CASE STUDY: SPECIALTY CHEMICALS

A specialty chemicals manufacturer ships highly sensitive Active Product Ingredients (APIs) between Asian manufacturing facilities and European production sites. The APIs must be maintained in temperature controlled environments to avoid damage, so the company uses Tive’s supply chain visibility solution to monitor in-transit temperature levels. In addition, the complex, multi-mode supply chain often results in unexpected delays, so the manufacturer relies on real-time updates from Tive sensors in the case of delays in transit.

CHALLENGE

APIs can be damaged if exposed to excessively high or low temperatures. In the past, the company was often forced to throw out goods that arrived “caked” -- i.e. damaged due to temperature excursions -- or pay for expensive rush testing when a potentially damaged shipment arrived. This was both costly for the manufacturer, and detrimental to the customer experience. In addition, because they wouldn’t find out about the problem until the shipments arrived, the company would be forced to pay expensive fees to expedite replacement shipments.

SOLUTION

With Tive’s supply chain visibility solution, the company is able to monitor their chemicals shipments in real time. If APIs experience temperatures lower than 8 degrees Celsius, they receive an immediate alert, and they can work with the carrier to resolve the issue before the product is damaged. If the data indicates the products may already be damaged, they can make sure there are personnel available to inspect the APIs upon arrival and prepare replacements right away to avoid expediting fees.

‍IMPACT‍

Immediate insight into exactly when and where shipments were experiencing harmful temperatures made it possible for the company to reduce waste and costs associated with high damage levels. In addition, they were able to use the precise data provided by Tive to work with their carriers to eliminate the root cause of issues. For example, if the data indicated that certain routes were much more likely to experience harmful conditions, the company could request that that particular route be avoided.