Asset Tracking Software can help 3pls locate and monitor trailers, containers, equipment, and other mobile assets. Its value depends on how it connects with multiple customers, facilities, contracts, service levels, billing rules, and transportation partners. Compare the listed details with your needs and confirm current capabilities with providers.
Verizon Connect Fleet Management, BlackBerry Radar Trailer Tracking, BlackBerry Radar Portal are three product options to compare for 3PLs in Asset Tracking Software. Review their listed details below. A detail that is not listed may still be available, so ask providers about your requirements.
Verizon Connect Fleet Management
GPS fleet and asset tracking for vehicles, trailers, and powered or nonpowered equipment. Profile fit: Fleet operators managing vehicles and trailers; Profile fit: Construction and utility teams tracking equipment across jobsites; Profiled strength: Vehicle and equipment visibility on one platform; Profiled strength: Hardwired and battery-powered asset devices.
Details to compare
- feature: Vehicle GPS tracking
- feature: Powered asset tracking
- integration: FordPass Connect (supported models)
- integration: Mack GuardDog Connect (supported models)
View full product profileBlackBerry Radar Trailer Tracking
Radar tracks trailers, chassis and other non-powered assets, with device-specific sensors and alerts. Profile fit: Trailer, chassis and container fleet operators; Profile fit: Rail or hazardous-area operators selecting appropriately certified devices; Profiled strength: Trailer and chassis tracking; Profiled strength: Container tracking.
Details to compare
- feature: Trailer and chassis tracking
- feature: Container tracking
View full product profileBlackBerry Radar Portal
Radar asset visibility for trailers, chassis, containers and railcars, with a unified portal and alerts. Profile fit: Trailer, chassis and container fleet operations; Profile fit: Logistics teams using Radar events, dashboards and reports; Profiled strength: Unified Radar portal; Profiled strength: Event-driven asset insights.
Details to compare
- feature: Unified Radar portal
- feature: Event-driven asset insights
- subcategory: Container / Chassis Tracking
View full product profile| Listed field | Verizon Connect Fleet Management | BlackBerry Radar Trailer Tracking | BlackBerry Radar Portal |
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| Features | Vehicle GPS tracking, Powered asset tracking, Nonpowered asset tracking, Geofence movement alerts, Equipment utilization reports, Engine-hour tracking (compatible equipment), Maintenance reminders, Mobile fleet and asset access, Dashcams (optional), ELD and DVIR tools (applicable vehicles) | Trailer and chassis tracking, Container tracking, Railcar tracking, C1/D1 certification (H2M IS only), Battery life by model and reporting mode, Quick installation (device-dependent), Door-status alerts (configured devices), Cargo sensing (configured devices), Condition monitoring (configured devices), Geofences and alerts, Mileage-based maintenance insights | Unified Radar portal, Event-driven asset insights, Cargo-status visibility (configured sensors), Multimodal asset tracking, Geofences and alerts, Dashboards and reports, API-based data sharing, BlackBerry Secure IoT security, Open API integration |
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| Integrations | FordPass Connect (supported models), Mack GuardDog Connect (supported models), John Deere JDLink (Fleet/MRM), Komatsu (optional built-in connectivity), Caterpillar (optional built-in connectivity), Navistar International (truck data), GM (compatible GPS hardware), Volvo (compatible GPS hardware) | ISAAC (confirm implementation), McLeod Software (confirm implementation), Trimble (confirm product and implementation), Open API (custom integration) | ISAAC (confirm implementation), McLeod Software (confirm implementation), Trimble (confirm product and implementation), Open API (custom integration) |
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| Subcategories | Carrier / OTR FMS, Private Fleets FMS, Field Services FMS | Trailer Tracking | Trailer Tracking, Container / Chassis Tracking |
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| Buyer-fit details | Fleet operators managing vehicles and trailers, Construction and utility teams tracking equipment across jobsites, Businesses monitoring powered and nonpowered assets, Teams reviewing equipment utilization and maintenance needs | Trailer, chassis and container fleet operators, Rail or hazardous-area operators selecting appropriately certified devices | Trailer, chassis and container fleet operations, Logistics teams using Radar events, dashboards and reports |
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| Target company sizes | smb, mid-market, enterprise | mid-market, enterprise | mid-market, enterprise |
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Not seeing a capability here? Ask the provider whether it is available for your needs.
For 3pls, the most relevant fit is container & trailer tracking. Products differ in the depth of these capabilities and how they connect with existing systems.
Asset Tracking Software for 3pl 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 3pl (core)
A 3PL may coordinate asset events across customers and carriers, especially for reusable transport items or shared equipment pools. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI); GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events
Workflow: Map client ownership, carrier custody, facility scans, asset handoff, shipment association, and the event record shared back to each client. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI); GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events
Ask in a demo: Follow a client-owned reusable asset through a 3PL receipt, storage interval, outbound release, and carrier handoff. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI); GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events
Check before choosing: Contract terms, partner identifiers, and permissions can constrain event visibility even when systems are technically connected. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI); GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events
Common workflows
- Identify reusable transport equipment: Define a durable identity for each returnable asset, decide whether the business needs class-level or individual tracking, assign ownership, and specify how tags or labels survive normal handling. GS1 describes GRAI as a key suited to reusable transport items and transport equipment; adopting an identifier does not itself locate the object. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI)
- Capture handoffs and location events: Map the business events that matter—dispatch, loading, receipt, transfer, inspection, return, or loss—and identify which party records each event and when it is exchanged. GS1 EPCIS describes sharing visibility-event data about objects, time, place, and business context; the source does not imply continuous GPS tracking. GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events; GS1 Traceability standard, version 1.3.0
- Select an observation method for the operating environment: Compare scan points, RFID read zones, cellular or satellite devices, power options, coverage gaps, and maintenance responsibility against asset value and route. Separate an identifier or last reported event from a current position estimate and test how stale, duplicated, and missing events are shown. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI); GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events
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)
- Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI) — GS1
- GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events — GS1
- GS1 Traceability standard, version 1.3.0 — GS1