From the moment a driver takes the wheel, distractions on the road and inside a vehicle can take the focus off of safe driving.

April has been designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month to remind drivers about distractions and how to practice good distracted-driving safety habits.

We have assembled tips from AAA and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to help keep motorists, movers and professional drivers safe when sharing the road.

In the coming weeks. more do-it-yourself movers will begin to share the road with professional truck drivers and motorists.

Additional vehicles on the roadway are among the many distractions all drivers face and challenge their ability to remain safe when behind the wheel.

Examples of distractions to safe driving include talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, adjusting the stereo, entertainment or navigation system.

AAA suggests drivers adjust things like seats, mirrors and climate controls before starting their journey. Avoid the temptation to reach for possessions that may roll around by storing them away.

Eat meals or snacks before you start your trip. If you decide to eat while driving, avoid messy foods that can take your attention away from driving.

If pets and children need your attention, pull over safely and resist the temptation to reach into the back seat, which can cause you to lose control.

For professional truck drivers, distractions can come from inside and outside their truck cabs.

While passing buildings or billboards, drivers could become distracted and suffer a momentary lack of focus.

• Turn off all unnecessary devices.
• Plan ahead.
• Don't multitask
• Keep your eyes on the road.
• Drive defensively

By taking steps to minimize driving distractions, no matter how small, you can help ensure your safety and the safety of other drivers on the road.

By Move Ahead Staff

Supply chain operations are always complex, and each link in the chain must operate as planned to avoid disruptions. The supply chain brings even greater complexities that must be managed to ensure overall success.

High consumer demands, just-in-time inventories and increasing government regulations are intensifying the transportation demands for food and beverage providers. Finding the right logistics partner is crucial to ensuring products arrive on time and as specified.

Here are seven questions you should ask your transportation and logistics partners to ensure an uninterrupted, successful supply chain.

How do you handle supply chain fluctuations or disruptions

is a key element within any supply chain. It takes on even greater importance within the food and beverage industry, which is vulnerable to weather and agricultural conditions. Shippers must sometimes shift their sourcing and routing of products with very little notice to ensure real-time supply and just-in-time deliveries.

What's more, within some segments of the food and beverage industry, volumes can spike during seasonal promotions, the holidays, or ahead of severe weather. That means shippers' transportation needs can shift quickly, as can available capacity.

You need a logistics partner that can minimize disruptions and flex rapidly. In addition to having its own fleet, Penske works with a network of over 15,000 carriers and adds new carriers daily — ensuring available capacity whenever shippers must respond to a seasonal surge, a change in suppliers, a large storm or a natural disaster.

Supply chain success depends on connectivity. Penske leverages its ® , which provides real-time status updates, to keep its customers informed. GPS tracking enables Penske to see where carriers are at any point in time.

ClearChain functionality also allows Penske to get out ahead of potential disruptions by monitoring real-time traffic and weather information along routes and near customers' locations. If a disruption occurs, Penske can work with carriers and shippers to find the right solution to meet customers' needs. Reacting to a disruption quickly can result in significant savings and ensure products arrive as scheduled.

How do you ensure the consistency of each load?

As consumers increasingly demand fresher products, food and beverage distribution companies face increasing challenges with consistent deliveries. Penske Logistics can help meet these challenges in several ways.

While shippers direct the parameters of each load, Penske Logistics uses its sophisticated technology to create, document and track shipments to ensure they meet shippers' specifications. Penske's ClearChain technology increases connectivity and allows users to drive accuracy.

What's more, Penske Logistics' temperature-tracking technology monitors temperature fluctuations throughout the length of the trailer. This monitoring provides early notification if a problem occurs, which allows Penske to address any temperature fluctuations before they become an issue.

Proper monitoring of temperatures ensures products don't spoil and prolongs a product's shelf life, appealing to customers' desire for freshness. Even slight variations matter. For example, raising the temperature of bagged salad from 34 to 42 degrees Fahrenheit during a shipment causes it to go bad five days faster, even though the product will be delivered perfectly intact.

How do you comply with food safety regulatory requirements?

As part of the , food and beverage providers, as well as their supply chain partners, must not only provide proof that they've maintained temperatures, but also must be able to track and trace products quickly in the event of a recall.

Transportation providers may also need to verify that mechanically refrigerated cold storage compartments or containers and thermally insulated tanks were precooled to the shipper's specifications before products were loaded. In addition, transportation providers must track temperatures while transporting perishable products to ensure food safety, which Penske does via temperature-tracking technology.

Through ClearChain, Penske documents each movement within the supply chain and maintains those records. Customers can pull up information quickly and easily when needed by shippers or regulatory agencies.

How do you provide rapid replenishment?

To accelerate freshness, some companies are creating separate supply chains for the different profit centers within their operations. For example, they may pull highly perishable items out of traditional distribution channels and put them in more rapid-replenishment distribution channels.

Replacing traditional truckload deliveries with smaller, more frequent deliveries of fresh items can ensure quality products maintain the longest shelf life possible. However, delivering smaller quantities shifts both warehouse and transportation practices, placing new demands on slotting, equipment and the labor force.

Penske addresses this in several ways. Within the warehouse, Penske engages engineers to determine the most efficient , placing high-velocity pick items as close to the door and as tight as possible to increase efficiency. Because slotting needs within the food and beverage industry frequently change, Penske also can adjust the pattern as new products are introduced or when volumes shift.

Utilizing different types of equipment, such as box trucks, can make rapid replenishment feasible, speed deliveries and improve utilization. Penske Logistics relies on 53-foot trailers and smaller, more agile trucks to deliver rapid replenishment items.

How do you track and trace products in the event of a recall?

Within the food supply chain, recalls are inevitable. To prevent consumers from getting sick and to protect their brands, food suppliers must be able to quickly when necessary. The ability to track products from farm to fork throughout the supply chain enables food distribution companies to intercept recalled items before they are delivered, or quickly thereafter.

ClearChain enables all parties within the supply chain to exchange precise data. Penske associates, shippers and transportation providers then use that data to pinpoint products' locations throughout the supply chain, including within the warehouse and on the truck, in real time. Tracking can also be used to monitor and document expiration dates and inventory rotation. ClearChain organizes data in a central repository, so it's easily accessible at a moment's notice, enabling quick action when necessary.

How do you clean food handling equipment?

Safety is paramount in the food and beverage industry. To properly sanitize equipment between loads, Penske Logistics uses detergent and water at a specific temperature. It also documents all sanitizing and makes those records available in the event of an audit. Penske takes responsibility for the chain of custody and provides evidence of what was done when.

Can you separate food products?

In the food industry, some products must be separated, which means products must be tracked, traced and monitored. Penske uses ClearChain to track and trace products, help avoid any type of cross contamination, and ensure proper handling for each product.

Food safety is a top priority for manufacturers and their logistics providers. Federal regulations require those involved in the transportation and distribution industries to meet specific food-safety standards, and Penske Logistics not only meets those regulations, but also goes above and beyond to deliver proven results.

"This is something we do because it is the right thing to do to keep our customers safe, meet our customers' quality expectations and keep people from getting sick," said Christy Sinclair, food safety manager for Penske Logistics.

Here are Five Areas of Emphasis for Penske:

1. Equipment

The equipment used to transport food and beverage products plays a critical role in keeping them safe. Penske specs late-model equipment and ensures it is maintained properly to avoid any equipment failures.

2. Sanitation

Regulations stipulate that the trailer has to be cleaned and in good sanitary condition, but they give no oversight as to what that means. Penske puts customized policies and procedures in place to ensure equipment is cleaned properly. There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to cleaning, and cleaning procedures can vary based on the type of product being hauled.

3. Third-Party Audits

Federal food safety regulations don't require third-party audits of locations, but they are useful to ensure all parties are meeting the requirements and utilizing industry best practices. What's more, some retailers require their providers to have an audit performed. There are different types of audits. One audit, for example, includes close to 240 elements. Penske works with its customers to identify which audit would be the best fit for their business model and successfully introduces those audits into their business culture.

4. Training

Penske provides site-specific training to its customers and its own employees. Penske has employees who are certified in preventive controls by the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance. Under the regulations, Penske could hold a single certification for the entire company, but instead has trained 50 of their associates. "We feel that makes us better able to deploy those practices and food safety as a culture," Sinclair said. Drivers handling certain products, such as meat or vegetables, must undergo training. However, as a best practice, Penske provides specific training for all drivers who are handling foods or beverages, even if it isn't required. Training is customized based on the customer and the product.

5. Recordkeeping

Regulations require shippers and their logistics providers to maintain paperwork on everything from cleanings to driver training for a specified period. Penske provides detailed guidance on what paperwork to keep and how long it needs to be available. "A lot of that information is electronic and there are different ways the paperwork has to be stored so they know it won't be altered or adulterated in any way," Sinclair said.

This current customer – one of the largest produce distributors and fresh-cut processors serving the Southwest region – relies on its equipment to get products where they need to be, when they need to be there. For the company's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), reliability is key. "We're dealing with a perishable commodity," he says. "I need my trucks to run 99.9% of the time."

He turned to Penske Truck Leasing to help him manage his fleet. "I look at Penske as a solution," he said. "The reliability and the consistency; that is the biggest value that I see."

At first, he was reluctant to lease, but quickly realized it allowed him to focus on the core aspects of the business. "I want my team focused on buying the right product and having the right inventory and not on maintaining trucks," he said. "Internal operations is our focus, and that is the value of having the lease take care of the transportation-related headaches. I'm not a trucking company, I'm a wholesale produce distributor. You want the crucial thinking in your business to be focused on what makes the company money."

Utilizing leases has helped the company reduce a number of risks and given the company's CFO increased flexibility.

Increase Equipment Uptime

The number one goal of operations is to fulfill the obligations to the customer, which means equipment uptime is crucial. "When a truck fails we irritate our customer. If I fail enough, I'm going to lose business and lose accounts," the company's CFO said, adding that regular maintenance increases the uptime, and if a truck needs a longer repair or fails in the field, Penske provides a replacement vehicle. "I just stress to whoever I'm talking to at Penske: I don't care how you get it done, just get it here and ready to run."

Spec the Right Equipment

The company's CFO said he finds value in the expertise of Penske to spec the right equipment to get the job done for his company. "I know that they know what I'm doing with the equipment and they're not going to go and spec 500 tractors that are completely wrong."

Remain Flexible

Several years ago the company's CFO realized he had the wrong truck for a new customer who was located at the top of a big hill. "If you have an underpowered truck, you're killing the truck trying to run it uphill. We got rid of the truck and replaced it," he said, adding that he has found it easy to work with Penske to get the exact equipment he needs.

Improve Agility

Leasing is a flexible alternative for the company's CFO. "If your needs change, [Penske] will work with you to try and have the right equipment. It's a phone call." That agility allows the company to pursue new opportunities without being bound by equipment.

