shipments. The goal is to choose the right packaging, carrier, and route to make sure that perishable e-commerce shipments arrive in top shape, given the conditions they are likely to encounter. “The shipping solution needs to be dynamic,” says Juan Meisel, Grip’s founder and CEO. Weather can change, freeway traf c can grind to a halt, or the carrier that always delivers promptly on Tuesday tends to run late on Friday. “You can’t rely on at logic, where you say everything from Point A to Point B is always shipped in a speci c way,” he says. Many of its customers sell food, but Grip also serves companies that ship insulin, owers, and plants to consumers. Flowers and plants require sophisticated solutions because so many variables— temperature, humidity, time in transit, and more—can affect their condition. For instance, in some regions, winter temperatures can swing from 60 F one day to -10 F the next. “Based on where you’re delivering the box, you see the pattern and adjust for those conditions,” Meisel says. When an e-commerce merchant gets an order for owers, for example, the order management system shares the details with Grip’s solution. Grip’s software analyzes all the relevant details, such as the capabilities of various carriers, the types of packaging the shipper has available, the product’s requirements, and the weather forecast. Then it makes a recommendation. “We say, ship it from this building, with this carrier and this service, with this amount of refrigerant if they’re adding any,” Meisel says. Grip might also recommend adding a wet pack to the owers to keep them hydrated during a long transit in hot weather. In addition, Grip captures the feedback that consumers send to sellers, using data about the success of the delivery to inform future recommendations. Whether the shipment involves one dozen fresh roses, a carton of vaccines, or a truckload of chemicals, when process and technology come together to keep product at its optimal temperature, that’s a truly cool outcome. n
Chemical management solutions provider Rinchem maintains the right temperatures in di erent parts of a warehouse by installing redundant HVAC, fans, or refrigeration units. A temperature monitoring system provides 24/7 alerts.
STAY IN SPEC Rinchem, an Albuquerque-based logistics company that specializes in chemicals, handles a variety of temperature-sensitive materials, many of them used to make semiconductors.
Texas. The temperature strategy needs to adjust to those changes.
A breakdown while in extreme conditions can be dangerous for
chemicals that won’t tolerate too much heat or cold. “Sometimes we have only minutes, up to a few hours, to x it,” says Dustin Miles, vice president of global transportation at Rinchem. “If we don’t, the load goes out of spec.” Like its warehouses, Rinchem’s over- the-road trailers and ocean containers are equipped with remote monitoring systems that send alerts if conditions start to move in the wrong direction. On the road, a driver might make a correction, Rinchem might summon an equipment supplier to make a repair, or an employee might use the system’s remote capabilities. “We can do a diagnostic and try on our own to reset the temperature to ensure it stays on spec,” Miles says. When containers on the ocean start to move out of spec, Rinchem works with the steamship lines to make adjustments. GETTING A GRIP While many solutions focus on maintaining the cold chain once a product is in transit, Miami-based Grip Shipping takes a different approach: It helps companies plan how to execute speci c temperature-sensitive
Depending on the chemical’s characteristics and the shipper’s
speci cations, a product might need to stay at about 70 F, in the 35 F to 45 F range, or in the -13 F to + 5 F range. To maintain the right temperatures in different parts of a warehouse, Rinchem installs redundant HVAC or refrigeration units. “If a unit goes down, the room itself doesn’t go down,” says Zach Tabor, Rinchem’s director of operations. “We also have technicians on contract to service these units within two hours.” A temperature monitoring system senses imminent problems and automatically alerts the people who need to know, 24/7. “We get an e-mail or text, and we have an answering service on call,” Tabor says. At some facilities, managers can log in from home to assess the situation and make adjustments. Rinchem also must maintain the cold chain for chemicals in transit, with journeys that could extend across the globe and take as long as 70 days. A shipment might pass through several climate zones—for example, when traveling from the Paci c Northwest to
200 Inbound Logistics • January 2023
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