Why Organizations Add ATEK Alongside Tive
Tive raised over $80M in venture funding to solve a specific and valuable problem: knowing exactly where a pharmaceutical shipment is, what temperature it is at, and whether it has been dropped or exposed to light — all in real time via cellular-connected IoT trackers. Their Solo 5G tracker and Tive Cloud platform have made them one of the most visible startups in supply chain visibility. But when that tracked shipment arrives at a hospital pharmacy, a biotech lab, or a cold storage warehouse, Tive’s monitoring role ends. The products are still temperature-sensitive. The regulatory requirements are still in force. And now a different kind of monitoring is needed. That is where ATEK comes in.
Understanding Tive
Tive, Inc. was founded in 2016 in the Cambridge/Boston area of Massachusetts and remains headquartered in Boston. The company has raised approximately $80M or more in total venture funding, including a Series B round in 2021, positioning it as one of the better-capitalized startups in the in-transit supply chain visibility space. Tive’s product line centers on three components: the Solo 5G tracker (a cellular and GPS-enabled multi-sensor device that monitors temperature, humidity, shock, and light during shipment), the Tive Tag (a Bluetooth-based single-use logger for less complex shipments), and Tive Cloud (a SaaS platform for real-time shipment dashboards, alerting, and logistics analytics).
Tive’s focus is exclusively on what happens between point A and point B — the transport leg of the supply chain. Their platform integrates with transportation management systems and logistics workflows, and their customer base spans pharmaceutical, food, and high-value goods logistics.
Tive’s recognized strengths include:
- Modern 5G/Cellular IoT Trackers — The Solo 5G device packs GPS, temperature, humidity, shock, and light sensors into a single cellular-connected tracker that transmits data in real time throughout the shipping journey, giving logistics teams continuous visibility without relying on manual scans or Wi-Fi checkpoints
- Intuitive Cloud Platform — Tive Cloud provides real-time shipment dashboards with automated alerts, route analytics, and integrations with major TMS platforms, making it straightforward for logistics teams to monitor active shipments and identify excursions before delivery
- Strong VC Funding and Partnerships — With over $80M in venture capital and partnerships across pharma and food logistics, Tive has invested heavily in cellular connectivity, 5G capabilities, and platform development at a pace that many legacy logistics monitoring providers cannot match
Common Challenges After Shipment Arrival
Organizations that rely on Tive for transport monitoring frequently encounter a critical gap once shipments reach their destination:
- No facility monitoring capability: Tive’s Solo 5G trackers and Tive Cloud platform are designed to track products in motion. Once a pharmaceutical shipment arrives at a warehouse, pharmacy, or laboratory, Tive’s monitoring stops — but the temperature-sensitive products still require continuous environmental oversight during days, weeks, or months of storage
- Compliance framework mismatch for stationary environments: Tive’s compliance posture targets GDP (Good Distribution Practice) for transport logistics. Facilities requiring FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance, electronic signatures, audit trails, and ALCOA+ data integrity for stored products need a monitoring solution built for stationary regulatory requirements — not adapted from transport tools
- No calibration or validation services for fixed sensors: Tive does not operate a calibration laboratory or provide IQ/OQ/PQ validation documentation. Permanent facility monitoring sensors require ongoing A2LA-accredited calibration, traceable certificates, and qualification protocols that transport tracker providers are not set up to deliver
- Per-shipment model does not cover permanent installations: Tive’s pricing and hardware are built around shipping cycles — trackers deployed per shipment, returned, and redeployed. Facility monitoring requires sensors that remain in place for years with multi-year battery life, ongoing calibration, and continuous 24/7 support, which is a fundamentally different operational model
- Business-hours support for overnight facility events: A temperature excursion in a vaccine storage refrigerator at 3 AM Eastern requires immediate facility-specific response. Tive’s support model is oriented toward logistics queries during business hours, not 24/7 live monitoring of stationary environments
How ATEK Addresses the Facility Monitoring Gap
Purpose-Built Facility Monitoring: Tive was built to track products moving through supply chains via cellular and GPS connectivity. ATEK was built to monitor the environments where those products are stored after arrival. Every capability — sensor placement optimization, room-level alarming, automated compliance reporting, calibration scheduling, multi-year battery life — addresses the specific requirements of pharmaceutical facility monitoring in labs, pharmacies, cleanrooms, and cold storage. There is no logistics layer to repurpose, and no transport tracker to adapt for stationary use.
