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Situational Summary

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A major tobacco company approached GPSit with a problem of internal cigarette theft at its manufacturing plant. They were routinely experiencing $100,000 per month in loss and could not identify the source of the loss. After analyzing the situation, GPSit recommended the Sendum GPS Tracker and the powerful TrackFusion Software.

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Problem Solution​

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GPSit deployed three GPS Trackers into three cartons of cigarettes. The cartons were placed at different locations in the manufacturing facility. These areas were designated inventory holding areas where there were no security cameras. Geofences were deployed on the devices and the security team stood by on full alert for any sign of movement of the devices. Two days later during the third shift from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., a geofence alert was activated. It was discovered the box housing the device which activated the geofence was indeed missing from the plant floor. The security team jumped into action and began to actively track the device in real time as the device headed for the interstate highway. Agents began pursuit and notified the local sheriff of the situation. Security began to check employee timecard logs and found an employee who had just left the plant with the permission of his supervisor for being sick. The security team now had a possible lead and headed to the employee's home address. While in direct communication with the local sheriff's office, the security team directed the sheriff to the location of the device and provided information regarding the suspects' vehicle and license plate number. Upon identifying the vehicle, the sheriff's department pulled the car over and was given approval to search the car by the employee. The security team arrived at the location where they found the suspect being questioned by authorities and three cases of unopened cigarettes on the roof of the car.

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Problem Resolution

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By using a proven technology and an experienced loss prevention team, GPSit was able to assist in the apprehension of a recurring cigarette theft ring which ultimately led to the firing and prosecution of five employees who were conspiring to steal and sell the cigarettes on the black market.

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Cost/Benefit Analysis

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GPSit was able to help this customer save almost $1 million in cigarette loss by deploying state of the art tracking devices and award winning software.