Reduce Litigation Liability

Not maintaining equipment properly increases the amount of risk a company is exposed to, the company's CFO said. "In this day of everyone wanting to sue everyone for everything, if you don't have a full-service maintenance operation on your equipment, you're exposing yourself to huge litigation liabilities." With Penske Truck Leasing's full-service maintenance program, the company's CFO now has a record of when certain items were serviced or replaced. "When you have a third party doing it and it is documented, you have something to fall back on."

Reduce In-House Liability

Having a third party manage maintenance also reduces the liability an on-site maintenance facility carries with it. "My alternative is to build a shop and hire the guys; that is a lot of additional liability, particularly with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues you have to deal with if you're conducting your own maintenance on your property."

Retain Drivers

New, well-maintained equipment helps the company attract and retain quality drivers. "The right people value driving a relatively new unit that is in good shape and that they know is maintained," the company's CFO said. "When my transportation manager interviews guys and when they have their initial onboarding and training, they are impressed. The wrong guys don't care."

Support the Brand

The chefs and restaurants the company serves expect top-quality products that are handled carefully and safely. The company's CFO emphasized, "If you are going to be a top provider of high-quality food, then everything has to go along with it and the equipment is part of that."

QUICK FIGURES

• Employees: 300
• Annual Revenue: $21 Million
• Penske Leasing Customer Since 1995
• About the Company: This fresh produce delivery company operates a modern distribution fleet of 45 fully refrigerated trailers and bobtail trucks, which are all fueled on-site. Each unit is equipped with two-way communication dispatch systems, GPS tracking and a sophisticated logistics system to ensure their customers' product is delivered safely, with the care and efficiency expected. Real-time tracking software allows the company to plan delivery routes, schedule and track deliveries in real time and receive alerts of plan deviations. The detailed reports and analytics of the GreenMile tracking system improve productivity, reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction.

For Cold Front Distribution, a direct-store delivery supplier of frozen products, temperature is crucial. And it isn't always easy to find rental units that can maintain temperatures of 20 below zero. So when Kevin Hocum, chief financial officer for the Denver-based company, needed multiple high-quality reefers on short notice, he reached out to Penske Truck Leasing for help.

"They jumped on it," Hocum says. "Within two days they had units and delivered them to our site in West Texas. That was our first experience with ������"

Those units performed well. "Historically the rental units we get don't keep ice cream at a cold enough temperature," Hocum says. "The Penske units are much better maintained, better quality reefers. They have always been very clean and ready to go. From a safety standpoint, that is a big deal."

Based on that experience, Hocum and his team chose to rely on Penske for future leases. "Penske had no skin in the game," Hocum says. "But they came in and said they wanted to earn our business, and they did."

Cold Front Distribution currently uses a mix of full-service leases and finance leases, but Hocum says he will only use full-service leases going forward. "We don't have the bandwidth to have a group of people only managing the trucking. Time is money," Hocum says. "We've decided the only way to go is full service."

Ensuring Uptime

Having reliable trucks is crucial for Cold Front Distribution's operations. "Without the trucks, we wouldn't be able to run our routes. If we can't run routes, we lose revenue, and we all know lost revenue can't be made up. It is gone forever." According to Hocum, "If we have breakdowns and can't get rental units, it affects our top and bottom line."

Missed deliveries also damage the company's relationships with its customers. "We distribute for all of the major frozen food manufacturers. It doesn't make them happy when we can't make our customers happy," says Hocum. "If the customers are out of ice cream and frozen pizza, it creates a lot of problems for us, not just lost revenue."

Cold Front Distribution ensures uptime through the maintenance program included within its full-service lease, and through a contract maintenance program with Penske on its finance leased vehicles.

For Hocum, utilizing full-service leases makes more sense than adding maintenance riders to a finance lease. "It is more cost-effective, and the headache is taken out of our hands," Hocum says. "I've decided we are never going to use another finance lease. It will be a full-service lease, no questions asked."

Minimizing Residual Risk

Using a full-service lease helps Cold Front Distribution minimize residual value risk. "I'm not a used truck salesman, and I don't want to be in the used truck business," Hocum says. "The full-service lease is a far better way for us to go."

Streamlining Back-Office Operations

Hocum values the records maintained by Penske, which streamline Cold Front Distribution's operations. "You have the information and keep the data. In case of an audit, you have everything you need to get with the auditors," he says. "To have that additional support from your organization is a really big deal to us."

The back-office paperwork also reduces the administrative workload for Cold Front Distribution. "The invoicing is absolutely bar none the easiest to understand, whether it is a rental or a lease invoice," Hocum says. In addition, a full-service lease minimizes the time and effort the company invests in DOT licensing, all of which is handled by ������

Benefit the Bottom Line

While he doesn't have an exact return-on-investment figure from leasing, Hocum sees the advantages. "Some of it is hard to get your arms around as far as putting a dollar value to it," he says, "but suffice it to say, I know it absolutely adds to the top and bottom line."

QUICK FIGURES

• Company Sales: Nearly $100 million
• Employees: Just Under 300
• Total Fleet Size: Over 100 Vehicles
• Penske Leasing Customer Since 2005
• About Cold Front Distribution: Cold Front Distribution receives premium frozen food items from major manufacturers and delivers them directly from its fleet of trucks to grocery stores, convenience stores and food service accounts throughout its service areas in Colorado, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nebraska.

Poultry producers, navigate a complex array of supply and delivery challenges to ensure their food arrives fresh, wholesome, and on-time. When transporting poultry products, drivers must adhere strictly to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Drivers must be highly trained in food safety and compliance with expertise in material handling and storage. Further, the proper refrigerated trailer or refrigerated truck temperature must be maintained and monitored throughout the trip.

Given the need for highly trained drivers, well-maintained refrigerated trucks and trailers, and continuous trailer temperature monitoring, some producers are shifting transportation of their products from an in-house model to an outsourced transportation model run by a third-party logistics provider like Penske Logistics to what is called dedicated contract carriage (DCC).

Penske Logistics works with a leading poultry producer and handles transportation to and from up to seven processing plants, as well as a wide number of plants who perform the cutting and trim processing. The supplier has a 24/7 operation to ensure their customers receive the freshest poultry products possible. The poultry producer needed a partner that was dependable, versatile, and able to handle time-sensitive deliveries, as well as adhere to food safety, quality and FSMA requirements.

As an experienced logistics and supply chain partner with decades of experience in the food industry, Penske is able to increase the productivity of the food supply chain using the latest technology to help better plan daily operations. With both shuttle and over-the-road trucking operations, an extensive range of vehicles, including tractors and reefer trailers, along with equipment maintenance tracking, Penske was able to get the poultry supplier up and running quickly once it elected to outsource the trucking operation. Overall, the poultry producer now experiences an 8% savings to their overall budget and a 15% reduction in driver turnover.

To meet the requirements, Penske established efficient truck routes and implemented more routine stops. Penske also provided an additional value-added service by allocating an extra driver once a month to follow through on new protocols designed to meet food integrity and freshness guidelines. The extra driver provides additional manpower to ensure trailer integrity and make certain it's food-service ready.

Understanding the Importance of Delivery Preparation

To prepare for deliveries, grocers need to schedule labor to ensure staffing to load and unload items from the truck and onto the store shelves. As a result, on-time deliveries are critical.

Penske helps grocers prepare to receive deliveries by utilizing innovative geo-fencing technology, whereby a truck's onboard computer sends an email alert to a store when a driver is within a certain range of the store. Follow up alerts are then sent allowing store personnel to get organized and ready for the delivery.

Penske also developed a mobile application to provide real-time visibility of ongoing shipments. With this app, the customer is able to:

• Receive updates on routes operated by Penske Dedicated Contract Carriage (DCC)
• Set up watch lists of routes they want to monitor closely
• View a map showing current locations of their vehicles

Preventive Maintenance Impacts Bottom Line

Preventive maintenance for trucks and trailers is at the core of a strong maintenance program and Penske ensures any kind of mechanical repairs are routinely completed. This is essential in maintaining trailer temperatures throughout the cold chain by keeping refrigerated equipment in top mechanical condition. Using both Penske and another vendor for its reefer vehicles, the chicken producer now enjoys a 20% reduction in its overall reefer maintenance and a 33% decrease in reefer fuel consumption due to proactive maintenance practices instilled through Penske's DCC trucking operations.

SOLUTION SNAPSHOT

Challenge

• High driver turnover
• Lack of rigorous controls
• High reefer trailer maintenance and fuel consumption
• Lack of communication between locations
• Poor yard management
• Last minute pop-up loads
• Truck loading time

We Provide

• 24/ 7 Safety Program
• Smart Drive Camera systems
• Shuttle and over-the-road operations
• Class A Professional Operators
• Professional Experience Management team
• Top of the line Equipment
• Single phase reefer trailers
• Yard management
• Equipment maintenance

Impact

• 8% savings to overall budget
• 15% reduction in driver turnover
• 20% reduction in reefer maintenance
• 33% reduction in reefer fuel consumption
• Improved management processes and technology increase communication and yard control
• Improved grocer satisfaction with quality products delivered on-time

This global quick-service restaurant (QSR) is intently focused on how customers experience their retail stores and their products, which must be consistent and engaging each and every time. They seek logistics partners who share their high-performance standards—a 3PL who is flexible and willing to take a journey with them. Penske Logistics provides delivery of fresh goods, baked goods, dairy, frozen, and merchandise to restaurants throughout North America.

Since the relationship began, senior leadership from the QSR and Penske focused on aligning supply chain departments to uncover opportunities. Penske Logistics started with in-store delivery services in a single market. It has expanded to include transportation elements and the operation of cold chain storage and ambient distribution centers.

Supply Chain and Logistics Tools

With more than 500,000 deliveries a year for this QSR, having the right software and technology in place is critical for success.

According to Andy Moses, senior vice president of sales and solutions, Penske Logistics, a proprietary system helps design the most efficient routes with a route algorithm. Dedicated staff constantly redesign this QSR's routes for absolute optimization.

"We also invested in an entirely new fleet—new trailers with multi-temp units—and we rebuilt every single one of our distribution centers with larger coolers and freezers to support this restaurant's expansion.

"True to Penske's approach of providing customized solutions for each customer, we started by asking the customer what their requirements were and built a custom solution from there," said Moses.

"We look at their network, delivery frequency, hours of delivery, which activities our drivers will perform, and then build a network around those requirements."

Truck Driver Training

The deliveries to the QSR are sometimes made during operating hours as well as after-hours, which requires highly skilled drivers.

"For us, it starts with people," Moses explains. "We need the driver to be trustworthy and customer-service-oriented because about one-third of the stores are still open when a driver arrives."

Before new drivers are assigned a route, they undergo a training regimen that lasts two to three weeks. The training encompasses an orientation to Penske and the customer, along with a rigorous safety course. Following that is one-on-one training; then, shadowing an experienced driver on the route.

