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Evo Logistics cold supply chain solutions

The Cold vs. Normal Supply Chain

In 2022 the cold chain moves commodities across the world each day at remarkable speeds. By speeding up delivery time we can reduce the growth of bacteria, contamination, and keep cold items safe. While there are some similarities, lets examine the differences between the cold supply vs the normal supply chain.

Cold Chain Has More Moving Parts

Moving products that require temperature control involves multiple moving parts to work seamlessly. The normal process of moving freight is simple – plan the route, load the container, move the product, and deliver to the customer. When products require temperature controls like reefers of frozen shipments, each phase of shipping involves additional steps.

Here are some of the ways the cold supply chain is different.

Planning: To plan a cold storage shipment, both the shipper and the receiver must work seamlessly to ensure the correct equipment is used to transport the goods to its correct destination. Some of the biggest problems and obstacles exist while shipping internationally, where products require being moved from one shipping container to another. Carriers are required to ensure their shipments comply with all safety standards and regulations to reduce waste, and bacteria growth, and ensure timely delivery.

Loading: Most carriers maintain cold-storage depots that allow them to keep products stored at the correct temperature. Furthermore, once the shipment is ready to be transported, carriers must work quickly to load the cargo.

Traveling With Freight: The cold supply chain needs to move both quickly and efficiently. Even with safety procedures, the longer the products spend in transit the higher chance of something going wrong. Shipping delays can spell disaster for most products.

Cold Supply Needs More Documentation

Firstly, the biggest difference between the cold supply chain and normal supply chain is documentation. The Food Safety Modernization Act as established by the FDA provides shippers and carriers with controls required for the safe movement of cold-storage food.

DOT and FDA requirements also ensure that carriers maintain temperature control logs to document the temperature of their cargo containers – in most cases every hour. If a carrier is pulled over by a police officer and they do not have an accurate temperature log, they may be fined and their commercial shipping license may be suspended. 

Affects Public Health

When a cold storage commodity is moved through the supply chain, failures to maintain temperature-control can impact public health. Specifically, there are two areas where cold supply chain shipments can cause harm to the general public if not correctly controlled.

  • Medical Products: Most medication and vaccines require storage at certain temperatures in order to maintain their effectiveness. Some of these products include life-saving products like insulin for diabetics, vaccines, and antibiotics for serious infections. Without proper care during transport the results could be disastrous.
  • Food Products: Perishable products like produce, dairy, meat, and frozen foods make up 25% of the total supply chain across the globe. Keeping these products within their ‘danger-zone’ of temperature storage helps to reduce the growth or spread of bacteria. Most food-borne illness issues you hear about on the news are caused by lapses or mistakes within the supply chain.

While moving products from one location to another is a relatively straightforward process, the cold supply chain simply has more moving parts. The biggest issue that new cold-commodity shippers deal with is understanding the excessive regulations and paperwork control involved in this segment.

Cold Storage Warehouse Logistics In Los Angeles

Evo Logistics’ cold storage facility is over 32,000 square feet and consists of four separate coolers. This modern temperature controlled warehouse is able to monitor and store our customer’s temperature sensitive products.

We Provide The Following Handling Needs:

  • Palletizing
  • Re-Weighting
  • Re-gelling
  • Re-packaging
  • Re-icing
  • Dry Storage
  • Cold Storage
  • Cross-docking
  • Quality Report Inspections

If you want to learn more about how to successfully navigate your cold storage logistics, contact our cold storage warehouse to see how we can help you with your cold shipping needs.

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