A major Turkish citrus exporter was losing 12% of shipments to spoilage during 7-day road transit to Northern European supermarkets. Brosan implemented IoT-monitored reefer containers with 0.2°C precision temperature control, pre-cooling protocols, and customs pre-clearance to achieve near-zero spoilage on 400+ yearly shipments.
The Challenge
Mersin-based exporter shipped 12,000 tons of lemons, oranges, and mandarins annually to Dutch, German, and Scandinavian supermarkets. The existing logistics partner used standard reefer containers without real-time monitoring. Temperature spikes during Balkan border crossings (4-6 hour truck queues) caused ethylene buildup and accelerated spoilage. Annual waste cost: €420,000.
The Logistics Solution
Brosan deployed a 4-pillar cold chain solution: 1) Pre-cooling facility at Mersin port with blast chilling to 4°C before container loading, 2) IoT temperature sensors with 15-minute interval reporting and automated alerts, 3) Priority border crossing protocol via Kapikule with pre-submitted customs documentation eliminating queue wait, 4) Controlled Atmosphere (CA) reefer containers maintaining optimal O₂/CO₂ ratios to suppress ethylene production.
Quantitative Results & ROI
- Spoilage rate dropped from 12% to 0.4% (97% improvement).
- Annual waste savings: €410,000.
- Temperature variance during transit: ±0.2°C (vs. ±2.5°C previously).
- Client secured 2 new supermarket chain contracts (Albert Heijn, Edeka).