Hellmann: Real-Time Tracking + 24/7 Live Monitoring = Improved Customer Satisfaction

Background

Since its founding in 1871, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics has developed into one of the largest international logistics providers in the world, with €3.5 billion in annual revenue and over 12,000 employees operating in 57 countries. Hellmann manages over 20 million shipments per year. With a breadth of products and experience, Hellmann provides innovative logistics solutions for the complex requirements of every customer—and relies on visionary technical products to provide maximum customer transparency while creating a more efficient supply chain.

Hellmann started using Tive’s real-time trackers in 2018, and currently uses the Solo 5G model as part of their “Smart Device” offering. But before turning to Tive, Hellmann used larger-sized devices that recharged via solar energy. These bulky devices could not be used across all modes of transportation—specifically airplane shipments, which is a critical mode for Hellmann.

 The company switched to a smaller tracking device, but a different problem presented itself: if these devices were not returned to Hellmann after use by the customer, Hellman incurred the cost of the trackers—combined with a great deal of personnel work.

Says Jeanette Barcenas, Smart Visibility Specialist at Hellmann, “This solution was not sustainable, and we had to rethink the process. A new solution was needed.”

“I give Tive a 10—and I recommend Tive to people all the time. The trackers are so practical. I love them. Plus, Tive’s customer service is great. We always get a quick answer, and that is another reason we love using Tive. It's much more of a partnership.”

Quick Trial Demonstrated Value

In those early days, Hellmann—and some of their customers—primarily wanted end-to-end, real-time shipment visibility. After being introduced to Tive, Hellmann conducted a brief trial to see if Tive’s trackers and cloud platform worked as well as Hellman hoped they did.

“I remember the first device we got: we just placed it on a shipment and turned it on. It was that easy,” Barcenas says. “We had a truck available, and we just attached the Tive tracker to one of the containers on the truck, sent it off, and then tracked it on the platform. And it worked perfectly from day 1. We never looked back.” 

One Tracker. Every Mode of Transportation.

Hellmann ships via trucks, rail, ocean, and air—but they had never used a tracker that worked across all four modes. Previously, Hellmann had to buy specific trackers for different modes and configure them before the shipments started—and could not make any adjustments once a shipment was in transit.

“With those other trackers, we needed to know every detail of every shipment—from the very beginning—and that isn’t always possible. We needed more flexibility, and Tive provides us with that,” says Barcenas. 

“What I love about Tive is that you get real-time shipment location and condition tracking—across all modes of transportation at the exact same price.” 

Real-Time Alerts = Improved Customer Satisfaction

After initially using Tive on just a few customer shipments, the team at Hellmann was confident enough to expand the program. One of the biggest benefits of Tive made itself abundantly clear immediately: real-time alerts if a shipment strays outside of configured parameters—be it temperature, location, humidity, light, or shock.

Alerts can also help preserve a tracker’s battery life. If a shipment does not require a location and temperature measurement every five minutes—but shock is a critical measurement for the Hellman customer—the team sets up a shock alert, and gets informed right away if something goes wrong.

Alerts also monitor shipments for incidents of cargo theft. Says Barcenas, “We also use Tive devices for security reasons because the light alerts help make us aware of potential cargo theft incidents. In Mexico, for example, some insurance companies require shipments to include a GPS tracking device.”

Temperature and humidity alerts are also important when it comes to protecting their customers’ shipments. Once, the company shipped expensive electronics that had to remain covered because they could not get wet. “We got a humidity alert and immediately called the carrier directly to ask them to please check that the product was not outside somewhere.” Immediate, real-time alerts provide Hellman with the information they need to act fast—to stop excursions before they become real (and potentially expensive) problems.

“We love the Tive platform. It is very user friendly.” 

Location, Location, Location

Location alerts are critical for some Hellmann customers. Tive can be configured to send an alert once a shipment has reached a specified geofence area, and can also send alerts when shipments stray from the designated route. In one recent location alert example, Hellmann sent 20 containers on a ship. They put a Tive tracker inside each container, the containers were loaded onto the ship, and the vessel left the port… except that three of the containers had accidentally been left on shore.

Says Barcenas, “In the Tive platform, we could see three containers still pinging from land, so we knew they were still in the port. The containers were loaded onto the next available vessel, and we were able to let our customer know there would be a slight delay. That level of communication improves customer service because there are no surprises.”

Remote Configuration—For When Things Change

Tive is the only real-time shipment visibility solution on the market that offers bi-directional connectivity. Why is that so important? Well, sometimes, a shipment’s parameters need to change, and Tive lets you make those changes—while a shipment is in transit. 

Says Barcenas, “Our customers love that they can change tracker settings in real time. Perhaps, as a shipment is in the last few miles of a trip, they might want to change how often the tracker is collecting data… so they can get current information about location or to accommodate high-risk zones. Measurement settings can be changed so easily with Tive.”

 When it comes to ocean shipments, for example, it is not quite as critical to get information every five minutes, so Hellmann sets up the Tive devices to send data once a day—and also sets up an alert once the shipment arrives at the port for final delivery. When the shipment arrives in port, Hellmann changes the settings to send data every five minutes. “That really helps extend the tracker’s battery life,” says Barcenas.

The flexibility of remote configuration, along with many other benefits, convinced Hellmann to choose Tive as provider of their real-time Smart Device offering.

Dry Ice & Cryogenic Probes Help Attract New Pharma Business

Prior to Tive, if a customer needed to ship products at a frosty -30℃, Hellmann would have to decline the opportunity because they did not have a solution to support temperatures that low.

With Tive’s Dry Ice and Cryogenic Probes—which plug into the Solo 5G tracker—Hellmann has generated increased business from life sciences and pharmaceutical companies. Now, Hellmann customers can get validated temperature monitoring by simply plugging a probe into the tracker, providing a complete cold chain solution.

For Hellmann, it is very important to provide this added value to their current and future life sciences and pharmaceutical customers. “This enables Hellmann to provide outstanding service to pharma customers because, with Tive, we can support these extreme temperatures via the probes,” says Barcenas.

 Real-Time Tracking + 24/7 Live Monitoring

No matter what they’re shipping, Hellmann relies on Tive to help them provide outstanding service—across the supply chain. As an added benefit, Hellmann recycles as many Tive trackers as possible, which helps the company achieve its sustainability goals.

Hellmann also uses Tive’s 24/7 Live Monitoring managed services team to safeguard shipments for one of their pharmaceutical customers, for whom avoiding temperature excursions is critical. This team of experts closely monitors their shipments from start to finish, ensuring that temperatures remain within stated parameters and shipments stay on track. If an excursion is detected, the 24/7 team gets an instant alert and immediately contacts the customer—enabling the problem to be fixed on the fly.

“Why do we use Tive? Because the tracker battery lasts longer, the trackers and platform are extremely flexible and simple to use, and because of the Tive Green Program—through which we return devices to Tive for recycling.”