Did you know that North America is the largest region in the global refrigerated truck market, and accounts for over 30% of the world's reefer market? It should really come as no surprise, though. If you stop and think about how massive and spread out the continent is; how there’s over 500 million people that are (hopefully) eating fresh vegetables, fruits, or frozen food each day, and how these supply chains depend on tens of thousands of reefer trucks and drivers who diligently replenish the stock we find in our favorite grocery stores. Food shippers big and small are responsible for sourcing, packaging, packing, distributing, and transporting these time-sensitive commodities. Many of them outsource their transportation and supply chain management to third-party logistics providers (3PLs) who specialize in food and beverage logistics and supply chain solutions. This article takes a look at how tech-driven 3PLs like Wicker Park Logistics are helping food shippers streamline their operations and cut their transportation costs.
Why Do Food Shippers Use 3PLs for their Reefer Loads?
It’s fairly costly to own, operate, and maintain your own fleet of reefer trucks. Most food shippers partner with food logistics providers to service their reefer loads. As the food industry heads into produce season, the U.S. truck market usually experiences fluctuations in reefer capacity, as drivers head to cities like Nogales, Laredo, Salinas, and Yakima for the huge volume of fresh produce loads. Wicker Park Logistics offers a range of value-added services that bring a lot of value to food shippers, such as:
- On-Demand Reefer Capacity Sourcing
- Customizable API that Integrates Seamlessly into Existing Databases
- TMS Enabled Visibility
- Streamlined Communication
- Data Analytics and Route Optimization
- Tracking and Tracing Notifications on All Loads
- 24/7 Customer Support
Dedicated Reefer Truck Capacity
Food shippers often struggle with securing dedicated reefer capacity on some of their lanes. Unfavorable market conditions can happen at any time throughout the year, and can lead to major supply chain disruptions. Food shippers cannot afford to be late with their time-sensitive shipments. When their customers place purchasing orders, there’s an expectation that the product will arrive on-time and in full. As a means to alleviate some of the challenges that food shippers face with their capacity and surges in volume, Wicker Park Logistics guarantees food shippers with on-demand reefer capacity. Combining the latest technology with dedicated fleet service provides shippers with immediate access to a network of vetted reefer carriers, ensuring that the best trucks are matched to the best loads.
Total Supply Chain Visibility
One of the major challenges that food shippers face involves monitoring their supply chain, and making sure that their reefer trucks they source are doing their jobs. If a New York food terminal places an order for 24 pallets of berries, there’s an expectation that the truckload will be delivered in less than a week. How do shippers gain visibility on a load like this, and make sure the driver gets loaded on time, averages 500 miles a day, and gets to the receiver before the appointment time?
Wicker Park Logistics provides food shippers with TMS Enabled Visibility on all loads, a technology that offers unprecedented end-to-end visibility through the lifecycle of each shipment. Using a customizable online portal, food shippers have access to up-to-the-minute load updates, GPS tracking updates, and delivery notifications, all with the click of a button. This ensures that food shippers are never left in the dark on the status of their refrigerated freight.
Save on Transportation Costs through the Power of Automation
Automation is helping food shippers reduce their overhead. Modern transportation providers integrate technologies into their service, giving shippers the ability to analyze their operations to find ways to optimize routes more efficiently, cut the time and labor spent on manual data entry, and reduce accessorial fees like detention and late delivery charges. Through the power of technology, companies like Wicker Park Logistics are offering shippers a way to visualize their data to determine means to reduce budgetary costs.
Maximize The Efficiency of Your Supply Chain with Wicker Park Logistics
Shipping refrigerated freight requires experience, excellent communication, and a dedicated source of quality reefer trucks to ensure that time-sensitive perishable commodities arrive when it ought to. Wicker Park Logistics helps food shippers streamline their supply chains, providing the power of technology to offset some of the common challenges found in the food logistics industry.. Each day, thousands of customers depend on Wicker Park Logistics to provide on-demand reefer capacity to cover their time-sensitive shipments. Their cutting-edge technology empowers shippers to gain real-time visibility on their refrigerated freight. From the first mile to the last mile, Wicker Park Logistics has you covered. Call an Expert at Wicker Park Logistics today!