5-Minute Live Response for Facility Events: Tive’s support model is structured around logistics operations during business hours. Facility monitoring operates around the clock — a freezer alarm at 2 AM Eastern requires the same response as one at 2 PM. ATEK’s Quebec-based monitoring specialists provide a 5-minute phone response guarantee, 24/7, staffed by people who understand cold chain storage protocols and facility escalation procedures, not shipment routing.
A2LA-Accredited Calibration for Permanent Sensors: Tive’s Solo 5G trackers are calibrated for shipping cycles. Permanent facility sensors require a different calibration program entirely: A2LA-accredited certificates traceable to national standards, scheduled recalibration cycles, and documentation that satisfies FDA and Health Canada requirements for stationary monitoring. ATEK’s in-house calibration lab in Canada handles this directly — no international shipping, no third-party coordination, no gaps in sensor coverage during calibration turnaround.
All-Inclusive Pricing for Permanent Installations: Tive’s per-tracker subscription model scales with shipment volume and active tracker count — the right model for transport logistics. ATEK’s per-monitoring-point pricing covers a fundamentally different need: permanent hardware, cloud platform access, calibration, IQ/OQ/PQ validation documentation, training, and 24/7 support for facility installations that remain in place for years. The two pricing models do not compete because they serve different parts of the supply chain.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Factor | Tive | ATEK | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-transit GPS + cellular tracking | Solo 5G + Tive Cloud | Not offered | Tive |
| Fixed facility monitoring | Not offered | Purpose-built platform | ATEK |
| Shock and light monitoring | Built into Solo 5G | Not applicable (facility) | Tive |
| FDA 21 CFR Part 11 | Not applicable (transport) | Full compliance | ATEK |
| Calibration lab | No accredited lab | A2LA-accredited in-house | ATEK |
| Support response | Business hours | 5-minute guarantee, 24/7 | ATEK |
| Sensor deployment model | Per-shipment/reusable cycle | Permanent installation (up to 10 years) | Depends on use case |
| Cloud platform | Tive Cloud (logistics-focused) | ATEK Cloud (facility-focused) | Comparable |
| Bilingual support (EN/FR) | Not available | Native French + English | ATEK |
| Canadian data hosting | Not specified | Canadian-hosted, PIPEDA-compliant | ATEK |
Who Benefits Most from Adding ATEK
- Pharmaceutical facilities already using Tive for transport that need continuous environmental monitoring once shipments arrive at warehouses, distribution centers, or pharmacies — closing the gap between Tive’s last GPS ping and ongoing storage monitoring
- Hospital pharmacies and vaccine storage sites that receive Tive-tracked shipments but lack a compliant facility monitoring system for refrigerators, freezers, and ambient storage areas, particularly sites managing cold chain storage programs
- Canadian facilities with bilingual and data residency requirements that need local support, Canadian data hosting, and French-language capabilities alongside their existing Tive transport monitoring for cross-border pharmaceutical shipments
Adding ATEK Alongside Tive
Rather than replacing Tive, most organizations add ATEK to cover the facility monitoring side of the cold chain. Tive continues to do what it does best — tracking shipments in transit — while ATEK handles what happens after delivery:
- Gap assessment — We map which facility monitoring points currently have no environmental coverage after Tive’s transport tracking ends. This includes pharmacy refrigerators, laboratory environments, cold storage rooms, and cleanrooms where temperature-sensitive products reside after delivery
- Facility deployment — ATEK wireless sensors install in your facility environments with multi-year battery life. Since Tive monitors products in transit and ATEK monitors facility environments, there is no system overlap or conflict. Both platforms cover their own domain independently
- Validation and compliance — Complete IQ/OQ/PQ documentation is included for all facility monitoring points. ATEK’s compliance framework covers FDA 21 CFR Part 11, electronic signatures, Health Canada requirements, and provincial regulations specific to stationary storage — the regulatory areas that Tive’s transport-focused GDP approach does not address
- Operational integration — Your operations team gains visibility across the full cold chain: Tive provides transport tracking from the Solo 5G and Tive Cloud, ATEK provides facility monitoring from installation through long-term storage. Together, the two platforms create unbroken cold chain documentation without forcing a logistics tool into a facility monitoring role
When Tive May Be the Right Fit
Tive is the right choice for organizations whose primary monitoring need is in-transit supply chain visibility. Their Solo 5G multi-sensor trackers, cellular connectivity, real-time GPS tracking, and shock and light monitoring are purpose-built for knowing exactly what happens to products during shipment. Organizations focused exclusively on transport logistics — without stationary facility monitoring requirements — will find Tive’s platform, venture-backed development pace, and TMS integrations well-suited to their needs.
