Strengthening Supply Chain Security with Cellular IoT

Supply chain loss and theft are rising in both frequency and value, exposing critical gaps in visibility between fixed checkpoints.

Tracking is the answer, but tracking tools can struggle to provide continuous, actionable monitoring in part because reliable, consistent connectivity can be hard to come by.

Cellular IoT with an IoT M2M SIM card closes these gaps by enabling real-time, two-way communication with assets in transit.

The scale of the problem

Physical asset theft is a massive and growing issue. In supply chain/cargo alone, estimated losses in the US and Canada surged 60% to nearly $725 million in 2025, with the average theft value rising 36% to $273,990 per incident.

Organized criminal groups are shifting to higher-value targets like enterprise computing hardware. In the UK for example, stolen equipment now exceeds £1 billion annually, with fewer than 15% of stolen items ever recovered.

It’s understandably created a market for supply chain visibility, with this software market valued at in the billions. A growing component of this demand is for cellular IoT-enabled real-time tracking rather than legacy scan-based systems.

Where does IoT with cellular connectivity fit in?

Short-range technologies like BLE and RFID are effective in warehouses and at fixed scan points, but they go silent the moment cargo moves between facilities.

GPS provides location, but GPS receivers can’t send status updates. The device needs a return data path to communicate that location back to a platform.

Cellular IoT (LTE-M, NB-IoT) provides that two-way, wide-area data link, enabling trackers to push continuous location and sensor data across existing mobile networks without any fixed infrastructure of their own. An IoT M2M SIM card supports:

• In-transit visibility: cellular-connected trackers on trailers, pallets, or containers transmit location continuously across national and cross-border mobile networks, closing the blind spots between warehouse scan events.

• Multi-sensor telemetry: beyond location, LTE-M-connected devices simultaneously report temperature, humidity, shock, tamper, and door-open events in a single transmission, making it the natural integration point for condition-plus-location monitoring.

• Geofence and alert delivery: cellular connectivity is what makes geofence breach alerts actionable; when cargo moves outside an authorized zone or dwell time threshold is exceeded, the alert reaches the operator in near-real time rather than at the next scan point

• Fleet and driver telematics: vehicle-level cellular IoT enables route deviation detection, driver behavior monitoring, and rapid recovery coordination if a hijacking or misdirection is detected
  

All-in-all, a tracking system connected to a cellular network provides broader coverage, eliminating the dark spots in asset tracking. Even more so when the tracking device benefits from truly resilient tracking connectivity.

How GigSky’s Business supports tracking

GigSky helps supply chain teams maintain visibility by keeping connected assets online as they move across borders, carriers, and regions.

With global connectivity designed to automatically connect devices to the strongest available network, businesses can reduce the blind spots that typically appear when freight leaves a warehouse, crosses a border, or enters an area with weaker coverage.

That means more consistent tracking, faster issue detection, and better control over shipments in transit.

Our approach is built for connectivity resilience at scale. We are one of the few IoT eSIM providers with multiple Tier-1 network relationships and a single global connectivity framework, which helps keep devices connected without the complexity of managing multiple local contracts.

That doesn’t come at excess cost: our centralized management tools make it easier to monitor usage, set thresholds, and avoid unexpected data costs.

Talk to GigSky now to see how our cellular IoT for supply chains delivers visibility that is not only dependable, but also cost efficient: for tracking performance without the overhead.