Frozen Fulfillment: Cost, Data, and Transportation Waste

Welcome to this episode of The New Warehouse Podcast. Kevin is joined by Ariane Mary Kemper, co-founder and COO of eGourmet Solutions. The cold chain 3PL specializes in frozen and refrigerated fulfillment.

The company began 20 years ago as a frozen-food retail business. Today, eGourmet has five U.S. locations. It reaches 80% of the U.S. population in one day and 100% in two. Kemper shares lessons on D2C economics, actionable data, AI, and transportation waste.

Frozen Fulfillment Gets Expensive Fast

Frozen D2C has a higher barrier to entry. Shipping costs alone can make low-value orders unrealistic. As Kemper puts it, “So if you sell $5 widgets, you can’t ship perishables. The economics aren’t there.” She says the economics become more workable when the shopping cart reaches $100, $120, or $150. Faster transit and better packaging have lowered costs, but brands still need sufficient order value to cover frozen fulfillment and freight costs.

Kemper also advises newer brands to keep things simple. Fewer SKUs mean fewer picks, less inventory, and less risk of product expiring before it sells. Even the size of the shipping cooler matters. “The cavity in that cooler has a cost whether you fill it up or not, so it behooves you to fill it up.” Her recommendation is to build the product assortment with those fulfillment costs in mind.

Frozen and Refrigerated Operating System Technology

Kemper saw the challenge the industry faced in making data useful. “Everybody’s running around trying to get all this data. Part of the problem is it’s not clean.” More data does not automatically create better decisions. She adds, “It’s not standardized, right? It’s not verified.” A brand could spend an hour or more reviewing inventory just to identify exceptions.

To address this challenge, eGourmet built FROST IQ, its Frozen and Refrigerated Operating System Technology. The blended technology stack consolidates client data into a single portal. Kemper explains, “With FROST, our clients have one portal that they can go to to get what they need done. The data is clean, standardized, and there are checks and balances to ensure everything is accurate and correct.” Customizable widgets can flag backorders, open orders, and expiring SKUs.

Transportation May Be the Bigger Opportunity in Frozen Fulfillment

Packaging innovation continues to improve frozen fulfillment, but Kemper sees a bigger target in sight. “Transportation to me is the biggest cost and where I think you have the lowest-hanging fruit.” She points to freight as an area with major efficiency potential.

The waste is visible in everyday freight movement. “Half the trucks we get aren’t full. The amount of money our clients spend on trucking product left and right is absolutely astounding.” Kemper also sees gaps in temperature monitoring and shipment visibility. 

For cold-chain operators, proof of performance should come with the transportation service. “You’re the one guaranteeing that my products are gonna stay frozen. Well, you should be the one proving to me that they are.” Her expectation is straightforward. Know where the product is and prove it stayed within temperature requirements. Better utilization, visibility, and accountability could reshape cold-chain transportation.

Key Takeaways on Frozen Fulfillment

• eGourmet operates five U.S. locations and says its network reaches 80% of the U.S. population in one day and 100% in two.
• D2C remains harder operationally than pallet-in, pallet-out B2B fulfillment. eGourmet picks individual units entirely inside the freezer.
• FROST IQ can surface backorders, open orders, expiring SKUs, and weeks on hand. Users can flag SKUs with more than four weeks of inventory.

Listen to the episode below and leave your thoughts in the comments.

Guest Information

For more information on eGourmet Solutions, click here.

To connect with Ariane Mary Kemper on LinkedIn, click here.

For more information about frozen fulfillment, check out the podcasts below. 

Cold Storage Warehouse Automation: Insights from TGW

621: Harnessing Technology to Advance Cold Storage Operations at Lineage

577: Smarter, Faster, & Safer Frozen Fulfillment with ColdTrack