Complying with the FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is another aspect of training for Penske drivers, which covers proper temperature monitoring, safe handling of food and food storage, and deploying the right equipment to do the job.

"Training is one of the most expensive things we do," said Moses. "People say it's expensive to train, but it's even more expensive not to train."

Warehousing Solutions

As the relationship between the QSR and Penske matured, Penske Logistics took on additional warehousing responsibility, including the opening of a large regional distribution center.

Penske manages warehousing and delivery and management of fresh and baked goods, dairy and frozen products. Additionally, Penske manages receiving, warehousing and picking of complementing merchandise for company-operated and licensed stores as well as all items needed to support QSR openings and renovations.

Supply Chain Collaboration

"Communication between Penske and the restaurant is frequent and occurs across multiple channels and throughout the organizations," said Moses.

"There's a senior leadership channel, a mid-level channel and operational channels. We have weekly calls related to operations, finance and inventory. The best way to sum it up is that there's never a surprise in this network.

The constant communication helps the QSR view Penske Logistics as a true partner. We work on network design and investment decisions together because we have established a relationship based on communication. They know they could not be successful in their business without us."

SOLUTION SNAPSHOT

Challenge

Manage product distribution for multiple channels through a single facility.

• Company owned-and-operated stores
• Licensed stores
• Consumer packaged goods

Manage flow of seasonal products to company owned-and-operated locations.

We Provide

Warehousing and delivery of fresh and fresh-baked goods, dairy, frozen and complementing merchandise to company-operated and licensed stores with 24/7/365 coverage.

• Multiple voice directed pick locations
• 125+ tractors and approximately 150 multi-temperature refrigerated trailers
• 300+ drivers, 250+ warehouses
• 2,200+ stores supported
• 550K deliveries/year, 70% unattended

Receiving, warehousing, picking and shipping to company-operated stores and customers.

Management of all products supporting store openings and renovations (U.S.).

Impact

Electric Prechill: While in prechill/loading, trucks are connected to the building's electric grid saving fuel costs, reducing emissions and optimizing temperature for transit.

Meeting Metric Goals: On-time, accurate, damage free and cold chain compliant.

Custom Dispatch Tools: Customized metrics, reporting, and comprehensive driver activity management.

Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI): Earned IFS certification (International Feature Standard) at all food handling operations.

Engineering Support for Analysis/Re-design: Facility layout, product flow and cube calculation tool.

Productivity Improvements: Implemented voice-pick technology at seven of the operations and achieved 10% to 20% gains.

Activity-Based Pay and Productivity Incentives: Implemented and providing financial benefits.

Design, Implementation and Operation of a 580,000+ square foot facility supporting:

• 900+ licensed stores
• 80+ consumer packaged goods
• 1,300+ company-owned-and-operated stores

Transporting food and beverage products presents an increased level of complexity that must be effectively managed to ensure overall success.

From the importance of managing seasonal surge, contingency planning due to weather or agricultural conditions, complying with safety and regulation requirements, ensuring transportation cleanliness and creating best track and trace procedures, there are a wide range of food considerations that must be deliberated and executed to make certain products arrive on time and as specified. When it comes to transporting food and beverage products, there is no margin for error.

Choosing a Dedicated Contract Carriage (DCC) provider for your food and beverage operations is a critical step and it's important to identify your requirements and fully understand the benefits of a well-structured DCC arrangement before starting the selection process. That's why we created this guide – to make available the critical information you need to make the best decision possible.

As a grocer, food purveyor or foodservice provider, you know that if you don't deliver the freshest food in the safest manner and shortest time possible – with built-in cost efficiencies to boot – you're going to have some pretty unhappy customers. And customer expectations are increasing all the time.

There's a call for longer product shelf life, a consumer demand for the freshest offerings and a growing desire to know exactly where food came from. There's also a need, driven by multiple sources – including the Food Safety Modernization Act – to provide transparency and monitoring of every product from the moment it's harvested until it reaches the consumer's plate.

These are some tall orders, and the pressure is only increasing. But there is good news, and it comes in the form of a refined combination of human expertise and advanced cold chain technologies.

How Do You Ensure Fresh Foods Arrive as Planned?

It's all about process, procedure and reliability. Leveraging the right level of technology is key to creating efficiencies.

When you have reliable equipment, a checks-and-balances procedure, and a firm cold chain process in place, your goal of getting your product where it needs to go – safely, on time and in the least costly manner possible – is definitely within reach.

Technological Innovations

• Real-time tracking using GPS technology provides accurate temperature monitoring
• Active monitoring adjusts temperature if there is a fluctuation
• Passive monitoring provides a report at the end of the trip
• Bar code inventory tracking systems – down to the item level
• RFID devices that can be embedded into pallets or individual items

Technology in the Trailer

• Properly- insulated containers
• The right reefer unit for the job
• Proper use of bulkheads, chutes and venting
• Quality equipment: emissions-compliant trailers for optimum fuel- and cost-efficiency

Human Capital

• Committed training of personnel and drivers
• Firm grasp of proper loading techniques
• Ability to use the available cold chain technology to its fullest capacity

Looking for help? Here are some questions to ask a prospective leasing, transportation or logistics provider:

• How do I ensure my reefers are properly maintained?
• What innovations can I employ to extend product shelf life?
• How can I ensure my products do not carry food-borne illness?
• How do I handle reverse logistics?
• How do I configure my supply chain to maintain the visibility required for recalls?
• What measures can I take to ensure I am FSMA-compliant?
• How can I make the most efficient use of product transportation?
• How can I incorporate warehousing into my transportation solution?
• What tools can I use to determine product conditions during transit?
• How do I avoid temperature fluctuations or other temperature-related events?
• What precautions do I need to take in order to avoid product spoilage?
• What tools are available to identify waste in time and costs through the delivery process?

Getting cold foods where they need to go in a timely, cost-effective and safe manner requires creating a supply chain where every link is secure and efficient. The more you establish a system of reliable checks and balances, the better your outcomes will be – and the more satisfied and confident your customers will become.

How Penske Transportation Solutions Can Help

We have a team of experts ready to help you find the best solutions for your food and beverage needs, including commercial rental trucks and reefers, vehicle leases, logistics services and used trucks.

Unexpected spikes in food and beverage demand can cause far-reaching supply chain disruptions that affect everything from production lines to grocery store shelves, but challenges can also bring opportunities. Visibility and agility can help you respond to changing market conditions and flex up to meet evolving customer needs.

Adding Transportation Capacity

When transportation demand spikes, there are several ways you can ramp up your trucking capacity depending on the expected duration of the increase. Rental trucks and reefers can provide immediate supplemental equipment for a short-term or seasonal peak. They can also be a useful resource if you want to test a market before making a longer-term commitment.

Leases are another option if you're looking to add to your private fleet. You may even purchase used vehicles. We offer a comparative value analysis, which compares the cost of leasing with that of buying so fleet operators can make the best financial decision for the business.

You may also choose to partner with a third-party logistics provider, such as Penske Transportation Services, to expand your reach and capabilities. In addition to having our own dedicated fleet of trucks and drivers, we have an extensive freight brokerage operation with an expansive network of preferred DOT-authorized for-hire carriers to provide additional nationwide trucking coverage. Even if you're unsure of how much capacity you’re going to need in specific markets, a partnership with us allows you to react when opportunities arise.

Optimizing Your Transportation and Distribution Network

You can also increase capacity by becoming more efficient in your existing lanes. You can improve your efficiency through network optimization and analysis, freight management and backhaul opportunities.

An in-depth view of the full supply chain rather than its individual parts can help uncover inefficiencies. We use network modeling to help you identify which channels should be served by which locations, ideal supplier base locations, and the optimal positioning for brick-and-mortar warehouses.

Securing Critical Warehousing and Distribution Center Space

Recent cold chain disruptions due to COVID-19 have brought renewed focus to inventories and the value of having product readily available, said Michael Zimmerman, a partner with the global strategic management consulting firm A.T. Kearney and lead author of the 31st Annual State of Logistics Report.

The memory of lost sales and insufficient inventory has caused some retailers to increase inventory. That safety stock needs to sit in a warehouse. To help with these surges, we offer strategically located multi-client warehouse facilities and provide flexible space to accommodate seasonal and temporary needs.

How Penske Transportation Solutions Can Help

We have a team of experts ready to help you find the best solutions for your food and beverage needs, including commercial rental trucks and reefers, vehicle leases (including short-term options), logistics services and used trucks.

You need to know that shipments will arrive on time. If glitches occur en route, you must know about them immediately so you can adjust quickly and keep people informed down the line.

Merely having access to supply chain data is table stakes. To provide maximum value, you need visibility. It’s the key ingredient that allows everyone in the supply chain to access accurate information fast and use it to improve service and results.

Through technology, you can turn data into a secure, organized and easily accessible repository. This gives you a high-level view of the entire supply chain. It also allows you to dive into specifics — all the way down to the SKU number.

Visibility helps drive results in these four key areas:

• Drive Down Cost
• Improve Customer Service
• Supercharge Your Warehouse
• Mitigate Disruptions

1. IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE

Customer service is the key differentiator for brands today. Customers expect accurate and on-time deliveries every time. Companies that can’t quickly identify shipments within the supply chain run the risk of dissatisfied customers due to late or delayed deliveries. They also run the risk of incurring the wrath of carriers and shippers who may face chargeback fees for missed delivery windows.

Today’s supply chain technology provides real-time visibility, giving insight into each shipment to ensure it follows the prescribed route and schedule. You can request proactive updates at key times, such as when shipments are picked up, or they can dive into part-level details to determine exactly which products have shipped. You can also highlight any discrepancies between the final load and the original order and receive notifications for loads that are running behind, or ones that require special handling. By increasing customer service — and the number of on-time deliveries — visibility allows you to strengthen relationships with your final customers.

2. SUPERCHARGE YOUR WAREHOUSE

For warehouse providers, time is of the essence. You must know exactly what’s inside your warehouse and where it’s located so you can find it fast and replenish your inventory. If you don’t track each step in the process, you risk slight inventory variations that can cause supply chain disruptions.

Today’s technology offers visibility into the entire flow of inventory within your warehouse. This often includes receiving it into your system, moving it to a storage location, managing orders, directing associates to complete the order and accurately recording shipments out of inventory. It also helps manage yard traffic to optimize movement. We capitalize on this technology to work with our customers to manage SKUs, one of the most difficult tasks for many manufacturers and retailers.

3. MITIGATE DISRUPTIONS

Traffic headaches and weather disasters pose risks for all companies, often leading to rerouted shipments and port closures. Hurricanes and blizzards can shut down commerce for hours and even days. Major construction projects can cause daily supply chain headaches. While several potential issues create disruption, the cause isn’t as important as the work done both before and after an event occurs to mitigate its effect on the supply chain.

