FreightTech’s tracking superhero lands $40M

Visibility provider Tive announced Thursday it raised $40 million in an oversubscribed Series C funding round led by World Innovation Lab and Sageview Capital, with participation from AVP, RRE Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Fifth Wall, Supply Chain Ventures, and Sorenson Capital.

This capital will fuel Tive’s goal to enhance real-time shipment tracking and monitoring capabilities. With its innovative multi-sensor trackers and cloud platform, Tive serves over 900 global customers across industries like life sciences, food and beverage and high-value goods, according to the company.

A key focus for Tive has been combating cargo theft, a persistent challenge in logistics.

Potomac Metals, Inc. (PMI), a scrap metal recycler, adopted Tive’s technology after experiencing significant thefts. By equipping shipments with Tive’s trackers, PMI gained real-time insights into their cargo’s location and condition. This visibility allowed them to recover stolen goods swiftly, including a $175,000 copper shipment in 2024.

Similarly, Vianney, a Mexico-based home textiles company, implemented Tive to counter theft and driver misconduct. Initially relying on traditional GPS devices with limited battery life, Vianney began using Tive’s Solo 5G trackers, which can last up to 90 days without charging.

Tive’s tracking led to the recovery of merchandise stolen on a high-theft route. The technology has also powered Vianney to sever ties with clients engaging in illicit activities.

The new funding will enable Tive to further refine its technology and expand its market reach.

How Descartes using helping you avoid fraud

As these fraudulent schemes continue to evolve, technology providers like Descartes are stepping up their efforts to arm their customers with the tools and insights needed to stay ahead of bad actors.

According to Andrew Wimer, senior director of Operations and Professional Services at Descartes, the company’s customers using solutions have been hit particularly hard by freight fraud.

“We’re seeing shipments stolen and data manipulated, even when the tracking data looks flawless,” he explains. “Carriers are finding ways to spoof location data and tracking information, making it difficult for brokers to know when a load has truly gone missing.”

In response, Descartes has been aggressively investing in fraud prevention capabilities across its suite of visibility and compliance solutions. A key focus has been enhancing pre-tender visibility, giving brokers deeper insights into a carrier’s history, assets and reliability before tendering a load.

Using data from its recent acquisition MyCarrierPortal, Descartes can provide a comprehensive footprint on each carrier, highlighting any red flags around insurance, VIN validation or past tracking compliance issues.

“We want to arm our customers with as much data as possible to make educated decisions on who they’re booking with,” Wimer states. “It’s not just about the post-tender visibility that MacroPoint (Descartes visibility tool) provides, it’s giving them the tools to vet carriers upfront and avoid potential issues down the road.”

Descartes has also rolled out new features like FraudGuard, which alerts customers when the system detects potentially manipulated tracking data. However, the company acknowledges that technology alone is not enough to combat this growing threat.

There is a critical human element involved, as Wimer explains: “There’s still that gut feeling when something might be off.”

With a fraud-first product roadmap ahead and a dedication to arming customers with the right tools and knowledge, the company is positioning itself as an ally in the fight against this growing concern.

Beauty and the bust

Michelle Mack, the mastermind behind an $8 million organized retail crime ring, is paying the price, literally.

The California resident, dubbed the “Queenpin” was sentenced to five years in prison after stealing millions in beauty products from Ulta, Sephora and other retailers then reselling them on Amazon at cut-rate prices.

As part of a plea deal, Mack forfeited her $2.35 million mansion to help cover $3 million in restitution owed to her victims. While the funds offer some relief, experts caution that such restitution rarely compensates retailers fully for their losses.

Ulta praised law enforcement partnerships, emphasizing the importance of collaboration in combating retail crime.

“This case demonstrates that through close partnerships between retailers, law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as legislative support, we can make a meaningful impact on organized retail crime and hold the criminals perpetuating this problem accountable,” Dan Petrousek, senior vice president of loss prevention at Ulta Beauty, in a statement to CNBC.