When ATEK Is the Better Choice
Choose ATEK when you need:
- Continuous facility monitoring for the products Tive tracked in transit — covering labs, pharmacies, cleanrooms, and cold storage after the Solo 5G’s last data point
- FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance with electronic signatures and ALCOA+ data integrity for stationary storage environments, beyond Tive’s transport-focused GDP framework
- A2LA-accredited calibration from a Canadian lab for permanently installed facility sensors, a service Tive’s transport-tracker model does not include
- 24/7 live support with a 5-minute response guarantee for overnight facility excursions, rather than business-hours logistics support
- Bilingual support and Canadian data hosting for Quebec and Canadian facilities with PIPEDA and provincial privacy compliance
Start with a free assessment to see how ATEK complements your existing Tive transport monitoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ATEK replace Tive for cold chain monitoring?
No — ATEK and Tive serve different parts of the cold chain. Tive monitors pharmaceutical products in transit using GPS and cellular-connected Solo 5G trackers. ATEK monitors facility environments where those products are stored after arrival — labs, pharmacies, freezers, and cleanrooms. Most organizations use both platforms together for complete cold chain documentation from shipment origin through long-term storage.
Can Tive’s Solo 5G trackers be used for facility monitoring?
The Solo 5G is designed for shipping cycles — deployed with a shipment, tracked in transit via cellular connectivity, then recovered for the next shipment. While the tracker measures temperature, it lacks the facility-specific capabilities required for stationary environmental monitoring: permanent multi-year installation, FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance, automated facility compliance reporting, room-level alarming, A2LA-accredited calibration, and IQ/OQ/PQ validation documentation.
How does ATEK work alongside Tive operationally?
The two platforms cover non-overlapping domains. Tive tracks your shipment from the manufacturer or distributor to your facility door via Solo 5G and Tive Cloud. When the shipment arrives, ATEK’s facility monitoring takes over — continuously monitoring the storage environment with real-time alerting, compliance documentation, and 24/7 support. Your operations team uses Tive for transport records and ATEK for facility records.
Is ATEK compliant with the same regulations as Tive?
ATEK and Tive address different regulatory frameworks. Tive targets GDP (Good Distribution Practice) for transport cold chain monitoring. ATEK provides full FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance, electronic signatures, ALCOA+ data integrity, and IQ/OQ/PQ validation documentation for stationary facility monitoring. For Canadian facilities, ATEK also addresses Health Canada and provincial regulatory requirements that transport-focused platforms do not cover.
How long does it take to deploy ATEK at a facility already using Tive?
Typical facility monitoring deployments take 2-4 weeks per site, including sensor installation, validation, and IQ/OQ/PQ documentation. Since ATEK covers facility monitoring and Tive covers transport, there is no system migration or data transfer required — ATEK installs as a new system alongside your existing Tive deployment with no disruption to active shipment tracking.
What is the risk of relying on a venture-backed startup like Tive alongside ATEK?
Tive has raised over $80M in venture funding and serves major logistics customers, which provides reasonable operational stability for the transport monitoring side. The complementary model actually reduces risk: if either platform were to change direction, the other continues operating independently. ATEK’s facility monitoring does not depend on Tive’s infrastructure, and vice versa. Each platform stands on its own for its respective domain.