Many shippers and logistics providers, like Penske, use technology to overlay weather patterns from the National Weather Service and traffic information from the Department of Transportation over the area it serves. Shippers can also use GPS data to see carriers’ locations and can connect with drivers via cellphone to close any potential “black holes.” For Penske, if we suspect a disruption, we will work with suppliers to move materials as close to the plant or retail outlet ahead of time as necessary. Using real-time visibility, we can quickly set up a geofence around an impacted area and obtain supplier information on everyone servicing it. Behind the scenes, we work with carriers to aid in contingency planning, identify alternate routes and, if necessary, switch modes of transportation.

4. DRIVE DOWN COST

Processing and invoicing transportation-related expenses is complicated. Yet it brings potential rewards because the most efficient and effective billing process can quickly identify small errors that add up to large numbers. The more visibility you have into billing management, the better you can understand, manage and control your total transportation spend.

Technology can help you simplify and streamline the billing process with pinpoint accuracy. A payment tracking app provides carriers with rated amounts and charges based on a specific transaction. Because it also integrates our load planning services, the system confirms invoices match the transaction’s contracted rate. You also obtain a full audit trail for every transaction, get data to properly allocate freight costs, and gain insight that helps carrier partners get paid faster.

Penske has a team of experts ready to help you find the best solutions for your needs, including commercial rental trucks, truck leases, fleet maintenance, logistics services and used trucks.

Today's busy customers demand fresher, more appealing offerings from their grocers and convenience stores. To meet these needs, shippers must guarantee that deliveries will be on time, with built-in flexibility to respond when volumes spike.

To improve operations, shippers can utilize a mix of technology, equipment and expertise to leverage the supply chain, which works to reduce spoilage, offer a wider range of items than they may have had in the past and provide the freshest food products possible, and as a result, focus on their core competencies and better compete within the marketplace.

Maximize Your Food Supply Chain

1. Develop a Separate Cold Supply Chain

Freshness drives the food business. To accelerate that freshness, some companies create separate supply chains for the different segments and profit centers within a store. Here's how this separation works:

• Pull highly perishable items out of traditional distribution channels and put them in more rapid-replenishment distribution channels, often called fresh or cold chains
• Use smaller, more agile trucks to make more frequent, speedy deliveries
• Give the grocer the fuel efficiency benefits of smaller trucks for the rapid-refill items
• Build smaller warehouses, closer together for quick, easy access

Ultimately, grocers and shippers may create more geographically accessible warehouses to respond to this accelerated perishables track — a shift that would help solve the truck driver shortage, as many more drivers would be able to return home the same day.

2. Route Optimization

Many food shippers require multi-stop, properly sequenced deliveries, adjusting for minimum miles, specific delivery windows and curfews. These efficient delivery routes emphasize the commitment to freshness by serving stores as often as possible.

Here's how carriers optimize routing:

• Geo-fencing technology, where a truck's onboard computer sends an alert to a store when a driver is within a certain range, can be utilized
• Alerts allow the store personnel to get organized and be ready for the delivery, adding efficiencies all around

Grocers need to schedule labor, so on-time deliveries are critical in order to have the staffing necessary to load and unload items from the truck and onto the store shelves.

3. Involve Drivers

Deliveries to grocery stores include more driver involvement than deliveries within other industries, so hiring the right type of individual is key.

The driver/grocer relationship can be beneficial to both parties. Here's how you can make it work:

• Explain to the driver up front the demands of the job, ensuring driver buy-in
• Provide proper training, especially considering today's rapidly evolving material handling equipment
• Grocers will appreciate driver expertise and will collaborate for a seamless transfer of goods
• Drivers will feel empowered and want to deliver their very best

4. Scale Rapidly

Within the grocery segment, volumes often spike during certain times of the year. The ability to scale up quickly enables grocers to keep their shelves stocked, generating consumer loyalty. Volume spike periods include:

• Seasonal promotions and holiday demand
• Winter weather forecasts in some parts of the country

To take advantage of the surge in volume, being flexible is a must. Planning extensively in preparation of surges is also an important key to meeting operational needs.

5. Verify Cold-Chain Compliance

The Food and Drug Administration is continuing to craft its final regulations surrounding the Food Safety Modernization Act. Carriers know there will be new restrictions on food haulers, which will add to the complexity of food delivery. These regulations are bound to affect everyone in every segment of the food supply chain. Here are some ways carriers can prepare to be in compliance:

• Spec newer, late-model equipment and conduct routine maintenance
• Install on-board, real-time, GPS-enabled temperature tracking devices, designed to monitor and record temperatures within the trailer throughout a route, ensuring food safety from dock to customer
• Use RFID (Radio frequency identification) technology on pallets or items, for quick, easy traceability in the event of a food safety crisis

By taking these five steps to define and delineate your food and beverage supply chain, you will see greater cost efficiencies and time savings, while creating a more compliant-ready transportation model.

How Penske Transportation Solutions Can Help

We have a team of experts ready to help you find the best solutions for your food and beverage needs, including commercial rental trucks and reefers, vehicle leases and maintenance, and logistics services.

The refrigeration units on trailers keep products cold to ensure quality and safety, but the equipment can be more demanding than its dry van equivalent. Maintaining the units is the key to success.

At Penske Truck Leasing, we service reefer trailers more often than dry vans. Refrigeration trailers can have more demanding applications with multiple stops. Typically, in those applications, the doors are used more often, and there are liftgates that are used regularly, especially if it is a multi-temp unit that delivers to the food joints and c-stores of the world.

We also regularly check the refrigeration units and the insulation on the trailer and provide all required documentation.

Document and Validate

To comply with food safety regulations, private fleets need to document maintenance on vehicles to ensure they’re in compliance. It is best to check equipment regularly and keep records. For example, if your unit says it is 72 degrees, you better validate it is getting to 72 degrees. Today’s regulations require cradle-to-grave recording or management of the product.

The Influence of Seasons on Performance

We typically service equipment every 90 days or less, depending on the number of hours the unit runs. Maintenance can also vary by season. Summer is more demanding, especially with frozen items, so the unit is going to work a little harder.

Our goal is to keep you moving and ensure your products’ integrity. If you’re using refrigerated units, be sure to make equipment available for service at regular intervals to ensure it will operate properly.

Penske performs regular preventative maintenance on all our leased vehicles and can also be contracted to maintain your fleet to the same high standard.

For food and beverage shippers, at times, there are good reasons for turning to the spot market to secure truck capacity. In general, however, it is advisable to minimize this expensive freight transportation option.

How can you avoid this market of last resort, especially during periods of extreme uncertainty when supply chain needs often change unexpectedly?

Drawing on deep industry experience and cutting-edge freight management systems, Penske Transportation Solutions has developed an array of strategies for reducing over-dependence on spot market capacity.

Navigating Around the Spot Market

A spike in demand or incumbent carriers rejecting loads are among the many reasons why you may fall back on the spot market to find urgently needed truck space. And sometimes, the reasons might be out of your control. For instance, no one foresaw the blocking of the Suez Canal by a giant container ship and the subsequent disruptions to global supply chains. However, some changes that may steer you towards the spot market can be positive, such as an increase in orders from a new customer or the development of a new shipping lane faster than anticipated.

Still, having no other recourse than to pay costly spot rates often reflects inefficiencies in a freight transportation procurement system. There are various ways to avoid this contingency. Here are some examples.

1. Keep a close eye on rejections. An uptick in load rejections by carriers in the routing guide should raise red flags. For example, have you ceased to be a preferred shipper or have core carrier freight networks moved out of alignment with your own? Penske helps shippers monitor what happens in their acceptance rates and take remedial action, if necessary, before too many load rejections force the shipper to dip into the spot market.
2. Study load rejection time scales. We look at time horizons to understand at what point between when a shipment is tendered and scheduled to be picked up it is turned down by a carrier. The insights gained can help you reduce the likelihood of rejections, and better understand the mechanisms that underpin this behavior. A key insight is how much planning horizon shippers have when managing such failures. We believe the sweet spot, on average, is 48 to 72 hours.
3. Analyze broader patterns. Penske uses predictive analytics to map where load rejections tend to happen by region, lane and carrier connection point, and where they are likely to occur in the future. Armed with this information, you can better optimize your distribution systems to improve carrier acceptance rates and reduce the freight network's reliance on the spot market.
4. Have the data and visibility required to manage exceptions. Robust, clean data is essential to the effective management of a freight network. Without the right data, it is very challenging to understand what [network] adjustments have to be made. Superior supply chain visibility plays a similar role. For example, good visibility into freight movements and inventory positions can empower you to avoid high spot market rates by deploying inventory to manage a shortfall in truck capacity.
5. Review capacity sourcing strategy. We work with you to review carrier sourcing strategies as freight transportation requirements and the trucking market change. For example, in highly unpredictable food and beverage markets, it may be necessary to incorporate lanes into mini-bids. These short, more frequent bids give you the opportunity to refresh sourcing plans and pull freight back if necessary. Keeping a freight network attuned to current market conditions reduces its exposure to spot market carriers.
6. Collaborate with customers. Spot market capacity may not be needed if the customer agrees to delivery delays. We support you in these conversations with logistics information and advice. For example, we provide predictive ETAs that show whether delays will work for the customer.

Freight Market Volatility Continues

The volatility currently buffeting food and beverage businesses — and increasing their reliance on stopgap over-the-road capacity from the spot market — is expected to persist. This period of instability provides an opportunity for shippers to reassess their supplier commitments, contingency plans, and the ability of their distribution footprints to meet demand.

Penske has a team of experts ready to help you find the best solutions for your needs, including commercial rental trucks, truck leases, fleet maintenance, logistics services and used trucks.

The rise of digital technologies is changing the way food and beverage businesses operate, and advances in everything from artificial intelligence to blockchain have the potential to redefine companies while creating new opportunities. These advances are changing not only what is expected of businesses, but also what is expected of the leaders within the organizations.

The Business Side of Food and Beverage

Tata Consultancy Services calls the transformation Business 4.0. In a survey of 689 responses from senior finance executives in the United States and Europe conducted by CFO Research in collaboration with Tata Consultancy Services, about one-third of respondents ranked their finance functions’ digital capabilities in six categories as "moderate."

The six areas included analytics and measurement; agility and efficiency; business architecture; governance, risk management and compliance; shared services/business process outsourcing; and organizational alignment.

At Penske Transportation Solutions, we’ve focused on the digital capabilities that can benefit our food and beverage customers, and we have several solutions to help business owners capture, manage and utilize information so fleets can access data quickly and easily. This approach is particularly useful during planning, quarterly reviews and an audit.

Visibility and Data: Through Fleet Insight™, our proprietary online tool designed to give customers greater visibility and control of their fleet, business owners can access their data, including invoices, fuel planning information, and safety and compliance records, at any time. In addition, Fleet Insight allows customers to view and download information about any truck at any time.

Financial Reporting: Our billing and record keeping provides easy-to-understand information that is accessible online. This information is readily available for annual planning, quarterly reporting or in the event of an audit.

