The end of August is back to school for some people and the end of summer for others, but for my wife and I, it is tomato sauce season. We buy large quantities of tomatoes and turn them into jars of sauce. 240 pounds of tomatoes are transformed into 77 quarts of delicious organic sauce. We set a date and start planning to have everything ready. That includes cleaning all the equipment, taking inventory and purchasing of mason jars, sourcing organic plum tomatoes, and buying spices. It all leads up to two days of starting early Saturday morning and ending Sunday evening this past weekend.Â
A lot of steps involved in the tomato sauce supply chain.
Even the canning process takes a great deal of planning as there are a lot of steps involved. Cleaning the tomatoes, roasting or boiling them to soften them, running the tomatoes through the press to separate the skin and seeds from the pulp, cooking the raw tomato sauce, stopping every 15 minutes to stir, filling mason jars and then final boiling and sealing of the mason jars. We have definitely learned many lessons. Over the past several years, we adjusted the procedures, upgraded equipment, and made things faster and easier.
Making tomato sauce is very similar to logistics and freight forwarding!
As we were drinking our morning coffee, my wife and I were discussing the plan for Saturday and Sunday before we began. We were suggesting ideas with each other to make the experience less stressful, run smoothly and be faster. We started a conversation about making tomato sauce and ended up comparing things to my job. Turns out, making tomato sauce is remarkably similar to logistics and freight forwarding because good communication and planning are the keys to success.
Things start with a plan.
We started planning at the beginning of summer. Making sure we had enough time to secure organic tomatoes and purchase all our supplies. In freight forwarding, things also start with a plan. The operations team reviews our customers’ needs with the salesperson, going over everything from terms of sale to final delivery. Establishing credit terms, finalizing the SOP, corresponding with our overseas office. Everything needs to be in place before that first shipment is booked. That way there are no surprises, and the customer is satisfied.
Selecting vendors is particularly important.
We took a lot of time finding and sourcing tomatoes. The farm had to have a good reputation and offer organic produce. We needed reliable sources for kitchen equipment and for the mason jars.
It is the same in freight forwarding. Having a good network of offices and agents is the first part. They need to be dependable, have effective communication and provide quick responses and updates for your customers. You need excellent vendors at destination to work with as well. For example, selecting trucking companies that are responsive and meet your customers’ delivery requirements is key to having a successful shipment and a happy customer.
Follow the process.
When you make tomato sauce, you must go step by step. You can’t skip steps or take shortcuts. You need to boil or roast your tomatoes first to get the pulp out easily. Otherwise, you get a weak, watery sauce and don’t get the same yield as you normally would.
You need to follow the process with freight forwarding as well. You cannot skip steps either. Coordinating with your customer and overseas office, booking the cargo, loading the containers, confirming the departure and arrival, assuring shipment has been cleared by U.S. Customs and released at the terminal and coordinating final delivery are the key elements of a shipment. All the while being in compliance with all the relevant government authorities and in budget for your customers.
Solving problems and finding solutions.
Things come up when you are making sauce. You run low on ingredients, you don’t have enough pots, or your stove never has enough burners. You end up improvising to keep moving. Our kitchen stove only has two burners big enough for the large pots we use to cook tomatoes, so we bought a portable camping stove top a few years ago that has given us two more burners for our pots.
In freight forwarding, you are always finding solutions to customers’ problems. From different shipment routes to reviewing different transportation modes, you are constantly solving problems with your customers’ shipments. One of the main reasons to use a freight forwarder is the experience and knowledge to deal with the unexpected. Since the start of the pandemic, supply chain problems and delays have been the focus for many companies. Having a knowledgeable partner that can offer solutions based on past experiences is key.
Be willing to try something new.
Several years ago, when we first started making tomato sauce, we started small, and everything was done manually. We didn’t have a tomato press. We used a food mill, and hand turned the tomatoes to separate the seeds and skin from the pulp. Needless to say, this was very time-consuming and inefficient. We graduated the following year to a hand crank tomato press. It was better but still time consuming and then to a small electric tomato press. Finally, this past year, we bought a commercial grade tomato press that sped up the process and significantly reduced the processing time.
Not too long ago, freight forwarding was considered a stodgy industry where technology was the last place to be found. Today, you need to be at the forefront of technology to stay ahead of your competitors. Real-time track and trace, P.O. Management, and online rate quoting are all tools developed these past few years to give customers transparency and shipment details that in the recent past would require customers to call or email for that information.
Getting feedback.
We give away our sauce to friends and family all the time. We are always curious about what they think. Is it too sweet or too salty? Are the spices balanced? Is there enough garlic? We have adjusted the recipe to what people have said.
Customer feedback in freight forwarding is particularly important as well. Our company is constantly asking our customers how we are doing. Sending email questionnaires, phone calls, and customer visits all play a vital role in obtaining information. What are we doing well? What needs improvement? Which staff members stand out as examples of excellent customer service? The technology mentioned earlier is great but without that personal touch to utilize it fully, it is worthless. Our customers are the reason we are in business, so we need to tailor our services to what they need and require to be successful.
In addition to making tomato sauce, we also grow cucumbers to make pickles. Additionally, we have been thinking about making jams and jellies too. It is a nice hobby and takes a lot of coordination and effort. It is also a life lesson that the things that make you successful in one area translate into other areas of life as well.
