Geofencing

A geofence is an invisible perimeter drawn around a physical location – a distribution center, a retail store's receiving dock, a port terminal – that uses GPS data to detect when a vehicle crosses the boundary. When a truck equipped with an ELD or GPS tracker enters or exits a geofenced area, the system automatically registers the event and can trigger downstream actions: sending an arrival notification, starting a dwell-time clock, updating shipment status, or alerting the warehouse team to prepare for unloading.

Geofences are typically configured as circles (defined by a center point and radius) or polygons (custom-drawn boundaries that follow a facility's actual footprint). The radius matters – set it too tight and you miss trucks idling in the parking queue; set it too wide and you get false arrival alerts from trucks passing on the highway. Most platforms let shippers configure geofence size per facility, and some automatically adjust based on the facility's physical layout.

The business applications for geofencing in freight are practical and immediate. Arrival detection eliminates the need for manual driver check-in calls and gives dock teams advance notice to assign doors and stage equipment. Dwell-time tracking – measuring how long a truck sits inside the geofence before departure – is critical for identifying detention problems and supporting accessorial charge disputes. Departure detection triggers the next status update in the shipment lifecycle and can automatically notify the consignee that a load is on its way. For shippers managing detention costs across dozens of facilities, geofence data provides the objective timestamps needed to hold carriers and facilities accountable.