Carrier delivers Super Bowl prize

Organizing a Super Bowl game for the National Football League (NFL) demands a flurry of behind-the-scenes logistics moves, all aimed at making sure that hundreds of moving pieces come together in time for the opening kickoff.

Of course, supply chain professionals in many corners of the industry face equally complex jobs every day as they load giant containerships with freight or dispatch thousands of individual orders to consumers' homes, but there is one crucial difference—the Super Bowl is broadcast on live TV, so millions of viewers witness any mistakes.

That's why the pressure was on FedEx Corp. when the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers in the championship game last month and stepped up to claim their trophy. The NFL had called FedEx's number to carry the iconic Vince Lombardi Trophy from league headquarters in New York City to the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

To ensure that the sterling silver Tiffany & Co.-crafted trophy traveled safely across the country, FedEx monitored its progress with SenseAware, a track-and-trace platform that constantly monitors temperature, humidity, and light. The monitoring helps assure that a parcel is not affected by extreme environmental conditions or opened before its arrival.