How technology can optimize fresh produce transport?
- November 16, 2025
- 4 mins
Transporting fresh produce is a crucial yet complex activity, subject to numerous economic, logistical, and regulatory constraints. Carriers must constantly optimize their processes to stay competitive while adhering to the strict requirements of the cold chain and traceability. New technologies represent a significant lever of innovation in this regard. Many players are developing powerful tools dedicated to managing distribution and last-mile delivery, which help address the complex challenges of this sector.
In this article, we will explore which technological solutions optimize fresh produce transport for end-to-end successful operations.
Refrigerated transport of food products: an activity with significant constraints
As we discussed in our previous article on the refrigerated transport of food products industry, this activity faces numerous logistical and regulatory challenges.
Economic constraints
The challenging economic context, with declining volumes due to sluggish consumption and rising operational costs (fuel, labor), significantly impacts the margins of carriers who must continually optimize their processes to remain competitive.
Complexity of cold chain logistics
Cold chain logistics is inherently complex: dense urban centers with congestion and parking issues, constrained schedules, tight flows of perishable goods requiring meticulous management, crucial traceability for food safety, and management of reverse logistics (unsold goods, packaging).
Environmental regulatory constraints
The emergence of Low Emission Zones (LEZ) limiting the access of polluting vehicles in city centers and the CO2 reduction targets imposed by the EU require fleet electrification, representing a major technological and financial challenge.
Logistical challenges for wholesalers
Food wholesalers must aggregate upstream supplies, consolidate downstream flows via cross-docking, optimize final customer deliveries, manage reverse logistics, and strictly maintain the cold chain and traceability.
DMS solutions addressing the challenges of fresh produce transport
Delivery management and last-mile delivery solutions, such as DMS (Delivery Management Systems), provide key functionalities to tackle the challenges of refrigerated food transport. A DMS is a software suite specifically designed to optimize all delivery operations and address last-mile contingencies.
This type of technological solution can be applied throughout various operational stages to address different last-mile issues:
- Dock management and sorting assistance
- Cold chain management
- Route optimization
- Traceability and proof of delivery
- Container tracking
- Customer relationship management
Dock management and sorting assistance
For the refrigerated transport of food products, rigorous management of cross-docking operations is crucial to ensure the integrity of the cold chain. DMS solutions include dedicated modules that help track incoming goods (fresh/frozen), determine delivery requirements, and monitor the location of temperature-controlled goods on the platform, ensuring complete traceability.
Real-time visualizations enable operators to monitor refrigerated trucks at the docks, access detailed information about food items by zone and vehicle content, and maintain centralized oversight of these critical operations, even at remote depots.
DMS also streamlines the critical sorting and rapid distribution of fresh food orders at the docks. IoT solutions like light-guided systems can be integrated to facilitate efficient sorting and distribution of food parcels.
Every step is tracked (receipt, re-labeling, sorting, transfer, loading), with immediate reporting of issues and photos of any anomalies in the temperature-controlled flows. This ensures improved productivity, impeccable traceability, and optimal quality at refrigerated cross-docking docks.
Cold chain management
In the context of food product transportation, strict adherence to the cold chain is essential to ensure product safety and quality. DMS solutions incorporate IoT technologies dedicated to real-time temperature monitoring. They allow the connection of various certified cold probes (with autonomy ranging from 36 hours to 5 years for some). These self-powered probes can be placed in refrigerated trucks, temperature-controlled storage warehouses, and even refrigerated shelves in retail stores.
Carriers often have their own systems to ensure cold chain traceability during deliveries. However, some shippers or wholesalers may want to occasionally monitor the temperature at which goods have been transported. In such cases, limited-autonomy temperature probes (36 hours) can be used in addition to the carrier’s systems. These probes are placed within the goods to be monitored. Upon delivery, shippers can read the data recorded by the probe to verify there has been no break in the cold chain during transportation.
Long-duration probes (up to 5 years) enable continuous temperature monitoring, whether in mobile refrigerated trucks, storage warehouses, or store shelves.
Temperature data is collected via the driver’s terminal or on-site concentrators and transmitted in real-time via 2G/Wi-Fi/Ethernet. This data is then accessible through dedicated web interfaces to monitor historical data, temperature deviation alerts, and ensure perfect cold chain traceability.
Route optimization
For those involved in the transportation of fresh products, the intelligent optimization of delivery routes is crucial to maintain cold chain integrity and minimize the risk of breaches.
