Vianney is a Mexico-based company well known for its home textile products. Founded in 1972, Vianney specializes in the manufacturing and sale of blankets, bedspreads, comforters, sheets, curtains, and many home décor items. The company is recognized for its quality and design, and it has a significant presence online and in department stores—as well as its own distribution network in Mexico and in other Latin American countries.
Vianney needed a reliable way to track their shipments—to maintain the integrity and safety of their supply chain, and to help ensure that their customers did not inadvertently purchase products from illicit sources (e.g., cartel involvement). Supporting such activities not only endangers the security of shipments, it also contributes to illegal operations that can harm companies and communities. Vianney aims to protect its clients—and their businesses—from the many risks associated with criminal organizations.
Enter Tive
In 2023, Vianney’s procurement director attended a logistics expo in Mexico City where he was introduced to Tive. When he returned from the show, he immediately contacted Vianney’s Head of Asset Security, and said, “‘I think Tive will be useful for you,’ and I contacted Tive right away,” he said.
Prior to Tive, the Asset Security team had used a GPS-based tracking device, but it was very heavy and the battery lasted only a few hours—losing the signal too quickly. “When I learned how long the Tive battery could last, I quickly arranged a meeting with them,” said the Head of Asset Security. “The team at Tive explained how the trackers work, gave me a detailed demo, answered my many questions, and assured me about the long battery life. This helped me confirm that Tive trackers were the right choice for us.” And Vianney never looked back.
The Head of Asset Security says that testing Tive trackers on actual Vianney shipments taught him a lot about the product, “because no matter how many videos I watched and conversations we had, I wasn’t completely sure about all the benefits we could gain from Tive until I started using it. When you hold it in your hands, it’s very light, and I can easily hide it in a container.”
Tracking Trucks. Tracking Goods.
In the world of consumer goods, your products are only as good as they are secure. Vianney already used GPS tracking, and initially sought to add a second source of location tracking so they could secretly track their drivers—because drivers were sometimes disconnecting and disabling GPS signals so they could sell fuel, assist in stealing merchandise, and more.
After Vianney’s introductory phone call with Tive, Tive sent the Asset Security team a Solo 5G tracker to test on an actual shipment. The head of the team said, “I added the tracker to a shipment, and it worked perfectly right away.” He informed only a few members of his team that he had hidden the tracker inside a box in the container; the driver had no idea there was a second tracker monitoring the shipment.
“Over time, this has enabled us to eliminate corrupt drivers from the company,” said the Head of Asset Security. “The original GPS devices we used were not as customizable as Tive. With the Solo 5G, we can set a trip start and end time. Now, we program a trip with an origin and a destination, and can monitor its every move.”
Complete Shipment Visibility
Armed with Tive, Vianney can see exactly where its trucks have stopped, and is able to detect if drivers are engaging in bad practices or making unauthorized stops. Tive has worked so well in this regard that the Head of Asset Security continues to think of novel uses for the trackers every day.
For example, Vianney has more than 300 branded brick-and-mortar stores in four countries including Mexico. In certain locations in Mexico, Vianney’s merchandise was not arriving at 100%. “So I started placing trackers in shipments to see the details—to see how certain stores were handling the products and where those products were. And I could see it all unfold live in the Tive platform,” he said.
“I give Tive a 10.”
Robust Battery Life = Real-Time, End-to-End Insight
The initial problem that drove Vianney to Tive was a need for stronger battery life—the battery in his original devices only lasted one day. They discharged too quickly, and could not help solve the problems Vianney needed to fix.
When the first test devices arrived, the Head of Asset Security installed one on a unit, and started tracking to see how accurately it provided all the information they wanted—including battery life, which was critically important to the company. He said, “This short trial led us to place an official order. We initially installed Tive in small units—hidden deep within the merchandise.” Based on the success of these initial units, the Asset Security team soon started using Tive on larger shipments.
“The battery life and the location accuracy are outstanding,” said the Head of the team. “I recommend Tive to everyone—to anyone I know in this field. I share my experiences and tell them I’ve tried other devices, and none give me the battery life that Tive does.” He also appreciates how Tive enables him to extend the duration of a shipment while it is in transit. “No matter what happens, Tive helps me to continue tracking my shipments.”
Protecting Their Clients from Stolen Cargo
Since kicking off with Tive in 2023, Tive has helped expose some cargo theft incidents. However, in February of 2024, Vianney was able to recover almost all of the merchandise involved in a theft. The cargo had been stolen on one of the routes with the highest theft rates, and the merchandise ended up at a final customer's establishment. “Armed with a search warrant, we conducted a raid on that Vianney customer—and never worked with them again,” stated the Head of Asset Security.
One driving reason for using Tive is to prevent their clients from buying merchandise from the criminals who have stolen it from Vianney. “Tive helps me prevent our clients from being corrupted,” said the Head of Asset Security. “If we know we have a client who is buying from criminals, we immediately stop working with that client. If they’re involved with criminals to buy cheaper products—if we even suspect that a client might hire someone to rob us because they know when we’ll deliver goods and the routes we take—we drop them. Tive has helped us fix this merchandise issue.”
Tive helps Vianney know where their shipments are—at all times. Said the Head of Asset Security, “It’s one thing to think you know where your merchandise is, but with Tive, we have total certainty. This has helped us a lot because our sales team can tell our clients: ‘When you work with Vianney, everything is done legally.’”
The cost-benefit of using Tive is easily validated by the Asset Security team. He said, “The money you save by recovering the merchandise—compared to what you pay for the trackers and the Tive platform—is totally worth it. When I request authorization to request more devices from Tive, they say ‘Go ahead!’ There are no restrictions.”
