46 DC VELOCITY OCTOBER 2017 www.dcvelocity.com
applications
A look at how DCs are using equipment and
services to rev up their operations
THE STORY OF FRIOS GOURMET POPS BEGAN MUCH
the same way many entrepreneurial success stories do, with
one guy’s grand idea. In this case, the guy was Andy Harp,
a former IT specialist who saw an opportunity to fill a
void in the frozen-treats market. In 2013, he began selling
hand-made organic popsicles from a pushcart on the streets
of downtown Gadsden, Ala. Things took off from there.
Today, the company operates more than 30 franchise store
locations throughout the U.S. and offers more than 50 ice
pop flavors, including muscadine, spicy pineapple, and
orange basil.
The pops are still hand made
today at the company’s central
production facility in Gadsden,
which then ships them out to franchise locations. But getting the
temperature-sensitive freight to
stores in good condition wasn’t
always easy. For several years, Frios
shipped its pops via parcel service, using foam containers packed
with dry ice. That worked well
enough for short-haul moves, but
the company found this method
wasn’t always dependable for long
journeys. For one thing, the foam
coolers were susceptible to damage
during transit, which compromised their ability to keep the
pops, well, cold as ice.
There were other drawbacks as well. Using dry ice was
proving expensive. And the foam coolers Frios was using
are not easily recycled or repurposed after use, which was a
definite minus from an environmental standpoint.
In an effort to lick its shipping problem, Frios enlisted the
aid of Cookeville, Tenn.-based transportation and supply
chain services specialist Averitt Express. After reviewing
the situation, Averitt’s specialized services team recom-
mended that Frios switch from parcel service to Averitt’s
climate-controlled less-than-truckload (LTL) offering.
Designed for sensitive cargo, the service makes use of
specially designed self-powered temperature-controlled
shipping units. According to Averitt, the units maintain a
specific temperature within a single degree (± 1° Celsius),
hold a payload of up to 1,900 pounds, and run on a battery
that can last for up to five days.
Today, when products are ready for shipping, Frios loads
them into a pallet-sized container that Averitt picks up from
company headquarters. The full
unit then travels throughout the
Averitt distribution network for
multiple store deliveries—a process that’s supported by around-the-clock monitoring by Averitt’s
specialized services team. At the
end of the trip, Frios receives a
detailed report showing temperatures inside and outside the unit,
GPS locations during transit, and
more.
As for how it’s all working out,
Frios has nothing but praise for the
new system. Since the company
began using the Averitt service, it
has seen a reduction in damage,
Overall, the partnership has meant Harp and his team
can spend less time worrying about the logistics of doing
business and more time focusing on growth and customer service. “They’ve been completely customer-focused,
everywhere from the sales process to the on-site folks that
we’ve dealt with,” Harp said in a statement. “That is something that we have not had from any other carrier.”
Gourmet popsicle maker Frios needed a way to keep its ice pops—and profits—from melting away
during transit. Once it gave Averitt’s climate-controlled LTL service a try, things started to gel.
Cold as ice
