Has Your Package Been Tested?
When was your package last tested?
If you’re shipping perishables you need to be temperature testing, consistently, at least twice a year.
So why test?
The obvious reason is keeping your customers happy. When was the last time you heard anyone rave about receiving melted ice cream or thawing meat in the mail? By consistently temperature checking your shipments you will reduce your costs for claims related to damaged product. Happy customers are repeat customers. If they aren’t satisfied (whether they told you or not) they won’t order again.
Product testing also saves on logistic costs by enhancing transit times while maintaining internal package temperature. In other words, winter shipping has very different packaging requirements (think insulation, refrigerants) as the same shipment sent during hot summer months. Adjusting accordingly will save transit time and money.
There are different methods for testing depending on the time of the year. A one-time temperature data recorder can be purchased online at places such as Amazon.
Winter Profile (test Oct. thru April)
Pack your product with the correct amount of refrigerant. Not sure how much? Read Refrigerants 101 here. Place the temperature data recorder inside the box.
Leave the package undisturbed in a room for the amount of transit time required. This is usually one or two days.
Open the package after the allotted amount of time and download the data from the temperature recorder onto a computer. If the package passes and you are shipping to cold weather states you should be good to go. If you’re shipping to warm weather states you should consider a second test in which you duplicate the pack out with the recorder and then ship the package to someone you know in warmer climate. Once they receive it they can either download the data or send the recorder back to you. Either way they should take images of the package as well.
Summer Profile (test May thru Sept.)
Once again pack your product with the correct amount of refrigerant and place the data recorder inside the box.
Place the package outside or in the trunk of a car and leave it for the amount of transit time required (one or two-day shipping).
If it passes the next step would be to ship it again to a warm state via UPS/FedEx. You can also ship to yourself on a Friday so you will receive it on a Monday for a 2-3 day transit time.
Another consideration is utilizing temperature data recorders with random shipments and giving your customers an incentive to mail it back to you. After all, who doesn’t like a discount or a freebie?