GateHouse extends visibility partnership with Satlock

Following the launching of its partnership in 2021, GateHouse Maritime, a leading provider of ocean supply chain visibility and predictability services and Satlock, a specialist in the global control, administration and risk management of the physical distribution of merchandise, have extended their partnership to meet the growing demand for reliable ocean visibility and shipping container tracking technology.

Launched in 2021, the two companies have now agreed to work together for at least three years. It’s a timely agreement with a growing number of reports highlighting increasing unreliability in the ocean supply chain throughout 2020 and 2021. GateHouse Maritime and Satlock are working together to provide customers with the power of real-time, end-to-end monitoring of cargo and logistics operations.

“We’re extremely proud to be partnering with such a pioneering logistics tech company and of the extension of our joint commitment to three years,” said Martin Dommerby Kristiansen, CEO at GateHouse Maritime. “Working together, we aim to revolutionise ocean visibility, shipping traceability, and container tracking for customers worldwide throughout 2022 and beyond.”

Increased demand for ocean visibility

Today, ocean supply chain reliability is in a state of deterioration and has been so since the onset of coronavirus in 2020. Global demand for physical goods increased throughout the pandemic and coupled with shortages of raw materials and manufacturing shutdowns, challenges in the supply chain global logistics have been causing untold headaches for cargo owners, freight forwarders and shipping firms, with customers experiencing lengthy shipping delays and unpredictable ETAs.

As a result, demand for precise container tracking across the entire shipping supply chain has increased significantly.

“We’re fully aware of the problems facing the logistics industry, which took a huge hit during the coronavirus pandemic. Currently, container shipping reliability is sitting static at 40%, down from 60-80% in 2019,” continued Kristiansen.

He added: “By providing Satlock invaluable data from our large maritime data foundation, the company will monitor the exact location of individual containers at sea using its state-of-the-art satellite-driven technology. Furthermore, we combine our Arrival Prediction solution with machine-learning algorithms to pinpoint container schedules to accurately calculate arrival times with better precision than scheduled ETAs.”

Not only is the GateHouse Maritime-Satlock partnership ready to tackle the demand for real-time ocean visibility and container tracking, but it is also mutually beneficial for both companies involved.

“Satlock is a phenomenal company to enter a contract with, not only for its efficient and advanced container tracking technology, but also for its infrastructure and business connections across the entire South America region. We see a huge opportunity to expand and enter many South American markets, including Chile, Argentina, and Ecuador, which will further strengthen our position as a global maritime data and analytics leader,” states Kristiansen.

Founded in Bogota, Colombia in 2011, over the last decade Satlock has developed leading solutions for logistics and safeguarding cargo containers including patented electronic tracking and security devices, an IoT web control platform and the provision of management reports through advanced business intelligence tools.

Today, the company has operations in Mexico, Central America, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina and Chile, and offers services for customs control, risk management for cargo and the control and management of fleets and logistics operations.

Previously, Satlock’s satellite-based lock service only provided onshore location information on transported containers, but that has been transformed through the new partnership with GateHouse Maritime, and Satlock is now expanding its service to also cover real-time offshore container location data, providing customers with efficient and accurate, end-to-end shipment tracking.

“First and foremost, we have been very satisfied with our partnership with GateHouse since its initiation earlier this year, which is why we now extend the contract from one to three years. Thanks to GateHouse Maritime’s extensive foundation data pool, we are successfully expanding our tracking services to cover shipped goods, making our solutions even more accurate and precise for our customers. We’re happy the partnership is proving valuable for both parties,” says Juan Guillermo Galan De Valdenebro, General Manager at Satlock.

Having agreed a mutually beneficial contract, both parties have now entered the preparation and planning phases for new solutions, with operation expected to begin during Q1 2022.