Fixed Costs: As business owners plan for the future, leasing can increase the reliable financial information they use for forecasting because expenses associated with a full-service lease are established in advance. Leasing can also free up capital that businesses can use to invest in new technology or growing the business.

Truck Technology: Equipment is advancing rapidly with manufacturers adding new safety features each year. By utilizing leases, fleets can keep the average age of their fleet low and take advantage of the latest technological advances, such as collision mitigation technology. This can also reduce insurance costs by reducing the risk of a crash, enhancing driver safety and improving driver retention, which can save on driver recruitment costs.

Data and Connectivity Drive Fleet Health and Improve Uptime

A reliable food and beverage fleet runs on data and fleet expertise. From knowing where your shipment is to ensuring that trucks are running at peak performance and temperature, data is a strategic asset, and Penske is using the vast amount of information from our data platform to improve the health of equipment, maximize fleet performance and improve uptime. That means that shippers who lease or rent from us can rest assured that the trucks delivering their products are up to the job.

Enhanced Fleet Performance

Marrying truck data with maintenance data leads to better uptime. Using data off the truck also enables more proactive solutions, including increasingly predictive maintenance, leading to improved fleet performance. This information is then used to identify failure rates and implement preventive maintenance practices allowing the ability to avoid potential failures and breakdowns altogether, ensuring that your refrigerated truck stays at optimal temperature and all your trucks stay on the road.

The data analysis process factors in the equipment's operating environment, geography and mileage to better identify maintenance needs.

Improve Uptime

And because data improves remote diagnostics, technicians can get to the maintenance faster, get equipment fixed faster and back on the road delivering your food and beverage freight faster. If a roadside event occurs, data from the truck is given to our 24/7 coordinators so they can pinpoint where the truck is, identify the right service technician for the job and ensure the right tools are available.

Connectivity also increases visibility, so we can monitor the timeliness of PMs (Preventive Maintenance), how many trucks are in for repair, the number of road calls on a particular day and overall fleet maintenance costs. Having the capability to identify trucks that may be costing more due to breakdowns and failures provides an additional benefit.

The overall goal is to use data to have greater insight into fleet performance, improve the health of the vehicles and keep your trucks running smoothly.

Increase Supply Chain Visibility to Gain Control

A strong supply chain is central to effective food and beverage operations, but anything from rapid growth to external forces can disrupt operations. When a cold chain is out of control, the right people, processes and technology can bring it back in line to improve service, optimize routes and reduce costs.

See the Entire Cold Chain

Having an accurate line of sight into each part of the cold chain helps keep it in check. Near real-time information is critical and knowing where products are and when they will arrive can speed decision making, ensure freshness, inform orders and help mitigate problems before they occur.

Improved visibility also directly affects inventory management. When all parts of the supply chain are connected, systems can combine data on inventory practices and levels with supplier lead times and anticipated demand to inform food and beverage ordering and production. That, in turn, improves fill rates and reduces backorders while also eliminating overstock and spoilage situations, which reduces inventory costs.

Compare Fulfillment Solutions

Data and visibility help shippers determine the cost service benefit of fulfilling through various means, which is becoming more essential in today's omnichannel environment.

Shippers also must factor in intangible benefits, such as customer satisfaction, public perception and, ultimately, customer retention.

Connect Essential Teams

Visibility lays the groundwork to connect teams, such as customer service, sales, procurement and transportation. That connectivity can identify how individual decisions will impact different stakeholders.

With multiple influences in supply chains, it is valuable to opt for the best overall option over something that may only be beneficial to one aspect of the cold chain.

Connectivity also makes it easier to identify exceptions, creating even more control, while greater visibility offers the ability to assess situations and potential solutions, allowing for more informed decisions.

That, in turn, ensures products arrive fresh and exactly when and where they are needed so no sales opportunities are lost. Having the flexibility to shift fulfillment can be even more important when demand surges.

A Reliable Fleet and Innovative Provider

At Penske, we're built on the strength and expertise it takes to own and maintain more than 300,000 vehicles. With that kind of experience, you can rest assured that we offer some of the best-maintained and reliable trucks, reefers and tractors in the industry. Additionally, Penske has decades of experience in all areas of the food and beverage supply chain.

Today's grocery shoppers are more demanding than ever, and grocery shopping has changed dramatically in recent years. Diversity and price remain important to consumers, but shoppers are also looking for convenience, fresh food and clean, well-stocked stores. Plus, consumers are increasingly buying groceries online. All of this creates unique opportunities for grocery providers and food shippers.

Preparing for Cold Chain Growth

The 2022 Third-Party Logistics Study found that 91 percent of shippers said they expect demand for cold chain capacity to increase over the next three years. Shippers (70 percent) also indicated that COVID-19 has accelerated their growth plans, increasing their need for more cold chain capacity.

Preparing for an Increased Focus on Fresh

Grocery stores have been evolving for decades, and today they have an emphasis on fresh foods like never before. According to the Packaged Facts report Food Market Outlook 2021: Grocery Shopping, Home Cooking, & Food Preferences in the Waning Pandemic Period, consumers prefer fresh meat and poultry over frozen varieties by a wide margin.

An earlier survey from Packaged Facts reported that consumers remain committed to fresh foods, as 75 percent said produce is most important in deciding where to shop, followed by fresh meat, poultry and seafood (60 percent), store-brand products (36 percent), local farms/produce (35 percent) and in-store bakery (29 percent).

Grocers and their cold chain partners can work together to ensure goods arrive on time, fresh products have the longest shelf life possible, food is kept safe during transit, and can be tracked and traced in the event of a recall. The ability to capture and share information in real time is critical.

A Checklist: Are You Prepared to Manage Perishables?

• Are you able to exchange data electronically in real time?
• Have you determined the level of tracking you need or will need?
• Can you provide traceability to easily track products in the event of a recall?
• Can you provide documentation to show proper temperatures were maintained during transit?
• Are you able to document product custody throughout the cold chain?
• Do your point-of-sale, warehouse management system or other tracking systems automatically capture and document all of the information you need?
• Are you confident you have the processes and procedures in place to maintain and document product integrity throughout the supply chain?

Preparing for an Emphasis on Convenience

The Food Marketing Institute’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2021 report found that the number of online grocery shoppers grew to nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of all U.S. adults, with newcomers from every generation. Frequency of online grocery shopping also increased, with more than one-fourth (29 percent) of online shoppers placing a weekly order.

The market research company Packaged Facts reported that the online grocery market nearly tripled in 2020. Additionally, Packaged Facts found that in June 2021, nearly one-fourth of consumers reported still using curbside pickup or grocery stores’ own delivery services more than pre-pandemic levels.

This added layer of service can help grocers compete with the growing number of retailers offering food and beverage items, such as c-stores, pharmacies and big-box stores. But providing omni-channel fulfillment creates new demands, particularly in the cold chain, which requires a certain level of sophistication from shippers.

A Checklist: Are You Prepared to Meet Customers' Needs?

• Do you have the technology to capture and share online orders with the warehouse?
• Do you know where you will pick your orders? Will you have an individual store double as a warehouse or will you use a traditional warehouse?
• Do you have the technology needed to streamline the picking process?
• Can your warehouse management system communicate with your transportation management system to help streamline deliveries and provide timely updates to employees and/or customers?
• Do you have the types of vehicles needed to access residential areas?
• Can your drivers provide the level of customer service needed for an in-home delivery?

Businesses in Every Industry Are Preparing for Omni-Channel

Consumers want to choose how and when their goods are either picked up or delivered. The Annual Third-Party Logistics Study: The State of Logistics Outsourcing has reported that most shippers offer cross-channel fulfillment. In 2019, the study presented a special section on omni-channel and found, at that time, that 60 percent of shippers allow customers to order online and have their order delivered to their home.

Shippers are increasingly aware that if they do not have the technological capabilities to accomplish their goals, they should partner with those that do. As the amount of available data increases, shippers will need to be able to take the information and make it relevant as many 3PLs are already making significant investments in technology that allows them to analyze shippers' operations.

Are you and your company ready to meet this grocery evolution head-on? If you need truck rental or leasing, cost-efficient warehousing options, more inventory visibility or flexible freight brokerage options, contact ������ We can help you develop innovative supply chain solutions to meet your customers' evolving needs.

Global population growth, increased consumer demand for fresh produce, and a wider variety of perishables are all driving the need for cold storage space. As a result, occupancy rates at cold storage facilities are at an all-time high. To maximize available storage space, companies are increasing efficiency.

Penske Transportation Services, which operates both ambient temperature and cold storage facilities for fresh channel clients, relies on technology, associate expertise and experience to drive operations for food and beverage industry customers.

We specialize in bringing in the people and leaning out the supply chain. Your focus is to make sure you have the right product on the shelf when the customer needs it. We focus on getting that product to the stores.

Penske has warehouse facilities to serve you and can also implement clean, safe and scalable warehousing solutions at your locations. We use our expertise to drive efficiencies within the warehouse walls and throughout the movement of goods. Here are eight ways we streamline cold storage and the fresh channel:

1. Network Management

You want to get their storage facilities closer to the grocery stores. We can help you evaluate your overall distribution network and the role of national vs. regional distribution.

2. Shrink Reduction

Reducing the amount of shrinkage and product loss is crucial in the cold chain. You demand that you receive and ship everything at 100 percent accuracy. If it isn't accurate, the result is two-fold. First, there is lost product, and second, there is a lost sale at your store.

To minimize shrinkage, we use a robust warehouse management system (WMS). We also leverage checks and balances within the technology to ensure proper product handling. In addition, this approach provides employees with extensive training to minimize the risk of product damage or contamination.

3. Employee Training

All employees within a Penske-managed cold storage facility undergo training on overall food safety and sanitation. Employees are also educated on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which outlines strict record-keeping and safety procedures, so they understand cross-contamination and the risks associated with food.

Within each distribution center, several employees are Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point-certified (HACCP). HACCP, administered by the Food and Drug Administration, is a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical and physical hazards. This includes raw material production, procurement and handling, manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product.

4. Combined Distribution Center and Transportation Management

By managing the distribution center as well as the transportation, we can collaborate better with the transportation group and increase visibility into the operation. This improves on-time deliveries and provides cost savings.

5. Efficient Slotting Patterns

The layout and slotting of products can drive replenishment rates and the efficient movement of goods within the warehouse.

6. Standard Operating Procedures

Penske Transportation Solutions can create and maintain efficiency through its standard operating procedures, which may cover everything from how products are received, stored, and put away to how they are picked, packed and shipped. This maintains quality throughout the supply chain.

For example, we create standardized processes around receiving through its WMS, which is integrated with its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that gets the orders.

That enables us to be more efficient when offloading and slotting products. For example, we put the heaviest items on the pallet on the bottom, so when they unload it at the store, they can do it in the most efficient way possible.

