Advances in Cold Chain Transportation

A cold chain is a temperature-controlled and an uninterrupted supply of refrigerated production, storage and distribution activities, along with associated equipment and logistics, which maintain a desired low-temperature range. In India, there are a number of government and private run long, well tested or trusted and successful cold chain supplies in the cold chain distribution business all over the country for end-to-end cold chain solutions. These cold chains always offer customized solutions for temperature sensitive shipments including consumer foods, pharmaceuticals, retail and agri-food sectors. The product segments which are generally catered through cold chain transportation include ice-cream, dairy products including butter and cheese, poultry and meat, sea food, ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook food products, confectioneries including chocolate and baked products, fruits and vegetables, healthcare and pharmaceutical products and industrial products such as photo-imaging, films, rubber used for manufacturing of tyre.

Many innovative cold chain transportation solution, strengthened by cutting edge technology and a vast fleet of refrigerated vehicles equipped with advanced climate-control system ensures that perishable products are delivered in a fresh, healthy and potent state to retailers and end consumers. These cold chain supplies specialize in frozen or chilled storages, transportation, warehousing, and distribution of logistics services for fresh reefer commodities, offering worldwide ocean freight services providing secure, sanitary transport by the highest quality refrigerated or frozen carriers for timely deliveries and greater product safety along with shortened delivery times which increase product shelf life. To achieve all this, there is a need maintain high level of automation like data logger or sensors etc to ensure process follow up and managing crisis in well – defined manner alongwith services like stock control, cold storage with palletizing, sorting, labeling and re-packing.

Cold chain transportation companies are serving the chemical, petrochemical, polymer, biofuels, life science and food ingredient sectors across commodity, intermediate, and specialty chemical supply chains. There is a need to understand the distribution environment first and then to identify which transport modes will deliver the products to their destination and determine the required regulatory steps. Cold chain logistics delivers integrated solutions to industries competing to thrive in today’s global, rapidly evolving world where science and technology intersect. Shipping hazardous materials require more attention to detail than transporting regular goods, answering the unique challenges of these sectors is another required strength. Proper packaging is a key to the safe transport of hazardous materials. Leaking hazmat packages can pose serious risks to the safety of transportation workers and to the environment. Using suitable containers, sufficient cushioning, absorbent materials, and secure closures will keep hazmat where it belongs—inside the package. There is a need to pay special attention to the complex requirements which govern each transportation mode, and the rules may vary in different locations. Along with temperature controlled logistics services, there is a need towards an ability to service customers as:

1) Distribution Centers
• Easy assembling and distributing to all outlets
2) Port Facilities
• Network should include facilities near key port terminals
• Offering storage and other value-added services at strategic locations
3) Customer Dedicated Facilities
• Leadership in developing operations to manage complex distribution programs
• Dedicated warehouse operations providing: capital management, labor, and systems for distribution needs
• Multi-temperature ranges (ranging from ambient to chilled and frozen i.e. +20ºC to -25ºC )
• Customer attached facilities that offer storage and service on-site

Recent Trends in Cold Chain Logistics

In delivering fresh food into communities all over the country, cold chain logistics are a big component of how food distributors provide services. Having the right technology and fleets of refrigerated and freezer trucks allow the central wholesalers to deliver all sorts of fresh foods to places that would otherwise have a lot less choice in what gets to the dinner table. These days, cold chain logistics is part of a dynamic industry. The work of bringing refrigerated and frozen foods to stores takes place amid many changes in consumer trends, as well as changes in how these processes are regulated and how market standards affect operations. In various ways, companies are figuring out how to more effectively control the product. In some cases, it starts with looking at how foods are sensitive to temperatures, and specifically how to handle a certain kind of food, whether it’s fish, red meat, vegetables or processed entrées. Companies are innovating in their labeling processes, in quick shipping strategies, and in computer assisted distribution and market models that are helping them to keep sensitive foods at more consistent temperature levels and reduce transit times. That’s all leading to a real sophistication and advanced method in which food distributors get the raw materials through the supply chain and to local stores.

