US company Cooltrax, a provider of real-time cold chain tracking and monitoring solutions for temperature-sensitive products and mobile assets, has announced that Schwan’s Global Supply Chain has selected the brand's “Fresh in Transit” system to equip its fleet of refrigerated trailers with real-time reefer management.
Founded in 1952 as a one-man-and-a-truck home delivery business in Marshall, Minnesota, the Schwan brand has become one of the leading frozen food marketers in the world, employing about 14,000 people and operating from about 500 locations around the globe.
The privately held company maintains the largest private fleet in the US and markets hundreds of premium frozen food products worldwide through its three major business units that serve its food distribution channels – home delivery, retail grocery, and food service. Hence maintaining product freshness is essential for both preserving brand and customer loyalty, and for maintaining trusted relationships with its customer.
Since 2009, the company has evaluated Cooltrax technology and its ability to provide real-time reporting of fridge status, asset location, cabin temperature, and door status. Such information provides Schwan’s Global Supply Chain managers operational insight critical to proactively managing their rolling stock.
“The Cooltrax monitoring tools reach beyond the interface with our refrigerated units,” said Lee Cummings, private fleet manager, Schwan’s Global Supply Chain. “The independent wireless sensors provide a critical layer of information about our trailer’s ambient temperatures, as well as spot checks on core product temperatures. With this tool we can validate that our standards for temperature consistency exceed company policy, which translates to exceptional product quality to our distribution arm.”
“Fresh in Transit” tracks the location of refrigerated trailers and reefers, monitors all aspects of the performance of the fridge unit, and provides independent reefer temperature monitoring using combined telemetry and wireless technologies.
Schwan’s Global Supply Chain will now implement Cooltrax throughout its entire private fleet serving the subsidiaries of The Schwan Food Company, which delivers branded products to over 500 affiliate depots each week.