7. Cross-Docking Operations

Within facilities, Penske handles cross-docking operations for fresh food and flowers. Cross-docking is the practice of unloading goods from an inbound truck and loading them directly onto an outbound truck, reducing the need to store things in a warehouse.

At one location, cross-docking helps bring fresh baked goods, including donuts, cookies and brownies, to stores each day. The bulk-baked goods arrive at the warehouse via shuttle loads and are cross-docked in a temperature-controlled area. We then put together the racks that will be delivered to each individual store. Finally, we consolidate truck routes based on product need for each store.

8. Product Thawing

For retail outlets that offer freshly prepared products in the store, we can deliver flash-frozen goods, which it thaws before shipping to the stores, so they can be baked on site.

For one customer, we operate the regional distribution centers, then the consolidated distribution centers (CDC) and then dedicated contract carriage to take product to the stores. Within each CDC, we are taking the product, such as croissants, that are baked to 70 to 75 percent, freezing them and sending them to one of our cold storage facilities. Based on demand, we then take them from a freezer to a refrigerated area, then to the trailers to deliver the thawed product to the stores. At that point, they do the final bake at the store.

Taking a Multipronged Approach

By combining various methods to drive efficiency, Penske Transportation Services can provide reliable service and a quality product that meet retailers' demands with low shrinkage levels.

Contact Us Today

With emphasis on safety and flexibility, Penske Logistics is a global warehousing and distribution leader. Additionally, Penske offers numerous resources and solutions, including logistics services such as trucking, warehousing, and transportation management as well as rental or leased vehicles, and used trucks.

No matter the size of your business, supply chain networks can change quickly, and you must be able to react just as fast. Time-sensitive, fresh-food deliveries, lean supply chains, increased demand uncertainties and shorter product lifecycles all necessitate the ability to adjust food and beverage operations when change arises. Having an agile supply chain can give you a strategic advantage over your competition and allow you to handle disruptions or take advantage of new opportunities.

Here are three scenarios where the ability to address rapid change is critical:

Unexpected Changes to Consumer Demand

Sometimes it is hard to forecast what consumers will want or when they will want it. When the pandemic first hit, for example, there was a surge in demand for toilet paper packaged goods. Severe weather, such as a hurricane, can also cause a run-up in demand as consumers stock up on food and beverage supplies to make it through the storm. Even a chicken sandwich that goes viral or a hot toy that takes off at Christmas can leave shippers scrambling to ramp up production as well as transportation capacity.

Seasonal Spikes

Some industries have expected, distinctive peaks and can plan ahead. Grocers anticipate an increase in purchases around holidays, particularly Thanksgiving, Christmas and Memorial Day. Home improvement stores know that spring and summer tend to be busier. If you know you have seasonal spikes coming, preparing in advance can help you ebb and flow seamlessly with shifts in demand.

Network Disruptions

Natural disasters, factory shutdowns, port closures or even a supplier failure can cause companies to seek out alternative suppliers, which can create dramatic shifts in transportation needs. If this happens to you, you may experience longer lengths of haul, need to find capacity in new routes or regions or seek out a new mode. You could also experience different equipment needs and transition to a larger or smaller piece of equipment depending on your capacity requirements.

How Penske Can Help

We have several options to help you flex quickly with food and beverage market transitions, including commercial rental trucks, truck leases (including some short-term options), logistics services and used trucks. Our team of experts can also help you if you are suddenly faced with a crisis or opportunity, and they can assist in proactive planning, so you're ready before the next surge or shift hits.

If you operate a private fleet in the food transportation industry, it is critical you comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Implemented by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the FSMA aims to improve safety and prevent spoilage. Receiving facilities and companies that transport food have been required to adhere to the rules since 2018.

Benefits of Compliance

Complying with the FSMA protects not only consumers but also your private fleet’s brand as it reduces reputational risk and limits liability. Private fleets must use equipment that meets the FDA’s standards and show that food products are handled correctly during transit.

Failure to comply can have huge financial costs. If anyone in the supply chain becomes aware of possible temperature control failure or other conditions that may render the food unsafe during transportation, the food cannot be sold or distributed. The costs can add up quickly, and in addition, failure to comply with the FSMA is prohibited, subject to injunction and criminal prosecution.

Understand the Rule

While broad, the FSMA includes specific elements devoted strictly to transportation. Under the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food rule within FSMA, shippers and carriers involved in transporting human and animal food must follow recognized best practices, such as protecting food during transportation, properly refrigerating it and cleaning vehicles between loads. The rule applies to:

• Foods transported in bulk (such as juice)
• Packaged foods not fully enclosed by a container (such as fresh produce)
• Foods that require temperature control for safety

FSMA Includes These Requirements

Vehicles and Transportation Equipment: The design of vehicles and equipment used in transportation operations and the materials used in their manufacture and their workmanship must be “suitable.” Equipment must be “adequately cleanable” to allow the sanitary transport of food. In addition, the rule specifies “vehicles and transportation equipment must be stored in a manner that prevents harborage of pests or becoming contaminated in any other manner that could result in food becoming adulterated.”

Transportation Operations: FSMA defines this as “all activities associated with food transportation that may affect the sanitary condition of food,” subject to certain exceptions. Transportation operations must be conducted “under such conditions and controls necessary” to prevent the food from becoming filthy, putrid, decomposed or otherwise unfit for food or rendered injurious to health.

Temperature Controls: For food requiring specific temperatures, vehicles and transportation equipment must be equipped, as necessary, to provide adequate temperature control. The FSMA requires shippers and carriers to agree to procedures for monitoring temperatures within the trailer or truck body, when applicable, and private fleets must provide temperature-related documentation.

Written Procedures: Under the rule, carriers must develop and implement written procedures subject to recordkeeping that describe practices for cleaning, sanitizing and inspecting vehicles and transportation equipment used to transport food. In addition, carriers and shippers must maintain written procedures and records related to equipment cleaning, prior cargoes and temperature control for 12 months.

Information Exchange: The act establishes procedures for exchange of information about prior cargoes, cleaning of transportation equipment, and temperature control between the shipper, carrier and receiver, as appropriate. For example, a carrier transporting bulk nondairy food must ensure vehicles that have previously hauled milk will not introduce allergens into nondairy food.

Training: Under the final rule, private fleets must provide training about potential food safety problems, basic sanitary transportation practices and the responsibilities of the carrier.

Additional Specific Requirements: The FSMA further dictates several specific requirements, ranging from pallets to hand-washing.

Spec the Right Equipment

Both refrigerated trucks and trailers must be FSMA compliant. Newer, late-model equipment can make this easier. For example, the right trailers, such as those with multi-temp trailer compartments, may help maintain product temperatures.

Staying FSMA compliant also means embracing a proactive preventive maintenance process (PM). It minimizes the risk of breakdowns, which could leave loads sitting and compromise load safety. PM also helps private fleets detect risks that must be addressed before they become a larger problem.

Although the rule provides some flexibility regarding how to track temperatures, private fleets still need to show proper product handling during transit. This can be accomplished using reefer units on trailers that record temperatures, which can be checked manually or by installing on-board, real-time, GPS-enabled temperature-tracking devices.

Embrace Track-and-Trace Technology

As part of the FSMA, those within the supply chain must be able to track and trace products in the event of a recall. Utilizing transportation management systems and GPS monitoring can help private fleets pinpoint the exact location of a load if a shipper needs to halt the delivery. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology on pallets also can ensure quick and easy traceability in the event of a food safety crisis.

Educate Employees

If the carrier is responsible for the sanitary conditions during transport operations, then carrier personnel must receive adequate and documented training on sanitary transportation practices. They also need training on awareness of potential food safety problems that may occur during food transportation.

Be Prepared

Build a game plan to ensure you meet all FDA regulations. Spec the right equipment, prepare your employees and document your procedures. These steps will help you ensure compliance, mitigate your risk, and protect your brand reputation that you’ve worked so hard to build in your marketplace.

Penske has a team of experts ready to help you find the best solutions for your needs, including commercial rental trucks, truck leases, fleet maintenance, logistics services and used trucks.

Food and beverage products in the fresh channel must be delivered on time and intact, which means retailers must work with reliable, proven supply chain and cold storage partners. To ensure success, retailers should look for these five key traits in their cold storage provider.

1. Visibility Tools

Visibility is crucial to ensure freshness and availability in the food and beverage industry. When it comes to cold storage, visibility allows people within the warehouse to see not only what is inside the four walls, but also what is en route and what is needed. For example, Penske’s warehouse management system (WMS) is integrated with the customer's enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that sends the orders. When the warehouse receives a purchase order and/or an advance shipping notice, associates know what is on the trailer before it hits the dock. We can then have the right labor in place and be more efficient when offloading and slotting product.

2. Streamlined Communication

The ability to collaborate and communicate increases third-party logistics providers' (3PLs) and shippers' ability to plan and execute the movement of the goods. Through our technology, the transportation management system (TMS) and WMS can also communicate with each other, giving companies the ability to build loads accurately and ensure shelves are never empty.

3. Food Safety Certification

Food and beverage industry professionals should ensure their 3PL follows food safety storage guidelines. Within each Penske-operated distribution center, several employees are Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)-certified. HACCP, administered by the Food and Drug Administration, is a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical and physical hazards. This includes raw material production, procurement and handling, manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product. We also follow Current Good Manufacturing Practices and focus on the cleanliness of our buildings.

Because food safety is the top priority, all employees within a Penske-managed cold storage facility receive training on overall food safety and sanitation. Employees also receive education on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which outlines strict record-keeping and safety procedures, so they understand cross-contamination and the risks associated with food.

4. Track and Trace Capabilities

Some products, such as common allergens, must be segregated within the food supply chain. So having the ability to monitor, track and trace products to prevent cross-contamination is crucial. We operate a technology platform that allows associates and shippers to pinpoint products' locations throughout the supply chain, including within the warehouse and on the truck. The technology also includes checks and balances to ensure products remain segregated, and it flags any potential issues.

5. An Emphasis on Efficiency

Given the nature of perishable products, the warehouse must be managed and organized to optimize the movement of goods. We have engineers who can design the warehouse layout and slotting patterns based on a product's replenishment rate, which drives efficiency. How a product is slotted varies by location, and there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. That's why we take a customized approach to each customer's specific needs.

Contact Us Today

With emphasis on safety and flexibility, Penske Logistics is a global warehousing and distribution leader. Additionally, Penske offers numerous resources and solutions, including logistics services such as trucking, warehousing, and transportation management as well as rental or leased vehicles, and used trucks.

From knowing where your shipment is to ensuring that trucks are running at peak performance, data is a strategic asset, and Penske is using the vast amount of information from its connected fleet solutions to improve the health of its equipment, maximize fleet performance and improve uptime.

Connecting Fleets

With our connected fleet solutions, Penske marries the data off of the trucks with our maintenance data to create better uptime. Penske can take data from 300,000 vehicles and begin to see patterns of codes that might indicate an issue. Without that scale, you would never have the amount of data you need to get that benefit.

