Prime Logistics Launches Distribution of 60,000 Boxes 
of Girl Scout Cookies at Doral Warehouse Facility

Global logistics firm serves as central warehousing and distribution point for the 2021 Girl Scout Cookie program in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties

MIAMI, FL- Jan. 11, 2021 – Prime Logistics global headquarters in Doral, Fla., served as the local arrival point for Girl Scout Cookies in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties as they partnered with Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida for the launch of the 2021 cookie season.

“Our 20-year-old company is most often identified with managing heavy duty import-export logistics and highly sensitive pharmaceuticals, but Prime Logistics has many other skills sets as well – some sweeter than others,” says Edgar Campana, general manager-Prime Logistics. He added that the mission included providing careful, safe handling, and warehousing of 60,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies including Thin Mints, Samoas, and the entire range of favorites.

Prime Logistics signed a 2020-2021 agreement with the Little Brownie Bakers on behalf of the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida for warehousing services for the cookies. The nonprofit organization serves approximately 3,500 young girls and adult volunteers in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. Prime Logistics is one of four companies of Miami-based Prime Group, a global logistics conglomerate founded in 2001.

Over the past few months, Little Brownie Bakers has been transporting thousands of cookie boxes to the Prime Logistics warehouse facility in Doral. Here, staff has been busy carefully accepting and housing the eight different colorful box types.

“We’re so pleased to be a part of this annual Girl Scout Cookie Program, which began in 1917,” Campana emphasizes. “The prime purpose is to help young girls develop marketing and other business skills as well as raise funds for Girl Scout troop operations.”

According to Girl Scout Council organizers, between now and Feb. 15 the girls are selling the cookies in several ways. Many girls this year are operating “virtual cookie booths” using the Girl Scout’s Digital Cookie online platform for iOS or Android devices. Through that platform, the girls are offering cookie customers contactless delivery/drop-off or other options including donating cookies for local hometown heroes, such as first responders and medical workers battling COVID-19 on the front line. Customers can click on the Cookie Finder on the GSTF website.

With parental permission, the girls are also creating social-media posts for cookie selling. Organizers note that other options (varying this year based on government restrictions) may include cookie booths at local stores like Milam’s Markets and Winn Dixie, or, alternatively, a drive-through rally – which is a fun, safe way to distribute the cookie boxes.

The program is aimed at helping to prepare young girls for their future careers. “The common goal with the Girl Scout Cookie Program is to teach these young people in our community how to think like entrepreneurs as they engage in the typical functions of running their own small businesses,” Campana stresses.

“We’re happy to assist in a program that teaches such important business skills as goal setting, money management, business ethics, people skills, and decision making,” he explains. “Who knows? Maybe in the future one of these Girl Scouts will become a valuable member of our Prime Logistics management team.”

“There is nothing our G.I.R.L.s (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ cannot accomplish. Faced with adversity is actually when we shine the brightest,” said Chelsea Wilkerson, CEO of Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida. “Cookie sales are what fuel their goals, and we look forward to a robust season.”

Visit www.girlscoutsfl.org for more information about cookie sales, dates, and specific cookie availability.

About Prime Logistics

Prime Logistics is a division of Prime Group, a Miami-based air cargo and international logistics conglomerate founded in 2001. Prime Logistics has hundreds of contacts and representatives around the globe, who are skilled at providing expert logistics solutions. Many industries are supported in shipping commodities via air and ocean to virtually any destination. For information, call 305-592-2044 or visit www.primelogisticsgroup.com.

About Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida

Girl Scouts is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. We believe in the power of every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ to change the world, and our programs offer each one a chance to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success. Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida was founded in 1923 and currently serves over 3,500 girls in grades K-12 from nearly every residential zip code of Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. To volunteer, reconnect, donate, or join, visit www.girlscoutsfl.org.

PGL Building

Prime Logistics Is Suited up to Support Cold-Chain Distribution of Vaccines

With the addition of a fleet of all new temperature-controlled freezers at its MIA warehouse facility, Prime Logistics is doubling down its readiness to meet the pressing needs of customers serving the pharmaceuticals industry at a pivotal point in history. 

The company initially ramped up its freezer capacity in response to the soaring popularity of e-commerce distribution of frozen foods, as millions of consumers chose online shopping and delivery rather than leaving home. 

But of course, since the earliest days of the pandemic, Prime Logistics knew there would come a day when much more capacity would be needed to service the imminent release and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine. That day has come.

In late November, as several pharmaceutical companies began releasing their pandemic fighting inoculations, it officially signaled to global shippers and handlers that their crucial role delivering coronavirus vaccines worldwide was now underway. 

Prepared & Ready

“The good news for Prime Logistics and our customers worldwide is that we’re ready,” says Omar Zambrano, the company’s chief operations officer.

“Between the new 400cbm capacity at MIA and the vast freezer space already in place at our consolidated freight stations at LAX and JFK, we are well positioned to safely store, stage, and transit highly-sensitive vaccines and other pharmaceuticals at a time when the world needs us most.”

Prime Logistics had in fact played a significant role in the distribution of vaccines in normal times through its well-established global time- and temperature-sensitive handling and distribution system. 

