EN 
ZH The fresh produce at your local market, the skin care products you use daily, and those important medicines in your cabinet all have one thing in common: they are all transported from one location to another through cold chain logistics.Place.
You may be asking yourself, "What is cold chain logistics?" Many of the products you purchase are part of cold chain logistics in some way. Without this innovation, fresh produce wouldn’t survive the journey to the wholesaler or even your doorstep.
Supply Chain Management Explained
For smaller businesses or local deliveries, cold chain transportation management is simpler to do in-house, but for large international companies, global delivery of temperature-sensitive products becomes complex. This creates opportunities to partner with third-party logistics companies that have expertise in cold chain transportation.
This issupply chain managementUseful place. The cold chain is a temperature-controlled cold chain network. This is a system that takes preservation seriously and handles products at recommended low temperature levels. This allows customers to receive the highest quality products regardless of season or weather.
Practical application of cold chain warehousing
Cold chain logistics (also known as cold chain logistics) is a technology and process that enables the accurate planning and safe transportation of temperature-sensitive goods and products along the supply chain.
Some standard products requiring cold chain transportation are:
- Meat
- seafood
- Production
- dairy
- medical supplies
- drug
- flower industry
Running a cold chain business effectively means using certain techniques and science to evaluate and adapt to the connections between temperature, perishability and transportation.
The future of cold chain industry
The industry has grown into a multi-million dollar market worth $209.2 million in 2021. As the demand for product sustainability increases, the global cold chain logistics market is expected to reach a staggering height of US$464 million by 2028.AllThanks to the global pandemic we face, the pharmaceutical and food industries will expand in 2022.
When to use cold chain logistics
The cold chain involves processes that are not only used when transporting or storing goods. It affects every aspect of the cold supply chain, from procurement, storage, and delivery to the end user.
Even after the goods are safely delivered, many products are further maintained at a constant temperature and stored in refrigerators or cool areas to preserve the items until consumption, use or expiration.
An increase or decrease in temperature at any stage of the supply chain is bad news for the goods and the customers who consume/use them, especially for expiration-sensitive products. Shippers and their customers face significant risks and can lose money when cold product spoils.
Key Elements of Supply Chain Management
To keep everything running smoothly, cold chain operations need hands-on logistics managers who oversee every part of the cold chain process and gain critical insights.
To maintain the integrity of shipments and avoid product loss/damage, critical elements of the cold chain must be continuously monitored.
1. Packaging
Packaging is mainly used to protect products during transportation. Cold chain products should be packaged to prevent damage while allowing storage containers to maintain the goods at the required temperature.
2. Temperature monitoring
Products that require constant cold conditions also require regular temperature tracking. Temperature monitoring is more than just keeping the temperature constant. It tracks humidity levels and shows how long and how long packages have been kept at different temperature levels.
3. Transportation
Products are maintained at the proper temperature from the time they leave the manufacturer until they arrive at their destination using various types of refrigerated transport units.
4. Save
To keep food or pharmaceuticals at the right temperature along the supply chain, cold storage rooms are equipped with insulation to protect against outside temperatures.
How to provide a temperature-controlled environment?
Since different food cold chain products have different temperature requirements, cold chain logistics can provide you with temperature control facilities such as warehouses and transportation to meet different temperature needs.
These are the recommended standard degree settings:
Although these are recommended safe temperatures for certain foods, there is some leeway as some items can tolerate slight temperature changes. If the changes are drastic and frequent, the item will deteriorate.
Cold chain technology in supply chain
Therefore, to ensure that goods are not damaged and remain in pristine condition regardless of the stage in the supply chain, the pharmaceutical, medical and food industries rely heavily on cold chain logistics.
There are many ways to keep cargo at the proper temperature. In order to determine the correct refrigeration method, the following factors need to be considered:
- transit time
- Packaged Shipment Dimensions
- weather/outdoor temperature
After choosing the right approach, the following modern cold chain solutions can be applied.
1. Shipping Container
To ensure goods do not experience temperature fluctuations, companies must use containers to move goods quickly through the supply chain to ensure products do not experience adverse temperatures.
A marine container (refrigerated container or vehicle) is a refrigerated unit with a temperature-controlled on-board cooling system. These are insulated vans, semi-trucks or standard ISO containers, which can also be modified to keep products warm if required.
2. Cooling technology
These methods are used to keep already cold products at the same temperature.
gel pack: Often used in medical and pharmaceutical delivery.
dry ice: It can freeze items for a long time, especially for food, medicine and dangerous goods. When exposed to air, it does not melt but sublimates.
liquid nitrogen: Mainly used to transport biological cargo (organs, tissues, etc.). Extremely cold weather can make things freeze longer.
Eutectic plate: Also called a cold plate, these are used in a similar way to gel packs, but the cold plate is reusable.
Quilt: Insulated quilts can be wrapped or placed on cargo and are used to keep the temperature constant so frozen items stay frozen longer.
Common cold chain logistics challenges
Despite all the tips, tricks and equipment mentioned above, running a cold chain business effectively is not easy. Maintaining a constant temperature throughout cold chain storage is not always as easy as it sounds.
Poor airflow
While good airflow can maintain uniform temperatures in refrigerators, trucks, and trailers and distribute air evenly within the area, poor airflow can cause problems such as short circulation, increased humidity, and the possibility of different temperatures throughout the storage space and more.
It occurs when the cargo is not completely cooled at a uniform temperature and some parts of the cargo are in varying degreesHotspot.
top freeze
This is when your goods are placed too close to refrigerated air in a storage or shipping unit. It can cause freeze damage to your products.
Why is cold chain logistics important?
This allows customers to experience and purchase different items from around the world. The more customers demand products with otherworldly experiences, the more cold chain logistics companies will grow.
While some products can withstand environmental changes, others cannot. Quality, flavor, consistency and safety are all compromised during transportation.
The end customer may not notice that the premium Wagyu beef they purchased has been sitting in the wrong temperature range for two hours, but they may be at risk of food poisoning or related illnesses if the product is not handled accordingly by the cold chain.
For goods arriving from around the world, cold chain management can minimize the risk of temperatures exceeding safe levels during storage or transportation and provide manufacturers and suppliers with better product control.
Start different cold chain jobs in the industry
Want to know how to start a cold chain logistics business? Or want to join a cold chain logistics startup? If this topic piques your interest and you are looking for a different career in this industry, here are some career paths in cold chain logistics that you can get involved in:
- Leasing cold storage to companies selling perishable products
- Cold chain consulting
- Provide road, railway, aviation, waterway refrigerated/refrigerated transportation services
- Manufacture of refrigerated trucks and vans
- Cold storage construction
- Equipment manufacturing or supply to cold storage owners
- Temperature controlled logistics service technology supplier
Smart cold chain management
Leave your on-the-ground cold chain operations toCartrack.
Get 24/7 protection with temperature sensors that monitor temperature remotely, send automatic alerts on temperature changes via email/SMS, and our AI camera system will help keep an eye on your cargo and drivers while on the road .
For better control over your fleet and the goods you transport, use Cartrack.
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