Enhanced Fleet Performance

Using data off the truck enables us to be more proactive and leads to a more customized maintenance solution for improved fleet performance. Penske uses the truck data to identify failure rates and shape preventive maintenance practices to get ahead of a potential failure. We also know which combination of vehicle fault codes can lead to a breakdown and work with our shops and our customers to proactively schedule a truck for service to get ahead of potential issues before they become a problem.

The data analysis process factors in the equipment's operating environment, geography and mileage to better identify maintenance needs.

Because data improves remote diagnostics, technicians can be more prepared to get equipment fixed faster and get your drivers back on the road faster. If a roadside event occurs, data from the truck is given to Penske’s 24/7 coordinators so they can pinpoint where the truck is, identify the right service technician for the job and ensure the right tools are available.

Connectivity also increases visibility, so Penske can monitor the timeliness of PMs, how many trucks are in for repair, the number of road calls on a particular day and overall fleet maintenance costs. We can drill down to see which truck is costing more and help you determine if it is time to replace that truck.

The overall goal is to use data to have greater insight into fleet performance, improve the health of the vehicles and keep the fleet running smoothly. Penske takes multiple streams of information to make the data actionable. The tools help us deliver a better experience and keep costs low.

A Reliable Fleet

A fleet leasing solution from Penske is built on the strength of the entire Penske fleet. As a company, Penske Transportation Solutions owns and maintains a fleet of more than 300,000 vehicles. With that kind of expertise, you can rest assured that you will be running some of the best-maintained and reliable trucks and tractors in the industry.

The supply chain is a critical component of any business, and supply chains must function even when things don't go as expected. Having a contingency plan enables you to react proactively if an unexpected event or opportunity, such as a surge in activity, occurs.

While planning ahead has always been important, the recent pandemic has only accelerated the need for executive contingency planning – especially as it relates to transportation, warehousing and fulfillment to meet rapidly shifting consumer demand and preferences. There are several critical components of an effective supply chain strategy.

Flexing Up or Down

When creating a contingency plan, you need to give yourself options to flex up or down as needed. We offer several resources you can integrate into your contingency plans, including rental trucks and short- and long-term leases. You can also turn to logistics providers to obtain the space you need through a dedicated or for-hire fleet.

Adding Capacity

You can boost your fleet capacity through rental trucks or short-term leases to handle fluctuations in demand. If there is a sustained increase in demand, you can invest in equipment through long-term leases or used truck purchases.

Removing Inefficiencies

Successful fleet management often includes a combination of rented, leased and purchased vehicles, and you can evaluate routes, delivery days, times and volumes to identify and remove inefficiencies. By drawing on data from historical, current, and predicted routes and volumes, you can make informed decisions about the right mix of equipment and the optimal size fleet. The combination can shift based on seasonal or operational changes.

Becoming More Agile

To increase agility, you can establish and maintain relationships with alternative suppliers. This could require the use of multiple carriers, new routes or different ports. Enabling choice allows you to control costs and service levels in normal times, and it creates flexibility when there is a supply chain disruption.

Optimizing the Supply Chain

To optimize the supply chain, you can review your network design. An effective network can ensure companies operate efficiently during difficult situations or typical growth scenarios.

At Penske, we have invested in sophisticated technology that can use supply chain data to create models to run 'what-if' scenarios using different ports, warehouses or plant locations, as well as alternate suppliers, varying levels of inventories and different modes of transportation to find the optimal network.

Ultimately, contingency planning can mean the difference between success and failure, and is an important aspect of risk management, business continuity and disaster recovery.

We offer numerous resources and solutions for companies creating a supply chain contingency plan, including logistics services such as trucking, warehousing, and transportation management as well as rental or leased vehicles, and used trucks.

The business world is full of unknowns, but there are several ways leasing can help you minimize transportation-related risks so you can focus on your core competencies.

At Penske Truck Leasing, we provide a range of services designed to help you solve delivery challenges unique to the food and beverage industry. From pickup through delivery, we can help you spec the right vehicles and maintain them throughout the life of the lease. Here are a few ways a full-service lease helps you minimize risk.

Control Costs

Leasing provides a lower upfront capital investment and predictable monthly payments, which ensures there are no surprises that negatively impact your budget. Because financing costs are established in advance, there is no concern on what costs will be long-term.

Along with greater predictability, leasing provides increased visibility into overall life cycle cost, allowing you to make more informed decisions regarding your future equipment needs. Leasing also frees up capital for use in a company's core business.

Improve Safety

As part of our overall transportation solution, we provide a comprehensive maintenance approach throughout the term of the lease. A rigorous preventive maintenance program ensures that the equipment is reliable and doing the job it is intended to perform, from the vehicle's in-service date until the end of the lease. That, in turn, helps you attract qualified drivers, promotes your brand, increases customer satisfaction and improves safety.

Safety also protects your brand, reduces reputational risk and can limit liability. If you don't have a full-service maintenance operation covering your equipment, you're exposing yourself to potential litigation liabilities. When you have a reputable third-party provider maintaining the equipment and documenting every repair, you have something of substance to fall back on.

To ensure your entire fleet is optimized and running safely and efficiently, we offer comprehensive maintenance programs for customer-owned vehicles. And with refrigeration units on trailers also playing a critical role in keeping products, we service and maintain them as well, ensuring your food arrives as intended.

Increase Uptime

If today's high-tech vehicles are not properly maintained, you run a higher risk of vehicle breakdowns, incidents or accidents. At a minimum, improper maintenance can result in missed customer deliveries and may tarnish your reputation. If left uncorrected, the consequences can be significant, including reductions in customer loyalty and associated economic drains on cash flow and growth revenue.

In reality, even the best-maintained vehicle may need service or repair while on the road. Through our dedicated, company-owned 24/7 roadside assistance group, we provide hands-on experts to communicate with your driver as well as update your management team throughout the process until your driver and equipment are rolling again.

In instances where the vehicle is temporarily inoperable, we provide a comparable substitute vehicle from our fleet of late-model units to minimize any disruptions to service. If a replacement vehicle is necessary, the speed of delivery is crucial, and we get you back on the road fast.

Protect CSA Scores

Nearly two million roadside commercial motor vehicle inspections were conducted last year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reported. A well-maintained vehicle minimizes the risk of a violation at a roadside inspection, which helps you maintain your scores as part of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program that calculates fleets' safety ratings and determines which fleets warrant intervention.

Not only is an intervention time consuming and potentially costly, a portion of CSA data is public and can be viewed by customers, shippers and potential employees.

CSA scores are becoming more important to drivers as inspections now follow drivers for three years as part of the FMCSA's PreEmployment Screening Program. While a number of violations ultimately come down to the driver's responsibility, some are dependent on the carriers and private fleet operators, which is making some drivers more selective about who they will work for. Private fleet operators with the best maintenance ratings are more likely to attract qualified drivers while simultaneously improving their CSA scores.

Obtain the Correct Equipment

To optimize operations and efficiency, it is important to spec the right vehicle for the application.

We will sit down with you to examine historical data and understand routes, capacity, drivers and freight, ensuring everything is covered. With the facts in hand, we work with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to build vehicles for optimal performance and fuel efficiency that meet your exact needs. We have the experience and expertise in multiple industries to find the right equipment for the job.

Full-service leasing also provides flexibility in the number of vehicles you keep. Whether it's new customers and unexpected growth, or just your busy season, you can easily and cost-effectively supplement your fleet with our rental trucks. Our lease and contract maintenance customers enjoy discounted rates on Penske truck rentals.

Plus, we proactively support you when you experience changes in your operations or increased customer demand.

Stay Compliant

We also monitor regulations, which helps ensure the equipment you are running is in compliance with state and federal regulations.

Additionally, Penske can help you stay compliant with the requirements of the food safety modernization act (FSMA). According to the act, the design of vehicles and equipment used in transportation operations and the materials used in their manufacture and their workmanship must be “suitable.” Equipment must be “adequately cleanable” to allow the sanitary transport of food. In addition, the rule specifies, “vehicles and transportation equipment must be stored in a manner that prevents harborage of pests or becoming contaminated in any other manner that could result in food becoming adulterated. For food requiring specific temperatures, vehicles and transportation equipment must be equipped, as necessary, to provide adequate temperature control. The FSMA requires shippers and carriers to agree to procedures for monitoring temperatures within the trailer or truck body, when applicable. Penske has extensive expertise in these areas.

Focus on your Core Competency

If your business is like many others, transportation is not your core focus. Utilizing a lease helps you minimize the amount of time you spend managing and monitoring the transportation side of the business. Let us do what we do best: take care of your fleet.

Penske has a team of experts ready to help you find the best solutions for your needs, including commercial rental trucks, truck leases, fleet maintenance, logistics services and used trucks.

July 2016 / Updated January 2022

Operating at peak efficiency and minimizing risk are at the core of any successful business. Penske Transportation Solutions helps you manage costs through a range of logistical and truck leasing solutions.

There are three fundamental approaches to reducing and controlling costs within the supply chain: avoidance, mitigation and improving performance. Understanding each helps you decide which is more likely to deliver the most bang for the buck within their supply chains, along with what measures need to be taken to capture the full benefits.

1. Avoidance

Cost avoidance is achieved through structural change in the organization. For example, specific employees may be focused on transportation management, but the team is not centralized or coordinated, and that may provide an opportunity to deploy them more effectively.

In such cases, you must pinpoint the gaps in organizational performance and identify best-in-class solutions. Often, it is easier to explore these options with a third-party logistics provider (3PL) than to undertake an in-depth review internally. Outside eyes can offer a unique perspective that may be difficult for people entrenched in the day-to-day to see and may also offer insight gained from working in other industries.

Another route to cost avoidance is to review and rationalize your technical resources. Rather than making significant investments in advanced transportation management system (TMS) technology, you might choose to outsource that function and engage a system managed by a 3PL. When you work with us, you can take advantage of the investment dollars in our system and the in-house expertise we have to run it. This approach can be especially advantageous when existing solutions are not delivering sufficient value. An example is a software-as-a-service solution that fails to provide the analytics or data visualization features required to support your supply chain management goals adequately.

2. Mitigation

Mitigation measures address issues before they impose an unnecessary cost. Some partners provide better network visibility tools that enable you to track inventory more efficiently and reduce the amount of product you have to handle and store.

Other cost mitigation strategies might be increasing the reliability of a distribution network or using predictive analytics to streamline decision-making in the supply chain. Raising the efficiency of a distribution network can translate into improved on-time delivery performance and hence dollar savings in the form of reduced penalties for late deliveries.

Better decision-making delivers cost savings on many fronts. Consider, for example, if you are preparing for a peak in demand. The ability to make more informed decisions helps you secure carrying capacity for the surge in shipments ahead of time at more competitive rates compared to what you would have paid without the intervention.

