Photo Journal: Tive Brings Real-Time Visibility to Onyx Coffee

Based in Washington and Guatemala City, Onyx Coffee is a boutique importer of specialty coffees that connects Guatemalan producers to roasters all around the world. As a high-end coffee brand, Onyx is committed to maintaining top quality levels, and that means ensuring coffee shipments stay within precise environmental conditions all the way from farm to cup.

Of course, keeping track of complex, global coffee supply chains is no easy thing. Many of Onyx’s shipments take months at a time, traveling from farm to dry mill all the way to the end customer. That’s why Onyx decided to work with Tive to get real-time insight into their in-transit coffee shipments. Tive’s multi-sensor trackers transmit real-time location and condition data, giving the Onyx team non-stop visibility into exactly where their coffee shipments are, and what temperature and humidity levels they are experiencing. “It’s been fantastic working with the Tive team,” said Edwin Martinez, CEO of Onyx Coffee. “Tive’s real-time visibility solution makes it possible for us to know exactly where our shipments are, and what condition they’re in, all around the world.”

So how does it all work? Below, we’ve provided a detailed look at how Onyx has integrated Tive into their workflow from start to finish through our first-ever Tive Photo Journal.

It all starts with a getting-to-know-you kickoff call. As soon as trackers were shipped, the Tive team connected with their counterparts at Onyx to make sure the project was set up for success.

The team decided to start off with a project tracking green coffee as it made its way from a farm in Huehuetenango, Guatemala to the dry mill facility. After processing, the coffee will be bound for the Coffee Collective in Denmark, a highly respected global roaster and one of Onyx Coffee’s earliest partners. Tive’s real-time tracking made it possible to watch the complete journey, monitoring not just where the coffee travelled, but also the precise temperature and humidity levels it was experiencing throughout its journey.

The Tive system was easy to integrate, and the Onyx team was very excited to get the trackers and start incorporating them wherever possible. The trackers first arrived at the Onyx office in Guatemala City, before being distributed at the farm in Huehuetenango.

Onyx was excited to use Tive trackers not just for in-transit product, but also to track the quality of processing by monitoring temperature and humidity during drying and storage. As such, at different stages in the process, different tracker attachment mechanisms were appropriate. In some cases, the trackers were placed in sealed plastic bags on top of the coffee, while in other cases, the trackers were dropped directly into jute bags to get the most accurate condition readings.

Ultimately, the Tive system is all about visibility. With trackers placed throughout key shipments, Onyx was able to gain insight into the exact location and condition of their coffee, all in real time. Tive’s cloud-based software platform made it simple to access key location and condition data from anywhere in the world, enabling the Onyx team to monitor their coffee shipments no matter where they were.

While the shipments are still in transit to Copenhagen, Tive and Onyx are actively discussing methods for optimizing processes and maximizing value. We’re looking forward to continuing to work together with the Onyx team to bring new levels of visibility to the specialty coffee industry!

The Tive initiative in Specialty Coffee, and the ongoing work with Onyx, is facilitated by our partnerships with Cropster as well as Tive Advisor Jerry Fain, CEO of WEAL Innovations Lab. To learn more about Onyx Coffee, visit their website here. And if you’d like to see how Tive can bring a new level of visibility to your supply chain, request a trial with Tive today.