Tom Genecco has seen it all during his career in freight transportation. He’s a carrier-broker based in Buffalo, New York, and his family has been in the business for three generations. Genecco rolls his eyes when he talks about life before TransCore’s GlobalWave satellite trailer tracking and monitoring.
“I had an owner operator leave one of my trailers in Baltimore, and it cost me $1,200 to hire a guy to go out and find my trailer,” Genecco says. “It was a three- or four-week ordeal.”
Since installing GlobalWave, Genecco’s results have improved dramatically. TFG Transport now can track and monitor its fleet nationwide in real time—effortlessly. Not only does it enable Tom and his team to track the location of trailers just about anywhere in North America, it also enables TFG to track the efficiency of its drivers to see who is—or isn’t—producing.
And whether a trailer goes missing because of a simple mistake or bad behavior on the part of a driver, GlobalWave saves Genecco’s team time and money.
“I had a guy quit in Tennessee, and I found out where my trailer was by using GlobalWave in about ten minutes,” Genecco says.
Getting refrigerated shipments down cold
TFG Transport owns 20 power units and 31 trailers, and the company specializes in refrigerated freight. So Genecco’s company takes advantage of TransCore’s Sense & Track, which adds cargo and temperature sensing to the standard Slap & Track satellite trailer tracking system. In addition to the ability to check the location of every trailer he’s responsible for at any time of the day, he can check the temperature inside his reefers, which is critical for getting his trailers loaded and the loads accepted by the consignee.
“When a customer is in Syracuse, New York, and the truck’s in Nogales, Arizona, I can go on the Web site and tell them that the trailer’s pre-cooled and ready to go,” said Genecco.
Reducing losses from fraudulent liability claims
Fraudulent insurance claims are a common hazard in the freight industry. Now Genecco and his team have the ultimate weapon to fight them. In fact, GlobalWave satellite trailer tracking has helped turn Genecco and his team into super sleuths.
“Someone once had a picture of my truck and trailer and said that one of my fenders flew off and caused hundreds of dollars of damage. They said the incident occurred in Mississippi,” Genecco says. “GlobalWave informed me that the truck was in Virginia. We sent the report to the insurance company, and the claim was denied.”
Case closed. End of story.
“It’s a no-brainer.”
Genecco and his company are representative of small-to-midsized operations that nevertheless have a national reach. TFG is headquartered in Canadaiqua, New York, and has satellite offices in Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Texas and Oregon—as well as a spacious warehouse on Long Island. That means Genecco and his team have to use technology to manage their fleet and the precious, perishable cargos of their customers spread across the country. Satellite tracking and monitoring provide complete visibility and accountability. Genecco knows within 35 feet where his trucks are and how fast they’re going. If they’re not moving, Genecco knows how long they’ve been sitting and the temperature inside the reefers, as well as other information critical to the viability of TFG’s business.
It’s likely that nothing will make Tom’s job easy, but with TransCore services like GlobalWave satellite tracking and monitoring, Genecco isn’t flying blind any more. His drivers, shippers and consignees know that when Tom speaks, he’s speaking with facts.
“To be honest,” Genecco says, “I look back and say, ‘How did I get by without this product.’”
“It’s a no-brainer.”