3. Performance Improvements

In this approach to cost reduction, you can focus on the current state of the supply chain and opportunities to improve performance.

Network optimization falls into this category of cost savings. There are several ways to approach this strategy. Evaluating the entire network — including sourcing locations and product demand — drives performance improvements by, for instance, analyzing which warehouses stock which products and which routes are the most efficient.

Another option is to create what-if scenarios to determine how altering certain elements — specific suppliers or cross-docks, for example — impacts costs and transportation. A third possibility is to leverage improved communications to increase visibility and capture efficiencies through, say, better ways to build loads.

Dynamic routing, the load tendering process, and sourcing strategies are other primary areas that are often ripe for improvement in the quest to cut costs.

Penske is often able to employ leading-edge technology to help customers discover cost savings they may be overlooking.

Planning the Road Ahead

Choosing which approach, or combination of methods, to pursue depends on your goals and the nature of your business and organization.

If you are decentralized, that can present significant opportunities for cost avoidance, but your time horizon sometimes impacts which approach to take. One objective may be to capture short-term cost savings; another is to possibly secure mid- to long-term targets that can be realized by relocating distribution centers to meet customer needs better. We work to deploy all three cost management strategies.

Whichever track you take; you need to be aware of what's involved in advance if you are to derive maximum value from the exercise.

Mitigation, for instance, is inherently forward-looking, and it helps if you are open to change and to viewing how success can be delivered by working with different tools and working through change management challenges.

Penske has a team of experts ready to help you find the best solutions for your needs, including commercial rental trucks, truck leases, fleet maintenance, logistics services and used trucks.

In a transparent supply chain, every link has access to relevant information on the origins and status of products. Transparency underpins consumer trust—a key relationship at a time when the safety of food supply chains is coming under intense scrutiny.

It's not surprising, then, that achieving supply chain transparency has become a hot-button issue in the food and beverage industry.

Critical Ingredient: Communications

An important feature of transparency is that it depends, to a large extent, on a company's ability to exchange information with partners. It can't be achieved in isolation. Visibility, on the other hand, is less dependent on communication across the supply chain.

Shay Scott, executive director of the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee, makes this clear in the trade journal Inbound Logistics. "Visibility provides a company with knowledge of activities across its supply chain; transparency is what and how it communicates that knowledge to customers, partners, and stakeholders."

Transportation Challenges

There are many ways in which you can enhance supply chain transparency. A notable example is addressing information black holes in transportation legs, where gaps in visibility can lead to transparency issues and loss of sleep for shippers.

For instance, rising less-than-truckload (LTL) and small parcel volumes make it more difficult for shippers to track product flows. An informal survey carried out by Penske Transportation Solutions for our customers in the food and beverage industry indicates that there are five LTL shipments for every single truckload shipment; a ratio that is reflective of the industry as a whole.

There are several reasons for soaring LTL volumes. The incursion of e-commerce into the food and beverage business is one driver. Catering to online buyers requires food companies to ship in smaller quantities. Other drivers include increasing demand for niche products and a general tendency for companies to ignore manufacturers' minimum buy quantities in a volatile competitive environment.

LTL tends to increase shipping touchpoints and cross-docks, reducing supply chain visibility in the process.

Another pain point is mismatches between requested delivery and appointment dates. A company requests a date for the delivery of a shipment, but the receiving dock sets a different date. This mismatch can even occur within the same organization, remaining undetected until a truck turns up at a dock and can't be loaded or unloaded because it's not on the facility's schedule.

A critical area where food supply chains can become opaque is in lot control visibility. This is a major issue in the transportation of products, such as fresh produce, that are supplied by countless growers and prone to bacterial infections. Each batch of product has a lot control number, and failure to keep track of these numbers creates dangerous visibility gaps.

You can play a critical role in addressing transportation visibility issues. You can deploy technology such as transportation management systems to track shipments and disseminate information, analyze freight networks and help shippers identify exceptions and information disconnects. Predictive analytics is one of the tools beneficial when trying to anticipate and avoid problems.

Innovations Ahead

The pressure to deliver improved transparency in food and beverage supply chains is unlikely to abate. Consumers are demanding more information on the foods they buy in retail stores and service outlets. High-profile cases of foodborne illness outbreaks have ratcheted up these demands. In response, regulators are introducing tighter food safety rules. Moreover, shippers need to respond to increasing supply chain complexity with innovative approaches to raising the efficiency bar.

But new tools and methods are emerging. Innovative technologies can provide a wide range of new data on truck performance. Vehicle automation is another source of operational data being mined. More sophisticated modeling that uses technologies such as machine learning is turning this data into actionable intelligence. Blockchain-based solutions are at an early stage of development but could facilitate the flow of information between stakeholders.

We continue to enhance our technology platform while also building industry partnerships. Our expertise and the technologies we employ can help you improve transparency within the cold chain by closing the loop with business analytics and ensuring that information is not lost or overlooked.

The way the world does business has evolved and, as a result, it continues to affect the way supply and distribution networks operate in both the short and long term. Stores are experiencing fluctuations in supply. At the same time, groups such as farmers are having trouble with moving goods to the people who need them. Restaurants are adjusting delivery and outdoor seating models to meet current guidelines, while also planning for what the future holds. These ever-evolving changes have affected businesses in significant ways with the need for agility more important than ever.

Having access to the right vehicles can help no matter what your size or type of operation, allowing you to quickly pivot and keep up with rapidly changing landscapes.

Perishable Goods

Perishable goods typically require a refrigerated vehicle, or "reefer," which keep food at a controlled temperature and help maintain freshness and quality, meaning a longer shelf life and less waste.

At Penske, our reefers have up to an 8,000 lb. payload capacity to handle many of your food, beverage and other temperature-sensitive transportation needs. We offer both CDL and non-CDL refrigerated trucks as well as refrigerated trailers in our rental fleet, and they can be rented on a long- or short-term basis.

Non-Perishable Goods

If you are transporting non-perishable goods, choosing the right commercial truck starts with knowing the capacity you need and your delivery route. There are several questions to ask that will determine what's the best vehicle to meet your needs:

• Will your drivers be operating on busy highways and crowded center-city streets?
• Do they need a truck that is easy to park and maneuver?
• Will they require up to 900 cubic feet of vehicle loading space?

Answering yes to any of the above-mentioned questions means a light-duty truck is the right choice to meet your needs. Our light-duty fleet includes high roof panel vans, 12-foot through 18-foot box trucks, along with 16-foot or 18-foot cabover trucks. Our trucks are designed to provide plenty of cargo space and efficient fuel economy. The trucks also feature a tight turning radius, allowing drivers to get in and out of tight spaces while delivering food and beverage products to and from urban stores and warehouses.

Large Non-Perishable Loads

If you need more loading space, 1,700 cubic feet or more, a medium-duty commercial truck might be the best answer for your food and beverage needs. Ideal for larger loads, our medium-duty fleet includes 22-foot, 24-foot and 26-foot CDL and non-CDL trucks. Our late-model fleet of medium-duty trucks will benefit food and beverage customers through improved fuel economy, better overall performance and reliability.

Overcoming the Obstacles of Shipping Food

Whether you're handling variances within the food supply chain, or you're the owner of a restaurant trying to serve your customers, we are here to help you keep your business moving forward. We have the people, processes and vehicles you need to get the job done.

The food and beverage industry continues to adopt changes that impact sustainability. Food insecurity, food waste and packaging remain key areas of focus. And you can make sustainability a core part of your strategy by looking at partners that take an end-to-end approach to environmentally friendly practices. This extends from not only optimizing warehouse operations but integrating sustainability initiatives into the transportation process to reduce your environmental impact.

But with so many environmental compliance initiatives centered around your food and beverage operations, applying sustainability initiatives to your fleet may seem overwhelming.

Bring Clarity to Maintenance Tasks

Documenting the fluid disposal and recycling process from your fleet vehicles can be complicated, requiring both time and money. Fortunately, partnering with Penske Transportation Solutions can remove this burden.

We possess the knowledge and tools to ensure your vehicles comply with environmental standards. This includes the proper management of waste streams and used material disposal. Routine training, both online and through the classroom, is provided to all of our technicians to ensure proper storage and disposal. In the unlikely event of a spill, our team has the training and resources necessary to report, contain and perform spill recovery.

All automotive fluids, including oil, antifreeze and brake fluid, are considered regulated wastes, and those who handle them are considered waste generators. It is the waste generators' responsibility to manage the disposal of the fluids properly and track their disposal from cradle to grave, which includes ensuring there is a paper trail of how much was generated, how much was picked up, who picked it up, when it was picked up and where it went. To be compliant, records have to be maintained on-site for three years.

Because the burden is on the generator to prove all facets of waste disposal, we have a team to monitor the process. We perform financial and environmental compliance audits of all of our oil vendors that pick up automotive fluids. That oversight allows us to monitor how vendors manage the automotive fluid waste once it gets into their hands. Even though the vendor has taken possession of it, the waste technically belongs to us. If a vendor mismanaged the fluids and disposed of them incorrectly, the burden is put back on the generator to ensure it is cleaned up, which could result in excessive costs.

A Trusted Partner

We proudly support and participate in the EPA's SmartWay Transport partnership, promoting environmental best practices. As a responsible corporate citizen, Penske is committed to managing our environmental impacts everywhere we do business.

To learn more about how we can help you meet your sustainability goals, please contact us.

If you operate a private fleet in the food transportation industry, it is critical you comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Implemented by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the FSMA aims to improve safety and prevent spoilage. Receiving facilities and companies that transport food have been required to adhere to the rules since 2018.

In the pages of this e-book, you will learn:

• The benefits of compliance
• FSMA requirements
• How to spec the right equipment
• And more

Download and read the e-book and begin creating a modern transportation management solution that fits today's business needs.

Finding a warehousing option that works for your cold chain is paramount to managing surges and achieving growth. Doing so in a tight market while ensuring food and beverage safety and regulatory compliance can seem difficult.

Multi-client warehouses offer a solution that allows you to move inventory closer to customers, maintain visibility, and expand your business footprint while reducing costs.

With Penske’s dedicated Food Safety Leadership, our food-grade warehousing locations employ temperature tracking technology and are monitored through rigid internal auditing processes for food safety, ensuring your cold chain stays fresh and your customers stay happy.

Download and read the e-book to learn how Penske can take your business to the next level.

At its heart, transportation management helps companies move freight at the lowest possible cost. And while cost remains an important consideration, so too do customer service, inventory control, change management and multiple other priorities.

This new e-book from Penske Logistics explores nine additional ways that modern transportation management solutions drive a competitive advantage. You'll learn how having quick access to real-time data increases visibility. You'll uncover secrets on how to become a shipper of choice. And you'll learn how to choose a solution that will scale with your company as it grows.

Download and read the e-book and begin creating a modern transportation management solution that fits today's business needs.