Robinson Nursery—a second-generation, family-owned wholesale grower and distributor of over 200 varieties of shade and ornamental trees—understands the value of strict temperature control in the supply chain.
CASE STUDY Planting Roots for Shipping Success with Real-time Tracking & Alerts Robinson Nursery—a second-generation, family-owned wholesale grower and distributor of over 200 varieties of shade and ornamental trees—understands the value of strict temperature control in the supply chain. From its home base in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, the nursery dispatches nearly 400 trucks a year with trees bound for destinations throughout the United States and Canada. Crews begin digging up dormant trees in late October, and put them in cold storage until they are shipped in reefer trucks starting in the middle of February. Whether a full truckload of 3,200 - 3,400 trees worth between $50,000-$100,000 or a Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) shipment, the densely-packed plants must be kept in a temperature-controlled environment from 30°F to 40°F to prevent their bare roots from flash freezing. “Temperature is important, as it can be difficult to tell when a tree has been damaged by cold.” Lisa Ahern In-house Sales & Shipping Logistics
tive.com In 2021, Robinson Nursery’s visibility solutions partner at the time was not meeting expectations. Its trackers wouldn’t always work, data was incomplete or incorrect, and information was often not delivered in real time. This created many issues: “90% of the time, we didn’t get those trackers back.” Joana Ponce Administrative Assistant Poor communication: Where’s the truck, and when will it arrive? Out on a Limb with Limited Visibility CHALLENGES 1 Increased risk of damage: Delicate trees can be damaged if the reefer temperature falls below 30°F for 90 minutes Accountability lacking: Can’t pinpoint when or where damages occurred or who was at fault Lack of data visibility: Trackers were often not returned; therefore, the nursery had no available data history or audit trail
After vetting several potential partners, Robinson Nursery chose Tive’s real-time visibility solution of hyper-accurate Solo 5G trackers and cloud-based platform for several reasons: Turning Over a New Leaf with Solo 5G Trackers THE SOLUTION 2 “Tive gives us all the data we need to pursue where any defect or issue originated.” Adam McClanahan Sales Representative Adaptable & flexible: Equally effective on small loads, full truckloads, and LTL shipments Documents an audit trail: Assures trees were monitored & maintained at a constant temperature while in transit Single-use trackers: Alleviates the headache of returns; all data is available in the Tive cloud platform in real time Real-time alerts: Enables Robinson to contact brokers and drivers at the first sign of a temperature excursion Reliable, real-time tracking: Location & temperatures are monitored throughout the journey tive.com
Some Robinson Nursery customers arrange their own trucks; sometimes, trees can be put on trucks containing products from five or six nurseries. With Solo 5G trackers on every Robinson Nursery shipment, customers can track the trucks themselves using a secure link. Improved customer service and communication are major benefits—but greater accountability is equally important. Following are two examples: Enhanced Customer Service, Improved Communication & Greater Accountability THE RESULTS 3 A reliable grower’s entire crop failed: Tive’s data revealed that crews unloaded the truck and left the trees in a parking lot with the temperature hovering in single digits—and all the roots flash froze. Real-time Visibility Can Grow Your Shipping Business Cold damage doesn’t appear immediately: A customer planted a tree that soon degraded. Tive’s data showed there was a 90-minute period in transit when the temperature dropped below 30°F. Learn More