listed features: Unified Radar portal, Event-driven asset insights, Cargo-status visibility (configured sensors). Listed integrations: ISAAC (confirm implementation), McLeod Software (confirm implementation), Trimble (confirm product and implementation).

  • BlackBerry Radar Trailer Tracking

    Radar tracks trailers, chassis and other non-powered assets, with device-specific sensors and alerts.

    Listed features: Trailer and chassis tracking, Container tracking, Railcar tracking. Listed integrations: ISAAC (confirm implementation), McLeod Software (confirm implementation), Trimble (confirm product and implementation).

  • Blume Visibility

    Multimodal shipment visibility with predictive arrivals, exception management and IoT data.

    Listed features: Container-shipment visibility, Chassis visibility (confirm module), Predictive arrival times. Listed integrations: Visibility data interfaces (confirm systems and scope).

  • Decklar (formerly Roambee)

    Shipment and reusable-asset visibility with IoT data, exception monitoring and Decision AI.

    Listed features: Container and reusable-asset tracking, Shipment monitoring, Condition sensing (configured devices). Listed integrations: Integration Hub (confirm systems and implementation).

  • Geotab Asset Tracking

    Track trailers, containers and equipment in MyGeotab with device-specific GPS and Bluetooth options.

    Listed features: Battery, solar and Bluetooth options, Trailer and container tracking, Equipment tracking. Listed integrations: MyGeotab (first-party platform), Platform APIs (confirm device and access).

  • GPX Scout AI

    Scout AI answers plain-language questions about asset and supply-chain data in the GPX tracking platform.

    Listed features: Natural-language asset insights, Configurable location updates, Condition monitoring (device-dependent). Listed integrations: Not listed.

  • MarineTraffic Visibility

    AIS vessel tracking, voyage analysis and port intelligence, with plan-dependent satellite coverage.

    Listed features: AIS vessel tracking, Maritime AIS data, Port intelligence. Listed integrations: Not listed.

  • Nexxiot Intermodal

    Railcar and container telematics with device-specific reporting, sensors and asset analytics.

    Listed features: Railcar tracking, Container tracking, Intermodal asset visibility. Listed integrations: IntelliTrans (configured sensor-data integration), RailPulse (partner program; confirm deployment).

  • PowerFleet Unity

    Unity combines vehicle, asset and warehouse IoT data for visibility and operational insights.

    Listed features: Unity AIoT insights, Video analytics (separate modules), Warehouse telematics (configured hardware). Listed integrations: Unity data interfaces (confirm source and implementation).

  • Samsara Asset Tracking

    GPS gateways and Bluetooth Asset Tags provide device-specific tracking and asset-utilization insights.

    Listed features: GPS and network-based asset tracking, Battery life by device and reporting mode, Geofence alerts. Listed integrations: Samsara platform APIs (confirm access and device scope).

  • Tag-N-Trac RELATIVITY Platform

    Full-stack AI-powered IoT supply chain visibility — from disposable smart labels to satellite-connected reusable trackers, unified on the RELATIVITY cloud platform.

    Listed features: Real-time in-transit and in-warehouse visibility (SKU to container level), AI-powered risk intelligence with predictive analytics, Disposable smart labels. Listed integrations: SAP TMS / ERP, Oracle Transportation Management, Blue Yonder TMS.

  • Traxens Smart Containers

    Container devices monitor location, doors and cargo conditions, with permanent and removable options.

    Listed features: Smart-container sensors, GNSS location tracking, Door-open alerts. Listed integrations: Not listed.

  • VIACHAIN Container Tracking (an ORBCOMM company)

    Container and chassis telematics with fleet analytics and configured cargo-condition monitoring.

    Listed features: Connectivity by device and deployment, Reefer monitoring (configured hardware), Coverage by connectivity and region. Listed integrations: Business-system APIs (implementation-dependent).