DMS solutions incorporate optimization modules that calculate optimal routing plans in real-time, taking into account delivery time slots, low-emission zones, vehicle types (refrigerated trucks, light vehicles, cargo bikes), and traffic conditions. This intelligent optimization, combined with real-time tracking, minimizes distances traveled, environmental impact, and cold chain breach risks, ensuring optimal delivery.
💡 Learn more about dedicated route optimization for fresh produce transport in this article.
Traceability and proof of delivery
In refrigerated transport of food products, end-to-end traceability and proof of delivery are essential to ensure product safety and quality throughout the supply chain.
DMS provide advanced real-time tracking features for delivery routes.
Geolocation of delivery drivers
Delivery drivers are continuously geolocated through a GPS chip integrated into their mobile terminal (smartphone or tablet). This allows operators to monitor their position in real-time on a map.
Estimated times of arrival (ETAs) at various delivery points are calculated and continuously updated based on traffic conditions. In the event of significant delays compared to the expected ETA, alerts are triggered to enable quick response, preventing any risk of breaking the cold chain.
Uploading proofs of delivery
At each delivery, the driver inputs the digital proof of delivery directly into their terminal: electronic signature of the recipient, photo of the delivered goods, barcode scan, etc.
These proofs are instantly uploaded and accessible in real-time by operators and shippers via a dedicated extranet. This ensures complete traceability and allows for immediate response in case of any anomalies.
Dispute management
If a dispute arises (missing product, damage, delivery refusal, etc.), the driver reports and documents it (photos, comments) directly from their mobile terminal.
This information is then sent in real-time to operators who can quickly react: reschedule a delivery, notify the client, initiate an investigation, etc. Such responsiveness is crucial for refrigerated transport.
With these numerous features, DMS provide impeccable traceability and maximum responsiveness for refrigerated food transport, ensuring the expected service quality for these high-value products.
Container tracking
In refrigerated food transport, the use of reusable containers like insulated bins, rolls, or pallets is crucial for maintaining the cold chain and preserving product quality.
DMS systems include a module dedicated to tracking these reusable containers. It manages the movements of returns and deposits at each client site. Drivers input the actual quantities of containers returned or deposited, ensuring precise inventory tracking.
This feature addresses key concerns:
- Flow balance: Ensures that the expected quantities of containers have been exchanged, preventing stockouts or surpluses. Adjustments can be made as needed.
- Cost efficiency: Precise tracking of reusable container movements optimizes their use and minimizes losses, which can be significant cost drivers for carriers.
- Sustainability: By promoting the reuse of packaging rather than single-use containers, this management contributes to reducing the environmental impact of refrigerated transport.
With real-time visibility into container stocks and movements, stakeholders can effectively manage flows and ensure optimal rotation of these critical logistical assets for the successful delivery of fresh food products.
Client communication
In fresh produce transport, maintaining smooth and proactive communication with clients (both shippers and recipients) is essential. DMS systems incorporate dedicated modules that enable stakeholders to be informed at every key stage.
Notification module
A notification module sends alerts via email, SMS, or push notifications to clients at various stages, such as:
- When the route is optimized
- When the driver departs
- A few minutes before arrival at the recipient’s location
- Upon delivery confirmation
The timing, content (ETA, signature, temperature, etc.), and recipients (shipper, end client) of these notifications are fully customizable. This ensures precise real-time updates on the progress of deliveries.
Client portal
A dedicated extranet or web portal allows clients to track the progress of their shipments:
- Status of each mission (in progress, delivered, etc.)
- Delivery details: location, signature, temperature
- Digital delivery reports
- Messaging system to communicate with customer service
This platform eliminates the need for clients to contact customer service for updates, enhancing responsiveness and fluidity.
Real-time digital communication on refrigerated deliveries contributes to an optimal customer experience for these high-value products.
Delivery Management Systems (DMS) provide a comprehensive suite of features to end-to-end optimize the complex operations of refrigerated food transport. They address the logistical, economic, and regulatory challenges faced by industry players.
Among the leading DMS providers, Hub One offers a robust solution encompassing all necessary functionalities for fresh produce transport: dock management, cold chain maintenance, route optimization, traceability, reusable container tracking, and customer relations. Hub One manages 33 million delivery points annually and distributes 385 million items per year, with 70% being fresh products.
Integrating Kardinal’s route optimization solution, Hub One‘s DMS is specifically designed to address the unique challenges of refrigerated food transport. Route optimization is critical for minimizing cold chain disruptions while reducing costs and environmental impact. Discover more about route optimization for fresh produce transport in our dedicated article.
Continuous route optimization solution
