European logistics company Christian Salvesen is to fit a radio frequency identification (RFID) location tracking system to its distribution trailers.

The company, which already has sophisticated satellite tracking technology installed in the cabs of its lorries, needed a more cost-effective way of tracking the 1,500 transportation trailers used to transfer goods between its 45 UK depots.

‘The main reason for this investment is optimising the management of our trailers as they move around our network of sites,’ said Simon Woodward, Christian Salvesen business support manager.

‘We have to know at any one time where every trailer is.’

Once fitted to each trailer, the RFID tags from Secureseal will wirelessly transmit the trailer ID to a GPRS receiver at each site. The location data will then update a secure web server, feeding real-time information to the firm’s driver paperwork and fleet management systems.

‘We have to make sure we have the right trailers in the right place for MOTs and servicing,’ said Woodward.

As well as the distribution of its frozen vegetable brand Ross, a large part of Christian Salvesen’s business consists of providing third-party distribution for companies such as B&Q, Marks & Spencer and British Airways.

‘With the trailers being shared across the business, a trailer from our Northampton depot might end up in Motherwell tonight and Darlington tomorrow. Tracking them has been a bit of an issue,’ said Woodward.

The company has been relying on its drivers to track trailer movements by recording the data on their delivery manifests, but Woodward says waiting for drivers to submit this data when they arrive at a depot resulted in out-of-date information, which was also prone to error and needed manual checking.

‘This new system will take away the potential for error and tell us exactly when a trailer comes on site, and what time it arrives there,’ he said. ‘And the tags are great because they are reusable, cost 75 per cent less than traditional systems, and are fitted to the trailer in minutes.’