What is the state of cold chain technology in western developed countries? What challenges are they facing? What do they think is the new trend of the cold chain in the future? Now let's share an article published in Inboundlogistics about the trend of cold chain development.
Cold chain is globalizing
As the middle class in China and other places continues to increase, they are increasingly interested in healthy foods, and this trend is driving the globalization of the cold chain. Consumers now demand higher-end products, such as Alaskan salmon, which must travel long distances and can be shipped quickly to ensure freshness and quality.
Doug Harrison, president and CEO of Vancouver-based cold chain third-party logistics (3PL) provider in Vancouver, said: "As more and more manufacturers manage their supply chains globally, Food is spreading all over the world. These manufacturing plants are increasingly specialized in a specific product or label that they ship their goods more widely.
“The demand for fresh food is growing, which requires more innovation, overcoming capacity and infrastructure constraints, and reducing the risk of interference to ensure quality.†Tim, Executive Vice President, Sales and Business Development, Lineage Logistics Smith added. 3PL is located in Colton, California. Meeting these requirements without causing inventory or cost increases puts pressure on every part of the supply chain.
In the pharmaceutical industry, increasing product specialization and sensitivity means that they can be shipped to the global market more often. Logistics practices must comply with the regulations of each country and maintain the most stringent requirements, prompting many pharmaceutical manufacturers to improve their practice throughout the supply chain.
Jeff Luthman, vice president of life science solutions at 3PL MD Logistics in Indianapolis, said: "Many shippers are concerned about maintaining control of transit products.
Product sensitivity and quality requirements are getting more and more attention
In the food industry, the general trend is to pay more attention to quality, health and integrity. In order to win the repeat customers of changeable and demanding consumers, manufacturers must ensure the best experience of the brand. For cold chain products, this means avoiding changes in texture and taste that occur during transport and reducing the amount of protein (eg fish) processed.
Harrison said: "More advanced products enter the market for shorter periods of time, are more sensitive to temperature, and have different levels of demand."
This strengthening of quality and consumer experience means that the refrigerated warehouse of the entire food cold chain must maintain up to five different temperature zones.
Drug manufacturers are also dealing with more sensitive products, such as customized treatments for rare diseases. These products typically include more high-value active ingredients that provide shorter shelf life and stringent temperature requirements. Many drugs must be kept at temperatures below 77 degrees Fahrenheit, while some require 35 to 46 degrees of cold chain transport.
Another fast-growing class of drugs is controlling room temperature. These drugs are safe at room temperature, but during transport using temperature-guaranteed containers such as reefer containers, such as reefer containers, to avoid spikes that may enter the environmental container.
Various rules are improving
Globalization and increased food safety and pharmacy counterfeiting have prompted governments to tighten regulation of production and supply chains. Establishing preventive measures and coordinating regulations is a major issue in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
For many years, pharmaceutical requirements in most countries have to keep products in the guidelines developed by the manufacturer for storage purposes only. However, in November 2013, the European Union (EU) guidelines on good distribution practices for human drugs came into effect, extending temperature requirements to transportation and expanding coverage to include over-the-counter drugs.
In the European Union, approximately 80% of pharmaceutical products now require temperature-controlled transportation. Many drug manufacturers are also adopting this approach in the United States, taking into account similar regulations in the United States and considering the potential for exporting these drugs.
The gradual implementation of the US Food and Drug Administration's preventive-focused Food Safety Modernization Act in 2011 is triggering investments in solutions to document every step of the food supply chain. If the product must always be traced back to the origin. The recall system must be reliable and efficient, not only to comply with more stringent regulations, but also to limit the scope by isolating specific batches of products.
Faced with this kind of regulation is the common theme of cold chain logistics. Manufacturers are setting more stringent requirements, and third-party logistics and other suppliers are investing in additional certificates. For example, the cold chain 3PL Americold in Atlanta plans to have 14 Safe Quality Food Initiative-certified sites by the end of 2015, and Lineage Logistics will be certified by all business units by 2020.
