Asset Tracking Software is used to locate and monitor trailers, containers, equipment, and other mobile assets. For freight forwarders, this can be a specialized need rather than a core daily workflow. The work may instead belong to a customer, partner, or another team. Compare the listed details with your needs and confirm current capabilities with providers.
Tag-N-Trac RELATIVITY Platform, Decklar (formerly Roambee), GPX Scout AI are three product options to compare for Freight Forwarders 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.
Tag-N-Trac RELATIVITY Platform
Track pallets, reusable assets and containers with RELATIVITY, IoT labels and device-specific condition monitoring. Profile fit: Manufacturers monitoring pallets, containers and reusable assets; Profile fit: 3PLs and freight forwarders coordinating multimodal shipments; Profiled strength: RELATIVITY asset visibility; Profiled strength: Bluetooth and cellular tracking devices.
Details to compare
- feature: Asset visibility in transit and storage
- feature: Bluetooth and cellular tracking labels
- subcategory: Mode-Specific Visibility Platforms
- subcategory: Item-Level Visibility
View full product profileDecklar (formerly Roambee)
Shipment and reusable-asset visibility with IoT data, exception monitoring and Decision AI. Profile fit: Supply-chain teams monitoring shipment exceptions; Profile fit: 3PL and freight-forwarder teams managing reusable assets; Profiled strength: Container and reusable-asset tracking; Profiled strength: Shipment monitoring.
Details to compare
- feature: Container and reusable-asset tracking
- feature: Shipment monitoring
- integration: Integration Hub (confirm systems and implementation)
- subcategory: Container / Chassis Tracking
View full product profileGPX Scout AI
Scout AI answers plain-language questions about asset and supply-chain data in the GPX tracking platform. Profile fit: Teams querying GPX asset and shipment data; Profile fit: Operations monitoring location and configured conditions; Profiled strength: Natural-language asset insights; Profiled strength: Configurable location updates.
Details to compare
- feature: Natural-language asset insights
- feature: Configurable location updates
- subcategory: Visibility & Risk
View full product profile| Listed field | Tag-N-Trac RELATIVITY Platform | Decklar (formerly Roambee) | GPX Scout AI |
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| Features | Asset visibility in transit and storage, Bluetooth and cellular tracking labels, Reusable Smart Sense Tags, Location and condition monitoring (device-dependent), Asset utilization and inventory insights, Exception alerts and notifications, TracINTELL predictive risk analytics, TracASSIST conversational analytics, TracFLOW configurable workflow automation, Smart Sense Tag satellite option (Skylo) | Container and reusable-asset tracking, Shipment monitoring, Condition sensing (configured devices), Live asset visibility, Exception alerts, Asset analytics, Multimodal visibility, Enterprise data integration | Natural-language asset insights, Configurable location updates, Condition monitoring (device-dependent), Geofence alerts, Maintenance insights (use-case dependent), Multimodal visibility, GPS and BLE tracking options |
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| Integrations | Not listed—confirm with the vendor | Integration Hub (confirm systems and implementation) | Not listed—confirm with the vendor |
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| Subcategories | Mode-Specific Visibility Platforms, Item-Level Visibility | Container / Chassis Tracking | Visibility & Risk |
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| Buyer-fit details | Manufacturers monitoring pallets, containers and reusable assets, 3PLs and freight forwarders coordinating multimodal shipments, Pharmaceutical and food supply chains requiring condition visibility, Enterprise supply chains integrating transit and warehouse data | Supply-chain teams monitoring shipment exceptions, 3PL and freight-forwarder teams managing reusable assets | Teams querying GPX asset and shipment data, Operations monitoring location and configured conditions |
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| Target company sizes | enterprise | mid-market, enterprise | smb, mid-market, enterprise |
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Not seeing a capability here? Ask the provider whether it is available for your needs.
For freight forwarders, this category may support an adjacent or specialized need rather than a core daily workflow. Its usefulness depends on the work involved and whether it complements an existing system.
Asset Tracking Software for freight forwarder 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 freight forwarder (conditional)
A freight forwarder may use asset visibility for containers, trailers, reusable equipment, and shipment handoffs, subject to who owns the asset and supplies its event data. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI); GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events
Workflow: Link a transport-unit identifier to pickup, terminal, interchange, warehouse receipt, and delivery events while distinguishing a scan or partner event from a current GPS observation. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI); GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events
Ask in a demo: Follow one container through two partner handoffs and inspect the identifier, event source, timestamp, location precision, and stale-event warning at each stage. Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI); GS1 EPCIS: enabling visibility with real time information on supply chain events
Check before choosing: GS1 identity and event standards do not prove continuous tracking, device coverage, cargo recovery, or partner access. 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