Says Prime Logistics Sales Manager Yulieth Onofre, “It is also important to point out, as demand heats up for temperature-controlled refrigerator and freezer units, our strategically positioned facilities have the available space to expand as greater capacity is needed.”

This addresses one of the biggest challenges facing the cold chain distribution process in delivering a temperature-sensitive COVID-19 vaccine. The supply of cold storage facilities is woefully outdated, at least in the U.S., so there is greater need for back-up modernized facilities, such as that which Prime Logistics has to offer.

According to a report from Supply Chain Dive, “Demand for cold storage has been on the incline for years as consumers have slowly adapted to shopping for groceries online, but the coronavirus shot that curve up sharply. So, even within a generally hot market, the supply side for highly desirable cold storage facilities is lagging.”

Onofre notes that maintaining supply chain integrity, from the starting point at the manufacturing site to finish, will require all parties to work together. Knowing that no single agency or entity can do this alone, Prime Logistics is aware of the urgency at hand and is ready to step up to do its part.

“This is where we clearly excel,” says Onofre. “With facilities, partners, and qualified agents all around the world, Prime Logistics is particularly experienced in the global management and delivery of temperature-sensitive products anywhere in the world.”

Every party realizes that supporting the global effort at vaccinating everybody in the country and across the world is going to be a phenomenal logistical feat. Knowing this, Onofre adds, “We absolutely have zero margin for failure. We are going to get this right.”

Information & Control 

Getting it right also means maintaining the integrity of the product from source to destination and every point in between. Beyond the challenge of physically transporting the vaccine across America and internationally, there is the additional obstacle of monitoring deliveries for theft.

This sudden burst of activity and demand, as vaccine producers are now ready to ship, will no doubt create openings for providers of transportation and warehouse facilities that may have poor security practices. The rush to market with large quantities of the inoculation will make it difficult for manufacturers to vet all their suppliers.

Not a problem for Prime Logistics, however, with its reputation for being one of the most professional and trustworthy providers on the industry. Its solid reliance on enhanced state-of-the-art inventory tracking and product monitoring technologies not only serves to answer the customer’s most basic questions—where is my shipment and when will it arrive?—but also adds the much needed element of security. 

Charter Operations

One other important service area where Prime Logistics excels is in the delivery of time- and temperature-sensitive products via its air cargo charter division.

Not only does the company enjoy long-time relationships with some of the world’s largest and most reliable air cargo carriers, Prime Logistics also has proven expertise in managing ad-hoc cargo charter operations. This also well-positions Prime Logistics to step up for its many customers in expediting vaccines and other pharmaceutical products when and where they are needed most.

Zambrano says it’s clear there is going to be an unprecedented demand for cargo space, far greater than there was for PPE at the advent of the pandemic. “Just as Prime Logistics pivoted and performed for our customers then, we’re on hot standby to manage charter flight operations as needed for this next round,” he said.

About Prime Logistics

Prime Logistics benefits from being part of the Prime Group, a network of coordinated cargo and freight specialists with offices and representatives worldwide. Based in Miami, the company has 20 years of expertise working with perishables and pharmaceuticals—two very specialized industries that demand intense attention to detail and infallible transportation solutions at a moment’s notice.

 For information, call 305-592-2044 or visit www.primelogisticsgroup.com

Prime Group Has Its Marching Orders in the Battle Against COVID-19

Every answer begins with a question. But these days, there seem to be so many questions, especially within the global logistics industry. Chief among them—are we ready with cold chain solutions to respond to the onslaught of COVID-19 vaccines once they’re ready for worldwide delivery?

At the Prime Group, the answer is yes. We are prepared.

As a company specializing in solid answers and smart solutions for its customers, we understand answers don’t always come easy, particularly in the midst of such a long-lasting “critical event” as a global pandemic.

Significant variability has always been the Achilles’ heel of the global supply chain. Natural disasters, equipment failure, civil unrest, terrorism, blight – at least we knew what the basic categories were. But a pandemic with the power to shut down the entire global economy? That one wasn’t even on the radar screen!

And now, we are facing an all new phase of this novel “variable”—the release of billions of doses of highly-sensitive vaccines and the challenges that will present for a worldwide infrastructure to support rapid distribution and deployment all across the planet.

No small task.

By focusing on what we do well and applying new strategies in operating our businesses, I am confident that we can and will succeed in providing the right answers and solutions for our customers—and the world.   

It’s been said wars are won by superior logistics more than battles. It would appear we’ve got our marching orders.

Transport

The most important element of logistics is transport—and this is where Prime Group clearly excels. Without transport, goods are unable to move from one stage to another within a supply chain. We are supremely experienced in transporting complex time- and temperature-sensitive products all over the world. And we stand ready.

Our long-time relationships with some of the world’s largest and most reliable air cargo carriers and our proven expertise in managing ad-hoc cargo charter operations positions us well to do our part in expediting vaccines and other pharmaceutical products when and where it is needed most.

