Whether on HVAC condenser units outside suburban homes or refrigerated semi-trailers rolling down the freeway, everyone is familiar with the Carrier Corp.’s oval blue logo. But most wouldn’t consider the century-old company as an innovator in data-driven cold chain management.

However, as the company’s “dare to disrupt” mantra attests, Carrier is very much at the forefront of digital transformation in the global supply chain.

“We’re really thinking like a startup right now,” said Luca Bertuccelli (pictured), director of connected platform solutions at Carrier Global Corp.

Bertuccelli spoke with John Walls, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during AWS re:Invent. They discussed how Carrier is leveraging its data resources to transform the global cold chain and help temperature-sensitive supplies reach their destinations on time and without damage. (* Disclosure below.)

Carrier and AWS switch supply chain from reactive to predictive

Through its new Lynx analytics platform, Carrier is collaborating with Amazon Web Services Inc. to collect and analyze data from Carrier equipment across the globe. Linking Carrier’s cold chain expertise with Amazon’s cloud power provides a “tremendous opportunity to generate transformational outcomes for our customers,” Bertuccelli said.

Changing the customer conversation from reactive to proactive, Carrier no longer asks, “How did your equipment perform?” but “What changes in operations and equipment can you make to avoid problems coming up?”

“There’s a lot of opportunities for us to be able to help customers take costs out of the supply chain while still maintaining that level of safety that they need in their cold chain,” Bertuccelli said.

With a $35 billion annual loss to the biopharma industry and 475 tons of food loss due to poor cold chain control, there is a need for a more proactive management.

“We’re going to use all this data, all this artificial intelligence, all this machine learning to be able to help customers potentially make decisions on the fly,” Bertuccelli said. These decisions could be as simple as “don’t use that trailer; its refrigeration unit needs a service” to rerouting a shipment in progress to avoid inclement weather delays.

But while saving costs is important, the human impact of cold chain failures is the force behind Carrier’s data initiative. Millions go hungry every day while rotting food contributes to global warming. And lost or spoiled medicine can lead to unnecessary suffering and even death.

“At the end of the day, if somebody goes hungry or somebody isn’t able to get their medication and that’s related to a cold chain issue that we could have preempted or that we could have helped preempt, that’s really what drives us,” Bertuccelli stated.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of AWS re:Invent. (* Disclosure: Amazon Web Services Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither AWS nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: Carrier Global Corp.