Abnormally high levels of cargo theft have hit the global transportation industry during the COVID-19 pandemic as criminal gangs target cargo on the ground. The trucking CDM platform from Cargohub, based at Schiphol airpor.t offers a highly effective protection.
Amongst the repertoire methods of targeting valuable transit cargo, the presentation of false, but expertly forged documentation is frequently used by criminal gangs to procure the release of a shipment. Usually, knowledge of a particular shipment is passed from a dishonest inside source, thus providing the opportunity to prepare accurate false documents. The driver of a bogus vehicle will present the false ID and documents to collect the target shipment. Busy warehouse staff would probably be unaware of the false transaction and allow the goods to be collected and subsequently vanish.
The CDM platform successfully prevents this intrusion by sharing data from trucking companies. For example, at Schiphol, both road feeders Wallenborn and Jan de Rijk, share data on air cargo shipments and associated truck ID / driver information between the various Handlers. All loading advice and trip list information is shared electronically which prevents the usual mass of emails between truckers, handlers and airlines. The data sharing platform offers a single window account to airlines as well allowing them to monitor all transit movements and status updates in one clear single window overview.
Raoul Paul, founder of the CDM platform, states: “Apart from the vastly improved efficiency and cost savings which the system creates, now better security is a feature. All shipment data including Truck ID and driver information from the TMS of Wallenborn and Jan de Rijk, is available to all appropriate handlers’ accounts, the risk of theft from presenting fraudulent paperwork by criminal organizations is greatly reduced.”
According to TT Club-BSI study, thefts of freight in transit remain the highest proportion of cargo crime. Patterns have changed significantly over the past year, as criminals adjust to different freight flows due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
