Solucious, a Belgian food service business of the Colruyt Group, benefits from the real-time visibility, traceability and proactive management of their delivery operations thanks to Thermo King Connected Solutions. The telematics offering from Thermo King, a leader in transport temperature control solutions and a brand of Trane Technologies, allows Solucious not only to obtain the real time temperature and position data, but also critical information like setpoints, alarms or hours of operation from their trucks, vans and semi-trailers.
“Our collaboration with Solucious demonstrates that connectivity is essential for transport companies looking to gain the competitive edge in cold chain services,” said Raluca Radu, Connected Solutions portfolio leader at Thermo King. “Visibility and insight into what is happening with the fleet in real time allows more effective management of the entire fleet, ensuring the timely delivery of high-quality food products to customers. Solucious exemplifies that connectivity goes beyond the traditional trailer applications and enables customers with truck and van fleets to take advantage of the data and make their operations smarter.”
Managing mainly Thermo King refrigerated 140 trucks and vans and 30 semi-trailers from six regional hubs and three distribution centres in Belgium, Solucious supplies food items for professional customers such as hotels, restaurants, hospitals, caterers and schools.
“We want to be a trustworthy partner to thousands of our customers and communicate transparently about the reliability of our deliveries,” said Maxence De Vroey, fleet manager at Solucious. “Relying on our deliveries and products, professional chefs can organise their kitchens efficiently and cost-consciously. In this way, Thermo King telematics has helped us to improve the efficiency, safety, and visibility of our operations, leading to better business outcomes for all.”
“Our fleet managers use telematics every day to ensure that the cold chain is maintained every step of the journey. Thermo King’s connectivity allows us to always know the location of our vehicles and offers complete monitoring of the refrigeration units. From preventive maintenance intervals to monitoring the hours of operation and set point temperatures, all this data is important for proper management of the cold chain. Additionally, all the information is archived for traceability, and available to our quality department for use when answering customers’ queries,” said Maxence De Vroey.
The telematics module works completely autonomously, allowing for 24/7 monitoring of the fleet. The real-time data enables Solucious to quickly respond to any issues, such as changes in cooling pressure, and to maintain the highest level of quality for their customers.
Leveraging the TracKing system, Thermo King and its local dealer can, from a central point, access the same information about the Solucious’ fleet. This allows for quick and effective interventions if problems arise, guiding the customer to the nearest workshop or recommending the best actions necessary. With access to the entire fleet’s file, Thermo King service team is better equipped to prepare for any challenge that may arise, saving time and resources during maintenance and emergencies.