There is going to be an unprecedented demand for cargo space, far greater than there was for PPE at the advent of the pandemic. As the Prime Group was able to pivot and perform then, we are confident we can do it again for this next round.

Storage & Material Handling

The prevailing pre-pandemic logic, the old normal if you will, was that consumers tend not to demand goods at the same rate as a manufacturer supplies them. In supplying the entire world with a vaccine, that idea is about to be turned on its head.

This is where the role of cold storage, material handling, and warehousing comes in as well as the ability to better track and monitor the shipments. It is also an area of recent focus by the Prime Group—the rollout of enhanced state-of-the-art inventory tracking and product monitoring technologies.

To maintain the integrity and effectiveness of the cold supply chain, we are adding capacity among our network of temperature-controlled warehouses at key international transit points. We are also coordinating the necessary manpower and services needed on the ground at anticipated staging locations where the vaccines will be delivered to government agencies and world health organizations.

Packaging

Next is the role of packaging. With regard to the care and condition of the vaccine products, resilient packaging will be essential. But more than that, when released for emergency use, we expect this new class of COVID vaccines will come with strict temperature requirements, perhaps ranging between -70 and -80 degrees Celsius, and consistent temperature management.

With expansive knowledge and experience in the transport of temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals, the Prime Group is trained and ready to employ stringent government-approved procedures and staff at its strategically-positioned network of refrigerated warehouses to ensure product stability throughout the last-mile network.

Information & Control

In meeting the demand for reliable distribution of vaccines and crucial medical supplies, timeliness and accuracy of information is critical. Global supply chain visibility and event notification are key to Prime Group’s ability to meet customer demand and service reliability. Visibility starts with the ability to answer very basic questions: Where is it? When will it arrive? Is the expected date different from the planned date?

These days, we know we cannot simply look at past data to create models on which we can base long-term predictions. Instead, we must rely on short-term predictions. By partnering with leaders in the field of global IT software development, Prime Group has been redefining and digitizing its operations for enhanced efficiency, adaptability, readiness, and performance.

At such a strategically crucial moment, when there is so much at stake, we need fast access to mission-critical insights to meet the needs of our customers. Prime Group is also exploring AI-powered augmented analytics to help us explore and analyze data that will trigger various operational procedures essential to the on-time and safe delivery of refrigerated cargo from origin to destination.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about tremendous change in the way that the Prime Group delivers necessary cargo quickly and efficiently around the world. As a result, we are in a better position than ever.

And as we see signs that researchers and pharmaceutical companies are on the verge of having a viable vaccine, we know that their success in winning the battle against this disease depends on an our ability to deliver.

Wherever You Are, Prime Group Is Here for You

As the international turmoil of the pandemic continues, Prime Group remains steadfast in its support of our customers as they respond to the global need for essential commodities and healthcare supplies and equipment.

Nowhere near the end of this storm, and still not knowing what the “New Normal” will bring, for the present we will continue to do what we normally do – provide expert logistics support and services for our customers when they need it, where they need it, and get the job done right.

Our long history of service in the perishables business has prepared us well for this inflection point. We’re nimble, ready, and reliable. After all, when dealing with time- and temperature-sensitive commodities, it is all about precision and preparedness – because at any moment anything can go off track. And it usually does, which is why we’ve learned to always be ready with a plan B, C, and D.

World Service

Deemed an “Essential Business” early on, Prime Group companies were immediately front and center serving government agencies, world health organizations, and other customers integral to the global distribution of personal protection equipment (PPE) and crucial medical material. We’re proud of the part we played then and stand ready to continue to serve in this capacity as COVID-19 persists.

Successful missions to date have included managing numerous charters with PPE from Asia to the U.S. and Latin America. In addition, we continue moving multiple containers of needed material by ocean from Asia to the U.S., where we then transfer it to Latin America by air – always with an eye on cost and efficiency.

We also did 18 charters between Quito and Amsterdam with Emirates SkyCargo using B777-300s PFs (passenger freighters) to support the local growers and the flower industry in general.

And with so many people these days in self-isolation – and in need of better-for-you-snacks to help get them through – we successfully managed a doubling of sales of our Prime Planet Tostones, crafted and exported from Ecuador to retail markets all across the U.S.

New Directions

During this heightened period of activity, we also implemented a new marketing strategy that is effectively getting the word out regarding the wide range of new and existing services available through the Prime Group.

This major effort will allow us to build upon our existing strengths, while also moving us in new directions.

As we consider the ongoing impact of COVID-19, we are monitoring market forces that are shaping the future development of multiple industries and regions across the world. With our global network of offices and expert representation, we are continually finding new opportunities to answer the call for service – and to deliver.

Prime Group is eager to play a crucial role in supporting the major industries that today are facing the biggest logistics challenges – with FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) and healthcare products leading the way. However, we are closely eyeing automotive, energy and utilities, industrial machinery and equipment, and other industries that are expecting new growth in the post-pandemic economy.

Although it may take another 18 months for things to “normalize,” whatever form that may take, the Prime Group will remain vigilant to changing customer needs and to delivering on our commitment to excellence in all we do.

The challenges before us are many. The opportunities are wide open. Wherever you are, we are here for you.