[Ben Nash] Aero Logistics, we’re an asset-based logistics provider to assist the 3PL and freight forwarding community. We run cold chain operations in trucking and warehousing. Our mission is to exceed our customers’ expectations and be there to support them in every way possible. My name is Ben Nash. I'm the Director of Warehousing Operations and Compliance. I handle all the daily operations for warehousing drivers and making sure that everyone stays within compliance for the handling of products that we have.
[Kevin Harper] I'm responsible for keeping Aero Logistics in GDP guideline compliance along with working with the warehouse staff on safety, security, day-to-day operations.
[Ben Nash] I think one of the reasons our customers choose us is because they know that we care about the products that we are holding in our possession for them. A lot of the things that we handle could be life-saving medications, and if we don't maintain the proper cold chain for our customers, that product could potentially harm someone or not be a life-saving product for them.
[Kevin Harper] Our goal in using technology is to make the jobs of our employees simpler, to give them the tools and resources that they need to complete their job without fail, so we can meet the expectations and exceed the expectations of our customers without fail.
[Ben Nash] The issue we had when trying to find the right technology for our operation, a lot of the other models, they didn't provide the visibility that we needed for our assets. The SmartSense system kind of encompassed everything, and we were able to integrate into our systems to provide a better solution for our customers as well. Some of the data requested on a regular basis is real-time temperature monitoring for specific shipments. We're able to pull that data directly from the SmartSense system in just seconds, which you know, we can provide data that we weren't able to provide before. A lot of stuff that we used to have to do on paper, we no longer have to do any of that. So, it really cuts down on costs in the warehouse and the transportation side too.
[Kevin Harper] SmartSense has affected just about every KPI we have. The way we use it, from the temperature monitoring to our checklist. It has affected our KPIs and GDP compliance, safety, security, even productivity. We use SmartSense across our company to have a single platform where we can monitor all the temperature data, all the tasks that we have implemented through SmartSense with checklists to make sure they're done in a timely fashion. With the alerts both on monitoring and the checklist, if something's not being done or something's not correct, we're able to know that there's an issue before it's an issue for the actual freight.
[Ben Nash] So, our customers require us to have calibrations done on our equipment every year. I know there's a lot of companies that we looked into, calibrations they were wanting to do every two years. SmartSense was able to allow us to do calibrations every year on all of our equipment. It's just a simple twist of the probe, taking it off the sensor, and the newly calibrated probe is put directly onto the sensor. Part of the criteria that led us to SmartSense was ease of use, the ability to use it as a training tool for the rest of our staff.
[Kevin Harper] We've got it implemented in multiple locations, probably 20 or so employees currently using it. Ideas are coming up every day, different ways to use it and use it in different areas.
[Ben Nash] It was just pretty much just plug and play. Simple instructions, set up time. We set up a whole facility in just a matter of hours.
[Kevin Harper] The temperature monitoring kind of takes care of itself. Once set up, it alerts you. As far as the checklist goes, it's literally a checklist that’s just going to take you step by step with either a picture or maybe a yes or no answer, and it'll run you through the process step by step.
[Ben Nash] SmartSense provides a team for you from the second you order the system, and that team is just phenomenal. And any questions you already have, they're always there to answer. And if they don't have an answer, they find out.
[Kevin Harper] It is almost the easiest thing I've ever seen as far as usage and the support you're going to get from SmartSense.