Ben E. Keith Partner Profile
Industry: Food and Beverage Distribution
Opportunity: Ben E. Keith once again partnered with Cooltrax to leverage next-generation telematics technology for best-in-class cold chain efficiency and safety across its ever-growing service area.
ABOUT
For more than a century, Ben E. Keith has been a leader in fine food and premium beverage distribution, striving to provide excellent customer service to all of its partners. The company’s food division is a complete broad line distributor servicing 17 states, and the beverage division serves more than 62 Texas counties and is a proud distributor of Anheuser-Busch InBev products, craft and import beer brands, spirits, fine wine, and non-alcoholic beverages.
Ben E. Keith Company is dedicated to the growth and success of its customers, industry, partners, and employees – continuing its commitment to delivering quality since 1906.
SOLUTION
Cooltrax Fresh InTransit solution, including next-generation, wireless next-generation TempTracker® remote temperature monitoring solution, providing real-time monitoring of refrigerated trucks and trailer at every step of the in-transit cold chain.
RESULTS
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Fully compliant with FSMA and customer requirements
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Increased customer confidence, satisfaction and loyalty
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Reduced demand/stress for drivers
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Lower insurance premiums
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Best-in-class installation and service maintenance expenses
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Further reduction of spoiled product shipments
“At the end of the day, everything we do is based on delivering high-quality products our customers can depend on. Cold chain management is absolutely central to that. Our relationship with Cooltrax has enabled us to dramatically simplify this very complex challenge – and they handled the entire implementation process, which made it virtually pain-free.”
Choosing a technology provider for the first time is an investment in possibility. Selecting the same provider a second time is an endorsement of tangible value. And for Ben E. Keith, one of North America’s largest food and beverage distributors, the value gained from its partnership with cold chain fleet solutions provider Cooltrax grows with each of the thousands of deliveries completed daily by the company’s nearly 1,300 drivers.
Ben E. Keith once again turned to Cooltrax recently to implement its latest Fresh InTransit monitoring solutions, which provide 24/7 trailer and product level temperature tracking. Among new technologies now leveraged across the distributor’s 17-state service area is the Cooltrax InTransit temperature monitoring system, a 24/7 real-time location tracking plus reefer and product level temperature monitoring solution for refrigerated trailers throughout the entire in-transit cold chain. This solution monitors all types of temperature-controlled climates, including trailers, product in storage locations and mixed operations. The solution also works seamlessly with the Cooltrax TempTracker remote monitoring system, a wireless, plug and play option.
“Our partnership with Ben E. Keith Company demonstrates both the power and accessibility of leading-edge temperature monitoring solutions for food distribution businesses of all sizes,” said Cooltrax President Mike Sharpe. “Our technologies provide continuous, detailed visibility into the trucks, trailers and products at every stage of the transportation cycle. And these solutions can be implemented very quickly and affordably by virtually any fleet operator.”
In addition to helping eliminate lost loads and reduce operational costs, Cooltrax Fresh InTransit solutions enable Ben E. Keith Company and other distributors to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty by documenting that products are maintained at safe temperatures. Additionally, these solutions dramatically reduce the responsibilities of drivers who previously were required to manually collect temperature data throughout their daily routes.
