diversity

Unexpected spikes in food and beverage demand can cause far-reaching supply chain disruptions that affect everything from production lines to grocery store shelves, but challenges can also bring opportunities. Visibility and agility can help you respond to changing market conditions and flex up to meet evolving customer needs.

Adding Transportation Capacity

When transportation demand spikes, there are several ways you can ramp up your trucking capacity depending on the expected duration of the increase. Rental trucks and reefers can provide immediate supplemental equipment for a short-term or seasonal peak. They can also be a useful resource if you want to test a market before making a longer-term commitment.

Leases are another option if you're looking to add to your private fleet. You may even purchase used vehicles. We offer a comparative value analysis, which compares the cost of leasing with that of buying so fleet operators can make the best financial decision for the business.

You may also choose to partner with a third-party logistics provider, such as Penske Transportation Services, to expand your reach and capabilities. In addition to having our own dedicated fleet of trucks and drivers, we have an extensive freight brokerage operation with an expansive network of preferred DOT-authorized for-hire carriers to provide additional nationwide trucking coverage. Even if you're unsure of how much capacity you’re going to need in specific markets, a partnership with us allows you to react when opportunities arise.

The refrigeration units on trailers keep products cold to ensure quality and safety, but the equipment can be more demanding than its dry van equivalent. Maintaining the units is the key to success.

At Penske Truck Leasing, we service reefer trailers more often than dry vans. Refrigeration trailers can have more demanding applications with multiple stops. Typically, in those applications, the doors are used more often, and there are liftgates that are used regularly, especially if it is a multi-temp unit that delivers to the food joints and c-stores of the world.

We also regularly check the refrigeration units and the insulation on the trailer and provide all required documentation.

Document and Validate

To comply with food safety regulations, private fleets need to document maintenance on vehicles to ensure they’re in compliance. It is best to check equipment regularly and keep records. For example, if your unit says it is 72 degrees, you better validate it is getting to 72 degrees. Today’s regulations require cradle-to-grave recording or management of the product.

No matter the size of your business, supply chain networks can change quickly, and you must be able to react just as fast. Time-sensitive, fresh-food deliveries, lean supply chains, increased demand uncertainties and shorter product lifecycles all necessitate the ability to adjust food and beverage operations when change arises. Having an agile supply chain can give you a strategic advantage over your competition and allow you to handle disruptions or take advantage of new opportunities.

Here are three scenarios where the ability to address rapid change is critical:

Unexpected Changes to Consumer Demand

Sometimes it is hard to forecast what consumers will want or when they will want it. When the pandemic first hit, for example, there was a surge in demand for toilet paper packaged goods. Severe weather, such as a hurricane, can also cause a run-up in demand as consumers stock up on food and beverage supplies to make it through the storm. Even a chicken sandwich that goes viral or a hot toy that takes off at Christmas can leave shippers scrambling to ramp up production as well as transportation capacity.

The supply chain is a critical component of any business, and supply chains must function even when things don't go as expected. Having a contingency plan enables you to react proactively if an unexpected event or opportunity, such as a surge in activity, occurs.

While planning ahead has always been important, the recent pandemic has only accelerated the need for executive contingency planning – especially as it relates to transportation, warehousing and fulfillment to meet rapidly shifting consumer demand and preferences. There are several critical components of an effective supply chain strategy.

Flexing Up or Down

When creating a contingency plan, you need to give yourself options to flex up or down as needed. We offer several resources you can integrate into your contingency plans, including rental trucks and short- and long-term leases. You can also turn to logistics providers to obtain the space you need through a dedicated or for-hire fleet.

Adding Capacity

You can boost your fleet capacity through rental trucks or short-term leases to handle fluctuations in demand. If there is a sustained increase in demand, you can invest in equipment through long-term leases or used truck purchases.

The way the world does business has evolved and, as a result, it continues to affect the way supply and distribution networks operate in both the short and long term. Stores are experiencing fluctuations in supply. At the same time, groups such as farmers are having trouble with moving goods to the people who need them. Restaurants are adjusting delivery and outdoor seating models to meet current guidelines, while also planning for what the future holds. These ever-evolving changes have affected businesses in significant ways with the need for agility more important than ever.

Having access to the right vehicles can help no matter what your size or type of operation, allowing you to quickly pivot and keep up with rapidly changing landscapes.

Perishable Goods

Perishable goods typically require a refrigerated vehicle, or "reefer," which keep food at a controlled temperature and help maintain freshness and quality, meaning a longer shelf life and less waste.

At Penske, our reefers have up to an 8,000 lb. payload capacity to handle many of your food, beverage and other temperature-sensitive transportation needs. We offer both CDL and non-CDL refrigerated trucks as well as refrigerated trailers in our rental fleet, and they can be rented on a long- or short-term basis.