System Loco: The Cold Chain Tech Combating Cargo Theft

In today's complex world, supply chains are just as complicated, facing both internal market pressure and external volatility.

Logistics is an intricate challenge, with leaders facing high demand for fast delivery, increasing numbers of disruptors and more.

Cold chain logistics, in particular, can be a challenge, with the need for highly regulated temperature control at all times.

System Loco, however has become adept at meeting these demands, using advanced technology to ensure high visibility and compliance at all times.

As a result, it has been able to tackle the ever-rising threat of cargo theft. 

Leading logistics technologies

System Loco is an information technology and services company, helping to power some of the world's most resilient supply chains. Since 2016, it has become an industry leader in shipment-level intelligence, deploying three million IoT tracking devices around the world. It offers real-time data on location, condition and handling in order to ensure seamless operations at all times, with a particular focus on perishables, valuables and pharmaceuticals.

System Loco empowers organisations to be more reliable, more efficient and more scalable through its advanced tracking systems, IoT devices and range of connectivity solutions. 

The company, alongside its Real-Time Transportation Visibility Platform (RTTVP) partners, offers real-time condition monitoring, end-to-end visibility and smart alerts throughout touchpoints in the cold chain. As a result, users can gain constant control over the product quality, security and compliance, whether the shipment is a transcontinental vaccine delivery or regional frozen food. 

Its condition monitoring capabilities use edge-intelligent sensors which can detect unexpected temperature shifts, changes in humidity and more, alerting the client immediately when conditions change. This allows for immediate action to take place, rather than causing delays across hours. 

Through the use of GPS, Wi-Fi, cellular and low-power wireless technology, the client can remain connected to the products whereabouts at all times, even through refrigerated containers and on cross-border transit. This ensures the customer gets real-time visibility at every part of the journey.

System Loco is also cold chain certified, making use of more than 70 airline certifications and more than 65 country certifications. It offers automated audit trails as a result of its NIST-certified technology, making use of tamper-evident logs, time-stamped environmental data and digitally signed chain-of-custody records. This means everything is traceable and ready to inspect at any moment, allowing for greater control and faster processing. 

"Cargo theft is at an all-time high in 2025, costing the industry hundreds of millions. And the reality is—there’s no single silver bullet," Orlando Candelaria, SVP of Business Development at System Loco said on LinkedIn.

"The strongest defense is a layered approach—starting with physical security, then adding technology, trained people, and operational discipline.

"I see the same truth every day. Locks and deterrents matter, but without real-time visibility and intelligence, you’re still operating blind. When you combine both, you move from reactive tracking to proactive control—giving shippers, carriers and logistics providers the ability to stop issues before they escalate.

"The key takeaway? We’re stronger together. Collaboration between tech providers, carriers, risk managers and security teams is the only way to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated threats."

The cost of inaction

This technology has also ensured losses across the logistics journey can be cut. With greater visibility, disruptions can be avoided completely, ensuring the shipment gets to the destination on time and in excellent condition. 

System Loco is using its technology to solve some of the complexities faced by the logistics industry, including an annual loss of US$30bn-US$50bn in stolen shipments. In the pharmaceuticals industry, temperature deviations across shipping result in US$35bn in annual losses – mirrored in the food industry which faces more than US$35bn in global food loss due to spoilage every year. 

System Loco is tackling this through its increased visibility and real-time alerts. In February, System Logo and Cargo Signal recovered a stolen shipment. As cargo theft becomes more of a coordinated threat, logistics teams need to increase their response times significantly. 

The incident occurred while a driver was resting, with thieves removing the trailer and leaving the driver without communication devices. When the shipment passed the intended delivery point without arrival, Cargo Signal’s 24/7 Command Center received an alert. Due to System Loco's tracking devices, which were in with the shipment, authorities were able to track down the trailer and return it to carrier control. 

The reliable location intelligence meant that authorities were able to locate the item in a short period of time, with full recovery made possible.