The primary transportation generally facilitates inter-city transport of products with services including door to door service and secondary transportation means the last mile distribution, supplying, amongst others, retail outlets, restaurants and the hotels. Each transportation vehicle should be equipped with a data logger to ensure continuous monitoring of temperature and global positioning system (GPS) enabled for real time tracking. The data logger and the GPS enable to provide customers with real-time information about the cargo even when in transit. Further, the data logger enables to ensure that the prescribed temperature is maintained to ensure that the quality of the temperature sensitive products is not compromised. In addition to the regular warehousing and distribution, there is a need to provide value added services to customers with value added services such as kitting, labelling, sorting, stuffing and de-stuffing of containers, repacking and bulk breaking. The heat is on food and pharma companies to keep refrigerated freight frosty. With its capital-intensive equipment, strict temperature requirements, and energy dependence, the cold chain has always been a demanding logistics segment. Now, the sector is grappling with additional challenges—from increases in the sensitivity, quality standards, and volume of many of its goods, to continually mounting regulations. The cold chain also faces many of the same issues challenging the entire supply chain: serving the global market, driving out costs, becoming more strategic, and addressing capacity and resource constraints, all while managing the exacting needs of the sector’s precious cargo—primarily food and pharmaceutical products. Here are trends impacting the cold chain, and some strategies manufacturers and logistics service providers use to adapt and thrive.

Globalization of Cold Chains

Increasing interest in healthy food, and a growing middle class in different locations all over the world are pushing cold chains to globalize. Consumers now demand higher-end products that must travel extended distances and ship quickly to ensure freshness and quality. Food is traveling around the world as more manufacturers manage their supply chains globally. The manufacturing plants are becoming more specialized to a specific product or label, and they ship their goods more widely. Demand for fresh food is growing, and that requires increased innovation to overcome capacity and infrastructure constraints, and mitigate disruption risks to ensure quality delivery. Meeting these demands without driving up inventory or cost places added pressure on each element of the supply chain. In pharmaceuticals, added product specialization and sensitivity means they are more often being shipped globally to reach their markets. Logistics practices must comply with each country’s regulations and maintain the strictest requirements, driving many drug makers to raise practices across their supply chain with concerns about maintaining control of products in transit.

Focus on Quality and Product Sensitivity

In the food industry, the big trend is an increased focus on quality, health, and integrity. To win the repeat business of fickle and demanding consumers, manufacturers must ensure an optimal experience with the brand. For cold chain products, that means avoiding the changes in texture and taste that occur when a shipment strays outside recommended temperatures, as well as decreasing the amount of processing for proteins such as fish. More premium products are coming into the market with a shorter shelf life, greater sensitivity to temperature, and a much different level of demand. This intensified focus on quality and the consumer experience means refrigerated warehouses across the food cold chain must maintain as many as five different temperature zones. Pharmaceutical manufacturers, too, are dealing with more sensitive products, such as customized treatments for rare diseases. These products often include more high-value active ingredients that offer shorter shelf lives and carry strict temperature requirements. Many drugs must be maintained at temperatures lower than 77 degrees F, while some require 35 to 46 degree cold chain transportation. Another fast-growing drug category is controlled room temperature. These drugs are safe at room temperature, but must be maintained there during transport using temperature-assured containers such as reefers to avoid the spikes that can come in ambient containers.

Required Regulation

Globalization and an increase in the number of food safety and pharma counterfeit incidents are prompting governments to tighten regulations on production and supply chains. Establishing preventive measures and harmonizing regulations are major issues for the food and pharma industries. Products such as produce must be traceable all the way back to the point of origin. Recall systems must be reliable and efficient, not only to rapidly comply with more stringent regulations, but to limit the scope by isolating specific batches of product. Getting out ahead of such regulation is a common theme across cold chain logistics. Manufacturers are building more stringent practices into their requirements.

Cold Chain Efficiency

The need to operate a lean supply chain is even more acutely felt when every step faces the additional requirement of refrigeration and compliance. Driver shortages and capacity constraints are hitting the cold chain especially hard. Operating a refrigerated fleet requires significant capital investment, especially, trained drivers, increased liability, and a greater risk for close inspection. Cold chain operators are eager to find new strategies to reduce costs. In retail, requirements for smaller, more frequent orders are driving the use of multi-cell trailers—refrigerated trailers in which insulated curtains are hung at intervals to create different temperature zones. This approach enables a cold chain to include frozen and chilled goods in the same shipment. But consolidating into a multi-cell trailer isn’t always possible. Because of the space and handling costs of managing the insulation, it works best for dedicated equipment rather than a common refrigerated carrier. Shipper demand for efficiency, visibility, and product freshness is driving cold chain 3PLs to add a wide range of value-added services.

