Using Thermo King Connected Solutions for Smarter Fleet Operations

Frigo-Trans and Freight Line Europe, international cold chain transport and logistics providers, ensure greater visibility, remote monitoring, and proactive control in their day-to-day operations with Thermo King Connected Solutions.

The comprehensive telematics offering from Thermo King®, a leader in transport temperature control solutions and a brand of Trane Technologies, enables them to turn data into practical intelligence and deliver maximised value to their customers.

“Connectivity is essential in the cold chain. By providing visibility, remote monitoring, and proactive control, telematics can ensure the condition of any load in transit remains optimal,” said Raluca Radu, product manager for Connected Solutions at Thermo King. “With two-way communication and the vast quantities of data we can collect and make use of 24/7 – our customers have insight to make their fleet operations smarter. They can monitor and react to events from door openings and ambient temperatures, to vehicle fuel levels and driver behaviors. Frigo-Trans and Freight Line Europe took advantage of the existing technology and created a competitive edge in their temperature sensitive cargo logistics.”

Freight Line Europe is a Dutch provider of logistics services specializing in the refrigerated transport of both fresh produce and other goods between the Netherlands and the UK and France. They improved their fleet operations by integrating Thermo King Connected Solutions into existing fleet management and track-and-trace systems. This not only enabled them to monitor temperature fluctuations in real time, and respond immediately, but their planners also have everything visible on one screen instead of continuously switching between two or three displays.

“Controlling the cold chain is essential nowadays and customers expect a professional logistics service provider to be able to remotely monitor their trailer movements and temperature fluctuations,” said Marco van Velthoven, fleet manager Freight Line Europe. “A professional track-and-trace solution is absolutely indispensable. If a driver accidentally sets a refrigeration unit at +20instead of -20 degrees Celsius, with the right telematics system we can react immediately and easily remotely adjust the refrigeration unit.”

“We turn the data into operational intelligence every day, and Thermo King Connected Solutions tick all the boxes for us,” continued van Velthoven. “Our fleet management team mainly uses the alarm code section, where we can see what problem occurs on each individual trailer unit. Customer services use the tools to immediately show our customers that the goods are transported at the right temperature. The planning team mostly leverages the track and-trace capabilities.”

Frigo-Trans is a Germany based company with over 25 years of experience in developing and operating tailor-made, end-to-end pharmaceutical logistics. Implementing the Good Distribution Practices (GDP) compliance requirements, Frigo-Trans use Thermo King Connected Solutions for 24/7 fleet monitoring and complete management of their refrigerated vehicle fleet.

With the telematics system in place, their pharmaceutical customers are assured of smooth distribution operations and reduced risk of damage and wastage of their high value medical and pharmaceutical products.

“We continuously invest in the latest technology and our logistics services to be able to respond flexibly to new demands. Without the connectivity and telematics, we could not run our Cool Chain Control business model,” said Martin Krasinski, managing director at Frigo-Trans. “We’ve relied on Thermo King’s refrigeration units and their truly unique service network for years. Before we started using Thermo King telematics, we run tests with various other providers. It’s Thermo King Connected Solutions that simply lead the way. They ensure us with continued data transmission, without which we could not qualitatively run and maintain our operations.”

Click HERE to view the video with statements from Freight Line Europe and Frigo-Trans.