On the Dash:
- Cox Automotive’s Secure Vehicle Transfer verifies carriers before vehicle pickup, cutting fraud risk at handoff.
- Digital credentials are VIN-specific, tamper-proof and revoke automatically if carrier authorization changes.
- Pilot program expands to 6,000+ Ready Logistics carriers and Manheim’s 80+ locations after testing.
Cox Automotive has launched Secure Vehicle Transfer, a digital handoff tool that verifies carriers before they pick up vehicles. The tool confirms the right carrier is collecting the right vehicle at the right location, with Central Dispatch being the first Cox Automotive brand to offer it.
While vehicle handoffs have long relied on paperwork and phone calls, that manual process has left room for fraud as vehicle theft and identity scams continue to grow across the industry.
According to the agency, the new tool replaces manual releases with a digital credential. The credential confirms the authorized carrier and the shipper’s assignment to that carrier at pickup.
The assigned driver receives the credential in the Central Dispatch Carrier app, which carriers already use for inspections and pickups. Each credential applies to a single VIN, carrier and pickup location. It cannot be copied, forwarded or captured by screenshot, and it revokes automatically if the authorization changes.
When the driver gets within five miles of the pickup location, the person releasing the vehicle scans the credential using the Secure Vehicle Transfer app. Cox Automotive said the process takes about 90 seconds, from confirmation to release.
“Every shipper, carrier and pickup location that embraces this next step with Secure Vehicle Transfer is a part of creating a stronger, more fortified transportation experience all around,” said Lainey Sibble, head of Central Dispatch, in a release.
The tool enhances existing security measures at Central Dispatch. Notably, it was the first vehicle transportation marketplace to deploy biometric identity verification on a large scale earlier this year. Cox Automotive plans to extend this biometric verification to the vehicle release point, which they claim would be an industry first.
Secure Vehicle Transfer has begun as a pilot program at specific dealership pickup points and carriers within the Ready Logistics network. Following this pilot phase, Cox Automotive intends to expand access to all shippers, carriers, and brokers in the Central Dispatch marketplace, which includes over 6,000 vetted carriers from Ready Logistics’ network. Additionally, the company aims to gradually extend the tool to Manheim’s more than 80 physical locations.