Mode Shifting

Fuel price fluctuations and globalization have driven some cold chain operators to shift modes from truckload to inter modal, or from air to ocean. Other factors contributing to mode shift include truck driver and capacity shortages, and sustainability initiatives. But makers of chilled and frozen goods must balance the additional time these modes may take with speed-to-market requirements. While air is the predominant choice for pharma transport, some shippers have shifted to steamship as the ability to manage and track locations and temperatures in containers has improved.

Sustainability Initiatives

Cold chain operators are looking for new ways to balance the energy-intensive requirements of perishable products with the desire to reduce resource consumption. Many service providers are using electric vehicles, especially, for drayage. But refrigerant is a more challenging obstacle than fuel. In warehouses, operators have shifted from freon to ammonia, but the compound’s volatile properties make it unsuitable for trailers. Using CNG on the trailer side is still in its infancy. Improvements in insulation are increasing energy efficiency to some degree, but onboard fleet management systems may deliver even bigger savings. Drivers are no longer responsible for setting temperatures so conditions can be controlled remotely, that fuel utilization is much improved.

Packaging for New Needs

There has been considerable focus on the development of packaging equipment with improved properties over conventional insulated packages. Significant efforts have been made on improved vacuum insulated panels, on-demand systems that do not require pre-conditioning, as well as flexible, actively temperature managed solutions that are now emerging, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as a shift away from outdated solutions such as dry ice toward cryogenic distribution. The common feature with many of these newly emerging technologies is the fact that these shipping systems are reusable and require well developed reverse logistics as well as cleaning procedures to ensure that there is no outside or cross-contamination which poses its own challenges. Development of consistent, effective decontamination processes poses its own unique challenges. Each type of equipment has its own unique materials, which may be impacted negatively by different solvents commonly utilized in laboratory or clean room disinfection. Alternative, non-contact means of decontamination would be advantageous and could have utility across a wide range of packaging materials. One of these new technologies being developed within the transportation space is xenon-pulsed ultraviolet light disinfection. Pulsed xenon-based ultraviolet light no-touch disinfection systems are being increasingly used for hospital room disinfection after patient discharge. For pharmaceutical manufacturers, a big challenge comes in balancing packaging and transportation costs. For small parcels moving through the ambient supply chain, the 3PL can choose 24-, 48- or 72-hour packaging, but the more insulated the package, the higher the cost. It’s also essential-especially for international shipments-to have partners who can ensure shipments are re-iced if a delay occurs. Food manufacturers are turning to newer disposable packaging designs to ensure integrity for more sensitive products. Reusable containers are also seeing increased use in both food and pharmaceutical logistics to reduce waste, and some companies are embracing greener packaging materials.

Technology Trends

Like all others, cold chain operators must continually upgrade technology to ensure efficiency, integrity, and safety. This includes both back-end IT infrastructure and front-end devices to gather and report key shipment data in real time. Cold chain carriers have invested considerably in on-board equipment built into refrigeration units to track temperature and location, and to make this data available to 3PLs and shippers in real time, offering increased visibility and the opportunity to prevent or mitigate loss. Some shippers use removable sensors to independently track the temperature of their cold cargo, usually, for high-value goods and international shipments. Some food manufacturers have built this capability right into their packaging. Rise in demand for real-time temperature and location status is sharply driving demand for IT infrastructure that can analyze and deliver data where and when it’s needed. That infrastructure will be further challenged in pharmaceutical logistics as serialization regulations take hold, requiring tracking of all serial numbers in a shipment down to the unit level. Advanced technologies for cold chain management to ensure drug safety and efficacy continue to grow in importance. The cold chain pharmaceutical market continues to be one garnering specific interest within the logistics space. New therapies such as regenerative therapies and gene therapies as well as a shift toward temperature-managed shipments are currently of significant focus. This is due to the fact that many of the most innovative therapeutics, like regenerative medicines and other advanced cell-based therapies, are close to commercial launch and need to be shipped under very exacting temperature conditions. This shift is contributing to the growth of temperature-controlled products at more than twice the rate of non-temperature-controlled products.

