One of New England’s largest independently owned supermarket chains, Big Y, is improving its fleet logistics with new trailers equipped with Carrier Transicold X4 7300 refrigeration units and the eSolutions platform for remote monitoring and control.
Big Y has initiated replacement of two thirds of its 70 refrigerated trailers through Ryder System Inc., with Carrier Transicold of Southern New England (CTSNE) providing the refrigeration units and telematics support.
The eSolutions platform provides continuous visibility of Big Y’s cold chain assets via a centralized data stream that shows trailer temperatures, location and movement. The platform also enables remote control of refrigeration units.
“We have a very robust program for monitoring temperatures and conducting food safety checks,” said Steve Creed, Vice President of Logistics and Distribution, Big Y. “The Carrier Transicold telematics system is an important contributor to that initiative.”
In addition to monitoring trailer temperature, the eSolutions platform offers the following:
- Provides notifications as trailers come and go from geofenced areas assigned to Big Y’s distribution center and key locations within its retail network.
- Locates unused or underused trailer assets, including those dropped by Big Y’s third-party logistics provider at vendor partners, where they may be idle for a few days until loaded.
- Monitors trailer precooling time, so as to minimize fuel waste.
- Optimizes refrigeration unit performance for fuel efficiency and product protection.
- Helps avoid emergency call-out situations where a refrigeration unit must be reprimed because it ran out of fuel. Fuel level monitoring sensors enable dispatchers to receive low-fuel alerts via eSolutions, and units can be programmed to automatically shut down before running out of fuel.
- Improves refrigeration unit uptime through use of continuous analytic and diagnostic information provided about unit performance, as well as immediate alerts if a warning condition occurs on a unit in service.
Within Big Y’s expansive service footprint, the refrigerated trailers serve more than 70 supermarkets and 12 convenience marts throughout New England.