While the potential of India’s cold chain sector is apparent to anyone who has knowledge of the industry, there are constraints that prevent this potential from being fully realised. Cold chain is emerging as a vital sector with an expected CAGR of 19 per cent till 2022. Yet, agricultural produce worth Rs 133 billion is discarded annually due to the country’s lack of proper refrigerated storage and transportation. This is due in part to India’s issues of food shortage and food security, but many of the bottlenecks can be eased through the adoption of new technologies, and the government’s push to promote the industry.
Cold chain is one of the toughest aspects of logistics to get right, and the demand for it is on the rise in many industries. Food and pharmaceuticals are key segments that will drive the growth of the cold chain business for logistics providers in the foreseeable future. Pharma and healthcare companies often ship products like vaccines, blood products and various medicines, which need to be maintained at certain temperatures to preserve their potency or validity. Similarly, industries like dairy and confectionary, processed foods and quick-service restaurants require their products to be maintained at cold or frozen temperatures. The nature of these products is such that they cannot be stored in warehouses for long periods.
Businesses in such industries seek to ensure that their shipments reach their destinations without being tampered with; they seek a logistics partner that they can trust. Unfortunately, the problem with India’s cold chain industry, by and large, is that around 90 per cent of the market is unorganised with more than 3,500 players, and there is a lack of transparency with no assurance of temperature control or shipment integrity. Moreover, the cold chain facilities in India are mostly unsuitable for the conditions here, resulting in less-than-satisfactory performance of many refrigerated systems.
Further, with only 10,000 reefer vehicles and no reefer rail containers, the refrigerated transport set-up in India is insufficient to cope with the country’s demand for cold chain transportation. As road transport constitutes a major percentage of the total freight traffic, customers prefer working with logistics partners that demonstrate competency in at least three fundamental areas: transit time; temperature control; and the placement time of the vehicles (or the time elapsed between the request for a vehicle and its fulfillment). Of these, temperature control is the one aspect that can benefit the most from automation.
An automated temperature-controlled trucking service could help to ensure that temperature-sensitive goods are handled in compliance with all relevant regulations. It can employ wireless devices and technologies to continuously monitor the temperature of the storage area during the journey, and transmit this information to the logistics provider and, if required, to the consigner.
With a 24×7 monitoring facility, a logistics provider can monitor the storage temperature within the vehicle as well as the consignment temperature throughout the journey from a central control tower. By using digital sensors to remotely monitor and manage these temperatures in real-time, one can ensure that the freshness and quality of goods is preserved. Moreover, the trucks should be equipped to enable reliable temperature-controlled transport over different ranges such +2°C to (+)8C and (+)15C to +(25)C.
This kind of efficiency, flexibility and monitoring can be achieved with the aid of IoT sensors and applications that can tag the containers and monitor parameters such as humidity and temperature in the storage area, or the shocks and vibrations experienced during transit. The system must be designed to include ways of mitigating risks and losses, and to have strong capabilities for dealing with contingencies. Moreover, it should incorporate proactive problem-solving processes.
It is also possible to prevent tampering – whether accidental or deliberate – with the help of indicators or door sensors that alert the control tower if it is opened at an unscheduled time during the journey. This information can be relayed in a timely manner to the concerned employee or truck drivers, who can immediately take the necessary corrective action. In addition, On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) can help monitor driver behaviour and alert the control tower if the driving is rash and the shipment is at risk of being damaged.
Every employee involved in the shipping process must be aware of the temperature requirements of different types of products and the policies, procedures, and protocols involved in using these automated systems. To improve driving behaviour and safety, training can be provided to the drivers to help hone their skills and increase efficiency.
Technology and automation are becoming increasingly ingrained in not just refrigeration, but all the different aspects of logistics. The cold chain systems of the future will be powered by the new and emerging technologies of the day, and the logistics providers who adopt them will be most likely to succeed, while those who don’t could be left in the cold.
