Cargo Control in Ghana

WHAT WAS NEEDED

Ghana is a major road transit corridor to the landlocked countries to its north, including Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali.

Goods traveling in transit through Ghana are not subject to import duties and taxes. However, as cross border trade increased, so did instances of cargo being lost or diverted into the local economy en route. This was depriving Ghana of much-needed government revenue and created an imbalance in parts of the economy.

Our customer’s challenge was to find a state-of-the-art, reliable and cost-effective traceability service that prevented cargo from being lost or stolen, protected revenues and replaced an expensive, ineffective model that relied on escort officers.

ACTIONS TAKEN

Our customer, SGS , wanted to build on the existing GCNet Single Window and establish an electronic tracking system. The GCNet company – a joint venture between SGS and local public and private sector partners in Ghana – funded and worked with Savi to provide a turnkey, cutting-edge transit tracking solution to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

The end result was an innovative solution driven by the Savi Mobile Tracking System™. This integrated combination of specialized software and hardware uses self-contained electronic tracking devices fixed to trucks to relay position data acquired by GPS and alerts to a fully equipped Transit Control center at Customs Head Office.

Officials can track cargo in real time and communicate with mobile teams on the ground to intervene quickly and effectively if needed. Information can also be uploaded onto the GCNet ePortal or website so that haulers and owners can keep informed of the progress of their cargo.

OUTCOME

The Savi Mobile Tracking System is fully operational – covering both the south-north and east-west corridors through Ghana and monitoring between 2,500 and 3,200 trucks per month.

Ghana and Burkina Faso Customs are cooperating with a goal of implementing the first end-to-end cross-border transit tracking system in the region by expanding the Savi Mobile Tracking System to Burkina Faso and beyond.

Thanks to this solution, our customer SGS was awarded a Certificate of Merit from the World Customs Organization for rendering exceptional service to Ghana Customs.