Cold Chain Logistics

Hi all, I am Priyadarsini currently pursuing MBA  at Amrita School of Business Coimbatore. Here is my new blog post!!

Cold chain Logistics

A cold chain is a temperature-controlled supply chain designed to provide an uninterrupted series of processes for refrigerated production, storage, and distribution. Equipment and storage are also crucial to holding an optimal low temperature range.

Regardless of the market, the product or the cold chain structure itself, each hand-over within the supply chain exposes products technologies.

Temperature-controlled logistics must be agile and resilient in response to numerous crises which may arise, including:

•  Unexpected delays
• Troubles in customs clearance
• Dysfunctional equipment

Temperature-sensitive products such as chemicals, meat, plants, drugs, and vaccines require from production to consumption temperature-controlled environments and every step between them. More than 30 per cent of deliveries reach their destination with some degree of damage or spoilage, according to a recent analysis of the $76 billion global pharmaceutical logistics distribution industry.

That is totally unacceptable. 

The good news is that tracking the process to assess if stable temperatures have been preserved effectively is much simpler nowadays due to developments in the cold chain itself as well as emerging technologies and tracking capabilities.

Not every temperature sensitive product is created equal. Each product is unique and needs careful handling to preserve its quality in the cold chain. There are many rules and standards for shipping companies to follow in the cold chain supply that are set by industry regulators.

 In addition to these requirements, the individual shippers must have quality expectations in-house. The need to consider business, local, international, global, and environmental regulations, as well as accurately estimate the duration of freight, makes many temperature sensitive goods manufacturers outsource their cold chain supply to specialized shipping companies who can manage all of their freight needs.