Here at APF Cold Storage and Logistics we are always up to a challenge. When customers want stock delivered to places we don’t normally go to, we figure it out. It’s part of the service we offer to our clients. We feel that as your refrigerated logistics partner, that we should reduce the clients problems, not add to them.
This week was one such occasion, but it turned out, we have one of those cursed pallets. Anyone that works in logistics knows what I am talking about. It’s a pallet, that despite a high amount of attention to detail (as always) it still somehow went awry. This infamous pallet was meant to go from us, to regional Vic. It was for a production run, and timing was critical. So we went to work, confirming carriers, getting lead times, letting the end client know, and sent the pallets expecting that would arrive in 3 days.
Skip forward three days, and still no word. This was where the chaos started. Our transporter had somehow entered the details incorrectly into their system. The pallets were held up at their depot. Luckily, we were on it. We called, sorted the problem through many phone calls, and confirmed back to the customer that it was all good to go for Monday. Our transported was happy to express the freight as it was their error that caused the delay. Production was put back to Monday, and everyone was happy.
Skip to Monday, no pallets arrive in regional Vic. An hour of phone calls later, and the pallets have been found. Still at the depot from Friday. How on earth did this happen? More phone calls, another error. Despite the exhaustive conversations on Friday, there was a break in the communication with the transport again. So the pallet just sat there. Its a week now since the pallet arrived, and the end client was meant to start production.
So, as you can imagine, the client is getting peturbed. They decide to take it in to their own hands. They cant hold production any longer. We talk to our transported, and they are happy to release the pallet to the end clients transporter. Problem solved. Or was it?
The next day, when the pallet was meant to be picked up and delivered to regional Vic (same day) came and went. The pallet was not picked up at our transporter. I trust that the end client, being a large company will figure it out and pick it up the next day.
Skip forward to Thursday. Still not picked up, still not at the end client. Right, so this is just crazy now. There was again miscommunication between the end client, their transporter, and our transporter which involved it not being picked up twice in two days!
After more phone calls, the pallets were finally picked up, and overnighted (transported overnight) to the end client. They arrived in the afternoon, a week after expectation, and 11 days after they left Adelaide.
Normally we are exceptional when it comes to refrigerated logistics, and service in cold storage, but despite our best efforts, this pallet caused our customers, and their customers, heart ache. We are pretty understanding here, and quick move on to work the problem, but this is a great case study in despite best efforts, things still don’t go to plan. And the one redeeming thing about this issue, is that everyone (except possibly our transporter that had a lot of communication issues internally) worked together to solve the problem.
Cold Storage and Refrigerated Logistics is a team game. We are part of your team. And without your success, we don’t success. Mistakes happen, what makes us different is that we go out of our way to find out what happened, and fix them. We don’g ignore the issues, and recognise if its important to you, then its very important to us.
Be Kind, Be Cool.
-APF
