Bayonne, NJ, Nov. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rainforest Distribution Corp. (“Rainforest”), a full-service food and beverage distributor serving more than 4,000 retailers across 22 states on the East Coast, today announced the deployment of Samsara Route Planning and Commercial Navigation across its company-owned direct-store-delivery fleet. The rollout places routing, navigation, telematics, and compliance on a single platform, integrated to Rainforest’s SAP environment through Samsara’s open API. Samsara has published the full results in a customer case study available at www.samsara.com/customers/rainforest-distribution.
Samsara Route Planning and Commercial Navigation now runs across Rainforest Distribution’s company-owned DSD fleet.
The Samsara deployment is part of a multi-year capital and technology program that has reshaped Rainforest’s operating platform. Over the past twenty-four months the company has commissioned purpose-built, temperature-controlled distribution centers in Fort Pierce, Florida and Cartersville, Georgia, opened a dedicated cross-dock in Charlotte, North Carolina, expanded its Lynchburg, Virginia facility, and selected Manhattan Active® Supply Chain Planning to unify demand planning, forecasting, and replenishment. Rainforest has grown from one location to seven in ten years, organically and through the acquisition of regional East Coast distributors including Avenue Gourmet, Associated Buyers, and Perfect 10 Foods. The company employs more than 400 people and operates a fleet of approximately 150 power units carrying more than 7,000 SKUs in ambient, refrigerated, and frozen formats.
Rainforest’s fleet, its temperature-controlled distribution centers, and its SQF-certified food safety program are company-owned and company-run, which is what allows the company to serve high-touch perishables, emerging brands, and custom retail programs at national-chain service levels. Routing is the layer that connects those assets to the store door.
The deployment covers the full fleet across every Rainforest distribution center and brings several functions that previously sat in separate systems onto one platform: route planning and dispatch, equipment-aware commercial navigation, GPS telematics, electronic logging and hours-of-service, electronic DVIR, and trailer and cold chain monitoring. Routes are optimized before dispatch against the height, weight, vehicle class, and permitted road types that apply to the specific power unit assigned to the run, and the driver receives turn-by-turn navigation built on that same equipment profile. Multi-day and overnight routes are planned natively, which matters as Rainforest shifts toward a heavy-duty, sleeper-equipped fleet to support longer southern lanes. Dispatchers link drivers, vehicles, and routes in one record, and customer service can produce live tracking to a specific stop on request.
Integration was the condition for the investment. Route data moves between Samsara and SAP through a direct API connection rather than exports and reformatting, and the same connection carries vehicle, driver, and stop-level execution data back for reporting. Drivers work from a single mobile application for routing, navigation, hours of service, and inspections.
“We committed to a company-owned delivery network because control of the last mile is what allows us to serve retailers the way we do,” said German Ossa, VP of Transportation at Rainforest Distribution Corp. “This investment improves a core part of that service. It gives us capacity, frequency, and expertise to put back into our customers, and it is one piece of a broader program to build the infrastructure a distributor of our scale needs.”
For more information, visit https://www.rainforestdistribution.com/news/rainforest-distribution-expands-routing-capabilities-samsara-route-planning/.
ABOUT RAINFOREST DISTRIBUTION
Rainforest Distribution Corp. is a full-service food and beverage distribution company operating a network of distribution centers across the eastern United States with refrigerated, frozen, and ambient fulfillment capabilities. Purpose-built as a platform for incubating, supporting, and scaling emerging and high-growth brands, Rainforest gives manufacturers a clear path from regional launch to national reach. For retailers where differentiated assortment is critical to driving traffic and loyalty, Rainforest delivers a curated, trend-forward product mix that makes store sets more compelling. Combined with deep supplier partnerships, enterprise-grade food safety standards, and investment in advanced supply chain technology, Rainforest serves as a value-added partner to national chains, regional grocers, and independent operators alike. Rainforest serves more than 4,000 retailers across 22 states with more than 7,000 SKUs. For more information, visit www.rainforestdistribution.com.
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