Uncovering chain of custody gaps for global electronics
A global electronics leader faced a costly and persistent issue: high-value returned electronics were disappearing within their reverse logistics network.
Returned electronics represented a uniquely vulnerable segment of the company’s supply chain. These products carried high resale value, moved through multiple custody transfers, and followed complex multi-stop routing across both FTL and LTL models. Yet visibility existed only at the trailer level. Carrier GPS data confirmed vehicle location but provided no insight into individual totes or cartons, and proof-of-delivery documentation could not verify carton integrity.
Larger tracking devices were impractical or too visible, and no standardized chain-of-custody validation existed at the asset level. As a result, retail locations were reporting approximately 100 missing serialized units per week across the broader network, but the company lacked defensible evidence identifying when, where, or how the losses were occurring.
Asset Manager
Asset Manager is a cloud-based visibility and monitoring platform that connects physical tracking devices to specific SKUs, serial numbers, totes, and asset documentation.
Key capabilities include:
- SKU and serial-level mapping
- Real-Time Location & Condition Monitoring
- Customizable alerts, including unauthorized light exposure detection
- Post-delivery monitoring beyond- proof of delivery
Covert Smart Labels
Thin, peel-and-stick Smart Labels are discreetly embedded within totes and cartons. Each label includes sensors for location, light exposure, temperature, motion, and humidity. As the devices are fully concealed and single-use, they avoid operational friction while preventing detection by logistics partners or potential bad actors.
After reviewing data from more than 300 monitored totes, Overhaul identified a conclusive light exposure alert at a previously unmonitored mid-transit handling location. The alert provided a precise timestamp and location indicating that a carton had been opened during transit.
When the customer cross-referenced the alert with inventory reports, 25 serialized units were confirmed missing from the exact tote that triggered the Light Alert. For the first time, a tamper event, a specific handling site, and documented missing serial numbers aligned.
What had persisted for years as untraceable shrink was now supported by defensible, asset-level evidence, enabling the company to isolate the compromised transit segment and implement immediate corrective action. Since the operational change, there have been zero losses reported.
By embedding covert intelligence directly into cartons, the company moved from generalized loss reporting to verified chain-of-custody evidence. The result was not just detection, but resolution. This investigation transformed a long-standing shrink issue into measurable operational change and full loss prevention.
