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Whether you are a small fleet operator or a fleet of significant size, acquiring and maintaining a competitive edge typically is the difference between companies that experience progressive growth with profitability and those that experience the pain of decline. In the world of refrigerated warehousing and distribution, a competitive advantage is greatly influenced by sound product management practices and driving operational efficiencies. To acquire these advantages, technology is now playing an intricate role by analytically identifying opportunities not previously recognized or available by traditional processes. Although every responsible perishable food operator has incorporated proprietary procedures and policies to protect the integrity of the products they sell, the industry continues to routinely accept a level of inventory shrinkage or loss as a condition of doing business. Therefore, what would be value to an organization to out-perform their competitors by reducing this traditional cost of doing business even by a modest percentage? Answer: the rewards can be significant in a multitude of ways. A primary example is food temperature related. If not supervised adequately, improper temps will result in spoiled goods, reduced shelf life, customer complaints or rejected loads. With so many variables involved when refrigerating product, technology is now educating handlers to the numerous blind spots which may exist creating non-saleable or unsafe product. Real-time applications and alerts that sense not just ambient temperatures, but those that evaluate the core temperatures of products, allow management to proactively make educated decisions regarding perishable goods status. Contrast this with the reactive decisions once it has been determined there was a failure within their cold chain. Although one of industry’s worst dilemmas is unknowingly shipping temperature abused products to market that could jeopardize public health far more common is the impact of a rejected load. A rejected load is a failure of all – the transporter who has to scramble to back fill the order, the retailer who must manage a potential lost sale and the customer who goes home empty handed. Co-mingled within technology that offers real time reporting on the temperature conditions of perishable foods should also be the means to manage specific assets and their cost of operations. Cooltrax, a provider of wireless technology for warehousing and transportation, supports features that generate critical data for evaluating asset performance along with ability to quickly react before the load is completely compromised. From trailer utilization, reefer conditions, fuel consumption, fuel theft or door security, Cooltrax’s technology keeps assets under the microscope of perpetual evaluation. With the cost of refrigerated transportation constantly on the rise, every means to keep operational expenses in check needs to be systematically employed. In an environment where the slightest competitive edge may mean the difference between success and failure, choosing the most effective resources to manage your business is most critical. When selecting technology that protects your perishable food products and contributes to the better management of assets, make your selection carefully. There are those applications that provide simply general information and those that offer a truly in-depth analysis. Therein lays the competitive advantage.
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Competitive Advantage, Fresh inTransit, Refrigerated Fleet Operations,
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