Rail Transportation of Floriculture Products
GreenRail, an initiative of FloraHolland/VGB executed by Jan de Rijk Logistics, organizes rail transportation of floriculture products via conventional rail links. Rail transportation is highly suitable for the ornamental plant and flower industry for long-distance travel. It’s cheaper and the CO2 emissions are up to 50% less.
Help Reduce Cost and Spoilage of Temperature Sensitive Cargo
DuPont and Cargolux, both members of the CCA have jointly developed a new solution for transportation of temperature sensitive products like perishable and healthcare products.
Real-Time Event Monitoring to Improve Quality of Perishables
CCA Members Cool Chain Group, Rungis Express and Xtreme Technologies have worked closely together to test a state-of-the-art technology solution to monitor and manage reefer trucks and trailers with 3 separate temperature chambers – in real time – across Europe.
Rail Transportation of Floriculture Products
GreenRail, an initiative of FloraHolland/VGB executed by Jan de Rijk Logistics, organizes rail transportation of floriculture products via conventional rail links. Rail transportation is highly suitable for the ornamental plant and flower industry for long-distance travel. It’s cheaper and the CO2 emissions are up to 50% less.
This innovation shows that rail transport is a reliable, more efficient, cleaner and cheaper alternative for the transportation of floricultural products.
The Challange
The distribution of floriculture products like plants is under pressure because of rising costs of road transport, the increasing limits around driving and resting times and the increase in road traffic jams.
With a strong commitment to sustainability and a drive to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, traditional truck and trailer transport needs to be re-evaluated.
The Goal
The main goal is to investigate if transportation by rail can offer a solution for the growing demand of durable entrepre-neurship by retail and wholesale organizations, the jamming infrastructure and the long–time raising fuel prices.
At the same time extend the borders of accessibility and show that transport by rail is a reliable, efficient, cleaner and cheaper alternative for horticultural logistics.
The objectives of Greenrail are:
- Lower transportation costs
- No congestion and related restrictions due to rest– and driving times
- Environmentally friendly transportation (–50% C02)
- Larger possible market
- Solution for the expected shortage of truck drivers
The Solution
Instead of trucking plants directly from an exporter to stores, they go in specialized reefer containers and off to a rail terminal where they are loaded onto a train. The train transports the plants to a rail terminal in another country. There the plants are unloaded and loaded onto a truck, which will then transport them to stores at various locations.
The concept has proven to be very successful and is getting other companies’ attentions. At this moment containers are transported by rail to Italy and Poland.
About
FloraHolland leads the way in the horticulture and flower industry, as a matchmaker, an intermediary and a knowledge center. A profile of a modern cooperative organization.
Jan de Rijk Logistics – Being part of global logistics is who we are. Connecting flows is what we do best. Bringing your logistics to life is what we aim for.
Help Reduce Cost and Spoilage of Temperature Sensitive Cargo
DuPont and Cargolux, both members of the CCA have jointly developed a new solution for transportation of temperature sensitive products like perishable and healthcare products.
Through various discussions and working groups in the CCA, both Cargolux and DuPont decided to collaborate on solution to better control the temperature, especially on the tarmac where goods are sometimes exposed to very high temperatures.
The Challange
The distribution of temperature sensitive products like food, flowers or pharmaceutical and healthcare products, can be impacted by solar radiation.
Intensity of solar radiation depends upon time of day, latitude, altitude, season and degree of cloud cover.
High temperature is detrimen-tal to food quality and chances of wastage increase, especially in tropical climates with much higher solar radiation.
The Goal
Through various discussions and working groups in the CCA, both Cargolux and DuPont decided to collaborate on a solution to better control the temperature, especially on the tarmac where goods are sometimes exposed to very high temperatures.
The objective of the team was an innovative cover that protects temperature sensitive goods against sunlight, temperature variations, rain and theft and with pest or contamination control (liquids, dust, pollens, insects, bird droppings etc) as an additional benefit.
The Solution
Resulting from this joint effort, the Tyvek® AirCargo Cover represents an innovative breakthrough.
The blanket is made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and creates a unique balance of properties that is ideal for protecting sensitive cargo from extreme temperature variations.
The Cargolux KeepCool team tested the blanket in stations where temperature sensitive cargo is mostly vulnerable.
Positive results have prompted Cargolux to introduce the AirCargo Covers throughout its network for the benefit of its worldwide customers requiring additional protection for their temperature sensitive shipments.
Watch a video of the AirCargo Cover in practice here.
About
DuPont is a World Leader in Market-Driven Innovation and Science. With expertise spanning two centuries, diverse industries and more than 90 countries, the company is uniquely positioned to help solve some of the world’s biggest challenges.
Cargolux is one of the leading cargo airlines worldwide, operating scheduled and charter services on a network covering all continents.
Real-Time Event Monitoring to Improve Quality of Perishables
CCA Members Cool Chain Group, Rungis Express and Xtreme Technologies have worked closely together to test a state-of-the-art technology solution to monitor and manage reefer trucks and trailers with 3 separate temperature chambers – in real time – across Europe.
In order to improve quality, the advanced software solution continuously scans all events and provides real-time information on any irregularities that may affect the deliveries of these valuable shipments.
The Challange
In the distribution of luxury and exclusive food products, the control of temperature during ‘the last mile’ is crucial.
Although new drivers are trained well, it’s easy to make a mistake. A truck might be insufficiently pre-cooled or set to the wrong temperature.
As reefer transportation is outsourced to partners more frequently, quality control of their remote activities is difficult and never timely.
The impact on customer satisfaction and brand image are significant. Not knowing what’s going on is a problem.
The Goal
Customers are not interested in where trucks are, they want to know when their shipment will arrive and if their products have been treated according to specification during the journey. The goal for Rungis and CCG was therefor to create real-time visibility through-out the supply chain.
An intelligent system that continuously monitors all the events and alerts staff will improve business agility and help achieve the high quality goals set. This should result in a systematic decrease in damage or loss of products, late deliveries and claims.
The Solution
It was decided to test Xtreme Technologies’ TradeLink solution that enables job and fleet operations management, communication with drivers and real-time monitoring of vehicle locations and status of the 3 temperature chambers.
The platform can be further enriched with information from returnable transport items and products using (2D) bar-codes, RFID and sensor networks.
For Rungis, CCG and their business partners this means they can now create an integral view of their deliveries and be pro-actively notified in case of relevant business events, improving quality and creating results that matter.
About:
Cool Chain Group is a global network of operations dedicated to managing the supply chain of temperature sensitive goods. CCG employs industry experts whose job is to monitor every step of your supply chains.
Rungis Express is one of the leading trading companies for luxury and exclusive food articles for the upper class gastronomic and hotel market in Germany. RUNGIS is part of the Cool Chain Group (“CCG”).
Xtreme Technologies is a highly innovative company that develops state-of-the-art solutions in order to ‘Link the World to the Web’.
To learn more, call +31 (0)6398 37627 or visit us at: www.xtreme-technologies.com
Working together to improve the temperature-sensitive supply chain to reduce food loss and waste in the perishables sector as well as benefiting the pharma community.