Monitoring Shipments
When a device is used to monitor a piece of equipment, the cost for the device is similar to adding additional insurance to the shipment. The difference is the device will provide insight as to how the shipment was handled in transit based on the requirement such as impact or temperature. That knowledge will indicate if there was potential damage or not.
If there is damage during the transportation cycle, proactive action can be taken to correct the problem before it becomes an issue with your customer and causes significant disruption. It’s not if an incident will happen in transit, it is when the incident will happen. Not knowing if there is potential damage will create costly disruption for both the supplier and the customer.
Return on Investment
Being in a position to minimize any disruption is reason enough to invest in monitoring devices. When shipping expensive equipment such as electronic equipment, transformers, medical equipment, etc. the ROI can be realized quickly. For this type of equipment, a digital recorder would most likely be used to monitor transport. Assume an average cost of $600 for the digital recorder, the breakeven would not take long since the recorder is reusable allowing multiple shipments per year.
If the device is used once per month to monitor equipment over a three year period, the usage cost would be $16.67 per monthly shipment. This cost is a small amount for providing valuable data about the handling and status of expensive equipment.
The actual return on the digital recorder could be significant. For example, sensitive medical equipment is delivered and installed without knowledge that the equipment suffered damaging impacts. If the equipment was damaged, the disruption costs would be significant and many times greater than the cost of a digital recorder. All it takes is one incident. Having information about the equipment status can prompt proactive action to investigate and repair the equipment before it becomes a major problem for the customer. Recorded shipment data can also assist with assigning accountability and help reduce damage to future shipments.
Every transport situation is different based on the equipment. Determining the correct monitoring device is critical. Impact-O-Graph can work with your technical staff to evaluate the correct device for your specific requirements. Talk to one of our experienced representatives today.
