BOSTON, MA - Linked arm-in-arm, Tive and Braga Fresh recently hosted an exclusive webinar to discuss the importance of maintaining temperature control across the perishables supply chain. C-level executives, directors, and department leaders in logistics, shipping, and supply chain tuned in for the event, which was held on April 12.

“Improper handling and inconsistent temperature control in the distribution of fresh produce can quickly lead to quality issues, food safety concerns, and food waste—and many problems arise during the transport of produce, where shippers and end retailers have the least amount of visibility,” Lauren Seigle, Senior Marketing Programs Manager at Tive, told me. “Many logistics professionals understand what temperature tracking is and why it is important, but many still struggle to implement it at scale.”

The goal of the webinar was to highlight how temperature tracking is a critical solution to many of the complex challenges of fresh produce transportation, and to shed light on best practices for how to use this technology. It was produced by Food Dive and moderated by Food Dive’s Laura Beth Ezzell. The speaker panel consisted of Sergio Torres, Logistics Manager at Braga Fresh and Rajah Nagarajah, Team Lead, Food Vertical at Tive.

Attendees had a front-seat view of the blooming partnership between Tive and Braga Fresh.

“Tive’s real-time temperature tracking has enabled Braga Fresh to actively monitor the location and condition of its shipments, ensuring 100 percent on-time delivery of produce that is at its highest quality with maximum retail shelf-life. This improves not only the bottom line—by reducing lost loads and rejections—it upholds brand reputation for Braga Fresh at both the end-consumer and retailer level,” Lauren continued. “Historical data provided by real-time tracking via the Tive platform also helps Braga Fresh analyze carrier and route performance—enabling them to make informed decisions down the road.”

Other key takeaways from the webinar include:

• You can’t fix what you can’t see—real-time temperature and location monitoring is key because if you find out a temperature excursion has occurred when the produce shipment has arrived, it is already too late
• Addressing temperature excursions and delays in real time isn’t just about preventing loss and spoilage, though that is a major driver of ROI; getting the produce to the store as quickly as possible—and with the least amount of damage—ensures maximum quality and shelf-life
• Knowing that a truck is arriving late can also help shippers and receivers take action to alleviate any delivery or inventory issues—as opposed to sitting, waiting, and guessing
• The FDA’s New Rule for Traceability under FSMA also requires that shippers have temperature data about shipments for perishable commodities such as produce, meat, and seafood within 24 hours—if the FDA requests it upon arrival. Having reliable, real-time data instantly available in a cloud-based platform is crucial for compliance

The webinar can be viewed on demand here.

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