  • Wiliot Physical AI Platform

    Battery-free item sensing and Physical AI for inventory, reusable assets and condition visibility.

    Listed features: Ambient-powered, battery-free IoT Pixels, Battery-free item sensing, Location, temperature and handling data. Listed integrations: Not listed.

Explore the full interactive guide · Browse Asset Tracking Software listings

Asset Tracking for manufacturers shippers buying guidance

At a glance: Asset tracking identifies and records the status or movement of reusable or operational assets—such as returnable transport items, trailers, containers, chassis, tools, and equipment—using identifiers and observations captured through processes or technologies such as scans, tags, GPS, or partner events. Identification, event sharing, and precise live location are different capabilities; the asset type and deployment determine which evidence is available. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI); GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events; GS1 Traceability standard, version 1.3.0

Fit for manufacturers shippers (conditional)

Manufacturers and shippers may track returnable packaging, pallets, bins, or containers when asset reuse and handoffs matter to their process. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI); GS1 Traceability standard, version 1.3.0

Workflow: Tie an asset identifier to a shipment or production flow, scan the transfer to a carrier or 3PL, and record return or repair events. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI); GS1 Traceability standard, version 1.3.0

Ask in a demo: Show whether a reusable tote's identity persists through aggregation, shipment, receiving, and return, and which partner captures every event. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI); GS1 Traceability standard, version 1.3.0

Check before choosing: A traceability standard does not decide legal requirements or prove that a trading partner captures the required data. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI); GS1 Traceability standard, version 1.3.0

Common workflows

Questions to ask providers

  • What asset classes, individual units, and ownership boundaries are in scope, and which identifier is retained over the asset's life?
  • Does the proposed method report an event, an approximate last-known location, or a continuously sampled position, and what is the evidence source for each?
  • Which scan, tag, gateway, device, power, network, roaming, and replacement components are included in the design and quote?
  • How are missing, duplicated, delayed, out-of-order, and contradictory asset events reconciled across carriers, 3PLs, and customer systems?
  • What permissions, retention, data export, partner access, device security, and decommissioning controls apply to the tracking records?
  • How will the pilot measure identifier-read rates, event completeness, location age, battery service, and recovery workflow without extrapolating beyond the tested routes?

Frequently asked questions

What counts as an asset for tracking?

A supply-chain asset can include reusable transport items, transport equipment, tools, or other identified objects. GS1's GRAI key is especially suitable for reusable transport items and transport equipment; buyers still need to choose what their own asset register covers. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI)

Is asset identification the same as GPS tracking?

No. An identifier labels which object is involved, while GPS or another observation method may report a position or event. GS1 GRAI describes an asset key, and EPCIS describes visibility-event sharing; neither by itself promises continuous GPS coverage. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI); GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events

What is EPCIS used for?

GS1 describes EPCIS as a standard for sharing supply-chain visibility-event information about physical objects and business events. It can support event exchange between applications and trading partners, but a buyer must still define which events, identifiers, interfaces, and responsibilities apply. GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events

Should a business track a container, trailer, and tractor in the same system?

They may be connected operationally but have different owners, identifiers, devices, and observation patterns. Model each asset type separately, then test how a system links a trailer or container to a load and journey without treating a powered-vehicle telematics feed as proof of cargo position. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI); GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events

Can asset tracking prevent theft or guarantee recovery?

No tracking standard or category definition guarantees prevention or recovery. A buyer should evaluate alert coverage, power, communications, response ownership, police or insurer procedures, and actual incident evidence before assigning an expected outcome. GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events

How should a tracking pilot be measured?

Use a defined asset population and route sample, and separately measure identity match, event completeness, observation freshness, coverage gaps, device servicing, and exception resolution. Do not generalize one pilot's route or asset mix to all operations. GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events; GS1 Traceability standard, version 1.3.0

Sources (3)
  1. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI) — GS1
  2. GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events — GS1
  3. GS1 Traceability standard, version 1.3.0 — GS1