Trusted to keep deliveries moving: How Samsara drives food & beverage distribution

In food and beverage distribution, every kilometre matters. Products must arrive fresh, drivers need to stay safe, and operations have to run efficiently even when demand surges or conditions shift.

Trusted by leading distributors such as Glazer’s Beer & Beverage, Performance Food Group, and Sysco, Samsara provides food and beverage operators with real-time visibility and AI-powered insights to deliver every order safely, efficiently, and compliantly. With Samsara as their connected operations foundation, teams can operate with confidence by enabling:

• On-road safety: Protect drivers and brand reputation with AI-powered safety that prevents risk early, reduces incidents, and lowers costs.

• Cold chain compliance: Deliver the quality your customers expect with real-time temperature visibility to maintain cold chain compliance, prevent spoilage, and ensure every delivery arrives fresh.

• Operational efficiency: Protect margins with real-time fleet insights that help reduce fuel and labor costs, improve on-time performance, and uncover hidden capacity.

• Driver-first support: Create a culture where drivers feel valued and supported with AI-powered feedback and recognition that builds safer habits and lasting loyalty.

Customer success story: Glazer’s Beer & Beverage

Glazer's Beer & Beverage has over 100 years of experience and distributes over 50 million cases of beer annually. Before implementing Samsara, Glazer's dealt with lengthy incident investigations and high liability exposure. “It could take a month to investigate a claim because we didn't have cameras,” said Matt Swilling, VP of Operations. “We had no way of knowing what happened beyond our employees’ statements.” In a highly litigious environment, they had limited ability to defend drivers in not-at-fault situations or quickly resolve claims. “We had a few severe accidents and have seen an increasing number of accidents overall,” said Orman Anderson, CFO. “We didn't have the evidence to exonerate ourselves or have much data about our drivers.” 

Samsara's AI Dash Cams transformed Glazer's approach to safety from reactive to proactive. AI-powered cameras detect risky behaviours and provide in-cab alerts that help drivers correct their behaviour in real-time. When incidents do occur, HD video evidence enables immediate investigation, exonerating drivers from not-at-fault accidents. 

In one notable exoneration case, Glazer’s cleared their driver from a multi-car freeway accident with Samsara video. “The initial police report came back stating that our driver was at fault. In similar situations, we would have faced multiple-millions of dollars in losses,” said Anderson. “We were able to present video footage that exonerated us, amending the police report and removing us from the lawsuit.” As a result, Glazer’s reduced their at-fault accident rate by 60% and related costs by 86% as well as saved several million in potential claims costs.

How leading food and beverage operators keep every delivery safe, fresh, and on time 

Managing fleets, perishable goods, and tight delivery windows is complex, but Samsara gives teams real-time visibility to stay ahead. With AI-powered insights and integrated tools for routing, communication, and quality control, operators can support drivers, maintain product integrity, and ensure every delivery arrives safely and on time.

Tip 1: Resolve incidents faster with real-time visibility

When incidents or claims occur, time is the biggest factor in cost and complexity. Manually piecing together what happened slows down investigations and often leaves operators relying on incomplete information. With Samsara AI Dash Cams, AI Multicam, and cloud video retrieval, safety teams can access footage within minutes, speeding up incident review with clear, objective evidence insurers and law enforcement need.

“If an incident happens, Samsara lets us react instantly. As soon as an accident occurs, we can contact the relevant insurance company with tangible evidence within an hour. A quick reaction time means cases don’t drag on and we get a resolution much faster. That’s saved us a lot of money on insured costs, which have already decreased 15% year on year.” Paul Duncalf, Safety, Training and Fleet Compliance Director, Sysco GB

Tip 2: Prevent spoilage and reduce waste with connected temperature monitoring

Maintaining a compliant, efficient cold chain is essential for any food and beverage operation, but manual temperature checks and fragmented reporting can create gaps that put product quality at risk. With Samsara Environmental Monitors, teams gain continuous, real-time temperature data across every reefer and trailer. Automated alerts help prevent spoilage before it leads to waste, while digitized temperature records streamline audits and reduce back-office workload. 

“Many communities depend on us to be their supply source. It's critical for us to have an efficient and safe supply chain to facilitate those deliveries. Samsara helps us take concrete actions today on how we can be more sustainable, work to cut waste, and be better corporate citizens tomorrow.” Rob Tostowaryk, Vice President, Distribution, Western Canada, Sobeys

Tip 3: Streamline driver workflows to reduce downtime and improve delivery speed

For high-volume delivery operations, the smallest inefficiencies compound quickly across hundreds of daily routes. Manual DVIRs, paper forms, and disconnected navigation tools slow drivers down and introduce compliance risk. With Samsara’s digital workflows, drivers can complete inspections, access routes, log hours, and begin their day all from a single mobile app. This reduces friction, eliminates redundant tasks, and allows drivers to start routes faster while ensuring compliance and accuracy.

“From their phone, our drivers can log into the vehicle, do their pre-trip inspection, get their routes, pin to that route and then get on the road. That's where we can reduce a lot of negative downtime. We now have a product that helps our drivers get on the road faster, make deliveries, and keep our customers happy.” Ray Mills, Senior Manager Fleet Safety, Reddy Ice

Tip 4: Support driver growth and retention with AI-powered learning

Driver experience matters, especially in a tight labor market where onboarding speed, coaching quality, and career development can be the difference between keeping talent and losing it. With Samsara’s AI-driven learning tools, organizations can deliver personalized training paths that help drivers build skills faster and feel more supported on the job. Instead of one-size-fits-all coaching, AI surfaces relevant lessons based on driver behaviour, enabling leaders to reinforce safety, boost confidence, and create a stronger sense of belonging across the fleet. 

“AI helps us personalize onboarding, recommend learning pathways, and accelerate skill building. That creates a real sense of opportunity and belonging—not just during the holiday rush, but throughout the year.” Tehzin Chadwick, Senior Vice President of Safety, UNFI

Tip 5: Build a safer, more connected workforce on one platform

Safety and operations teams work best when they have direct access to the information they need. Samsara’s role-based permissions make it easy to give every team member the right level of visibility, all within a single platform. With unified access to safety reports, vehicle data, and coaching insights, teams can collaborate more effectively and coach workers in real time, creating a stronger safety culture across the entire organization.

“It was easy to set up user permissions for our team. We wanted to give them the accessibility to view everything they needed to view so they can do their jobs. Everything is on one platform so they don’t have to toggle between different tools. Now, our team can coach our employees on how to be safer.” Beth Woodbury, VP of Safety, Aunt Millie’s