At the Hands of Customer

The biggest obstacle for many cold chain operators is the one part of the supply chain they don’t control i.e., the moment products are placed in the consumer’s shopping cart or tendered to a healthcare provider. Despite considerable expense and effort to move the item across hundreds of miles through multiple hand-offs, a product that sits too long in a cart, a hot car, or a poorly regulated freezer can degrade in quality, a condition that often gets blamed on the manufacturer. Ensuring pharmaceuticals, food, and other chilled goods retain their integrity and safety remains a moving target for cold chain operators, globalization, tightening regulation, and changing consumer demand continue to alter the scope of the task, while driving the need for technology, efficiency, and security.

Informatics and Data Monitoring

It has become clear that effective cold chain logistics management is vitally important to preserving the efficacy of valuable cold chain dependent medicines and for risk mitigation. Unfortunately, most companies do not integrate logistics planning early enough in their clinical trial design; it is often an afterthought once the product is nearing commercialization. Adding complexity, such as adding more links to a supply chain as seen in regenerative therapy programs increases the steps and/or temperatures that must be controlled and increases risk of a temperature excursion. Next generation informatics systems must have the ability to not only collect location and handling information from infield scan codes and airline data, it needs to effectively manage the validation and qualification data for the packaging, as well as verify and control the performance, calibration, and reconditioning status of the packaging, collect and correlate real time data collected from data loggers in the field as well as assess performance and cost of selected logistics partners. In addition, the informatics systems that are required to manage an ever-increasing complex supply chain must have the ability to not only actively monitor the logistics conditions and considerations around any given product distribution, it must also be able to interpret the data coming in from the next generation data loggers in real time and assess risk intelligently. Next generation data loggers are now readily present and can track an entire range of specifications in near real time such as location, temperature (inside and out), shock, orientation, anti-tamper, humidity, and pressure.

Increased Patient-centric Approach within Pharma Industry

As biologic and specialty pharma continue to evolve and patients take more control of their treatments, we’ll continue to see an increase in a patient-centric approach by the pharma industry. Sometimes, called “patient-centric treatments,” this is the next step within biologics pharmaceutical development and these are primarily gene-based therapies, blood derivatives, etc. With many of these biologics requiring rigid or tight temperature control, expect to see increased consideration of the patient impacting all areas of treatment delivery, including logistics. The financial risks of mishandled shipments are fairly clear for commercial drugs that must remain temperature-controlled: lost sales and revenue, lost productivity, and lost opportunity to improve patient lives. The risks are no less severe on the clinical side, where transportation failures involving clinical product or patient samples could result in studies being compromised. Delays and other disruptions in trials impact the expected time to market for a product, potentially putting millions or billions of future revenue dollars at risk. As a first step, it is crucial for manufacturers to identify the needs for all of their shipped products, especially, those of high value. Meeting risk mitigation and quality objectives within the framework of an effective cost or performance strategy can be a simple matter of combining the right packaging fit with the right service fit for each individual application.

Future of the Cold Chain Industry

The use and understanding of leading cold chain technology are at the core of business and key to enhancing, differentiating and adding value to customers’ supply chains. As customers and government regulations demand better quality and stricter compliance with global standards, there have been noticeable technology trends developing to meet these market needs. Demand for quick product recalls is leading to technological innovation. It seems we can’t go a week without hearing about a new food recall in the news. While the reasons for food recalls are various and complex, they have collectively led to an increased demand on food manufacturers to put controls and measures in place to ensure the safe and quick recall of temperature controlled products. Both customers and legislators require the speedy removal of items from the market as soon as they are found to be unsafe or in violation of legislation. Companies have been forced to find answers and respond to these recalls with the help of recent advancements in inventory tracking. As regulations shift towards transparency and producer liability, it becomes more and more important that the cold chain has the right technology in place. As has always been the case, accurate record-keeping is essential to successful recall management. Human error, inefficiencies and other variables in this process have the potential to delay a recall, thereby, increasing the public’s level of exposure to recalled products. Recent technology advances have limited these challenges by increasing accuracy and efficiency levels in a way that has been unprecedented. New technologies allow cold chain logistics firms to identify distribution pathways accurately, notify key parties about recall responsibilities, and enable quick understanding of where a quality control system may have broken down. As regulations shift towards transparency and producer liability, it becomes more and more important that the cold chain has the right technology in place.

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