Asset tracking: protect your business from thefts

GPS asset tracking protects UK businesses from £800M in annual theft losses by preventing unauthorised use and enabling quick recovery,

Mar 31, 2026

Key Insights

Asset theft is a major financial problem in the UK, costing the industry £800M a year with less than a 10% recovery rate following a theft.
Asset tracking with GPS telematics helps prevent theft by allowing fleet managers to set up geofences (zones) that send alerts for any movement outside the established perimeter or during unauthorised hours.
Companies using GPS asset tracking systems can often achieve reduced insurance costs, as insurers view the technology as an anti-theft measure that promotes greater asset recovery.

Asset theft is a crippling problem for UK businesses, costing the industry a staggering £800M every year. With thefts of equipment and vehicles on the rise, asset tracking technology is rapidly becoming one of the most effective ways to protect your valuable assets.

At present, theft of vehicles and machinery is very common with a recovery rate of “less than 10%.” Therefore, the negative impact on a company losing such expensive machinery is huge. Not only does it stop activity, it also prevents crucial services to customers and damages the company's bottom line.

With Cargo thefts of trailers and containers also increasing, asset trackers are the ideal way to help locate and check how the shipment and delivery process is running, and where necessary, take action.

According to TAPA, cargo thefts in the UK, “are showing a significant upward trend with new record highs, driven by tactics like cutting vehicle curtains and breaking locks, and by deceptive pick-up schemes”.

This is why more and more businesses ae using asset tracking technologies to prevent potential theft and increase the chances of recovering expensive assets, equipment and machinery.

Let's dive into how asset trackers and GPS telematics solutions can help businesses like yours.

Asset tracking for theft prevention

Asset tracking can become one of the best allies for fleet managers who are responsible for the security of assets, vehicles, equipment, and machinery, and prevention is paramount in this regard.

The potential of asset trackers with GPS fleet management systems helps to:

Monitor assets: maintain a detailed overview of your equipment by monitoring the near real-time location of all powered and unpowered assets, containers, vehicles, and trailers.

Set up zones: create zones (geofences) to establish perimeters around equipment, assets, and machinery so that, if they move outside the established zone, you will receive an send out an email notification so that you can act quickly.

Remotely track operations: monitor the progress of operations and whether they are proceeding normally from loading at the warehouse to their destination, with the ability to know their location in near real-time, provide an accurate ETA to the customer, and act quickly in the event of any incident on the go.

Set up zones to notify thefts or unauthorised use

Set up zones (geofences) around the areas where your assets and equipment are located and receive alerts to let you know if they have left the established perimeter.

Check whether this is a scheduled activity or, if verified, whether it is something suspicious. Take immediate action to protect your assets.

Likewise, in the event of activity outside working hours, alerts can be set up to notify you that assets are being used or moved from the areas where they should normally be located.

How to create zones on Geotab

As we have seen, creating zones is very beneficial in terms of prevention, asset security, and control of all a company's activities.

In addition, the platform is very intuitive, and in just a few steps, you can quickly set up zones and take action to protect your assets.

Let’s see how we can create zones on the platform:

Navigate: go to the Zones page in MyGeotab.
Add a Zone: click the "Add" button to create a new zone.
Define Perimeter: draw the zone on the map by clicking to place points, then click the first point to complete the shape.
Name and Type: give your zone a descriptive name and assign it a relevant type (e.g., Office, Customer, Home).
Save and publish: assign the zone to specific assets, vehicles and user groups.

Locate your assets in near real-time and promote recovery

One of the benefits of asset tracking is that it helps you to know the near real-time location of your assets.

In the event of an incident, such as theft, you will know the precise and accurate location of your assets, the route they are taking and where they are in almost real time.

Get insurance costs reduction with GPS asset tracking

One of the most significant operating costs for companies is insurance costs, so keeping them under control is one of the priorities of any fleet manager.

In this sense, more and more insurance companies are offering premium insurance for companies that use GPS asset tracking systems, considering them to be anti-theft device systems that reduce the risk of theft and promote greater asset recovery, thus creating a business model that is beneficial for both parties.

Asset tracking: a smart choice for your business

Prevention is one of the most important pillars when it comes to protecting your assets by minimising the risk of theft and promoting greater recovery of them.

And this is something that insurers take into account when offering premium insurance policies with very beneficial discounts for companies like yours.

See how our technology can help you protect your assets and business. Schedule your free demo with us.