Market pressure drives cold chain efficiency
When logistics is faced with additional refrigeration and compliance requirements at every step, it is even more important to operate a lean supply chain. In Nestlé Canada, this means adopting lean principles across the company and more strategic cooperation with supply chain suppliers, including the cold chain.
Greig Jewell, Director of Supply Chain Operations at Nestlé Canada, said: “We are putting more effort into how to choose a service provider. “We now operate a supplier-oriented supply chain that involves not only our packaging and ingredients, but also our service offerings. Business, such as VersaCold.
In the past, the company asked suppliers about capabilities and prices. Jewell said: "Now we ask: 'Are we consistent in logistics transactions? Are we strategically unifying our operations? Can we work together to accomplish everything we need?
Driver shortages and capacity constraints have severely hit the cold chain. Operating a refrigerated fleet requires a large amount of capital investment. With specially trained drivers, the responsibilities are increased and the inspection risks are more stringent.
For example, many of MD Logistics' customers need to check their equipment's equipment for one or more days to ensure they meet the requirements. Luthman said: "It is very difficult to find qualified full-load trucks in this controlled environment.
Cold chain operators are eager to find new strategies to reduce costs. On the retail side, the demand for smaller, more frequent orders has driven the use of multi-unit trailer-refrigerated trailers in which insulated curtains are suspended at intervals to create different temperature zones. This approach allows the cold chain 3PL to include both frozen and refrigerated cargo in the same shipment.
But consolidating into a multi-unit trailer is not always possible. Due to the space and processing costs of managing insulation materials, the best results are achieved for specialized equipment rather than conventional refrigerated carriers.
Jason Deloach, senior director of engineering at Americold, said the use of multi-battery trailers is "process intensive" and has received more and more RFP requests for this service. “There must be space on the dock for temperature-oriented sorting and loading,†especially for multi-station routes. Even if the trailer is not full, this strategy can save three separate cargoes on three properly cooled trailers, including associated labor, DC slots and waiting times.
Manufacturers are outsourcing more and more processes to third-party logistics companies
Shippers' demand for efficiency, visibility and product freshness is driving the Cold Chain 3PLs to add a range of value-added services. For example, the trend toward the Picking drove case has driven Americold to invest in new designs and shelving systems, as well as automation, in its warehouse. Deloach says it's easier to do in a facility built for a specific product, such as a plant-affiliated DC. Third-party logistics companies have a flexible approach to meeting the needs of various products and manufacturers in their public facilities.
Another service requested by shippers is to delay food processing. The product is placed in a cold chain warehouse and then ready and packaged for delivery to complete specific orders. This may include bringing frozen seafood to a refrigerated temperature for processing. Harrison said: "Keep the product "white" - postpone the label and put it into real consumer packaging until the delivery destination - generating capital costs and inventory savings.
In addition to domestic retail and food services, shippers are increasingly demanding Lineage Logistics to prepare for export of protein. One type of service required is high pressure processing, a post-packaging non-thermal sterilization method for bactericidal microorganisms. This process allows the company to use clean labels - one without a long list of preservatives - and extend the shelf life.
A horizontal chain service is a product packaged with X-rays to ensure safety and accuracy before export. A Lineage service engineer is discussing these needs with some customers.
Cold chain is undergoing mode conversion
Fluctuations in fuel prices and globalization have driven some cold chain operators from trucks to multimodal transport, or from air to sea. Other factors contributing to the paradigm shift include truck drivers and capacity shortages as well as sustainability initiatives. But manufacturers of frozen and frozen foods must balance the extra time that these models may require and speed time to market.
Although aviation is the primary choice for pharmaceutical transportation, some shippers have turned to ships because of their ability to manage and track container locations and temperatures. But unlike roads, qualified carriers use the same trailer multiple times for the same customer. Once the container is unloaded and returned to the ship line, there is no guarantee that the manufacturer's goods will be reused, Luthman said. This makes it challenging for 3PL to inspect and inspect containers.
Sustainability initiatives drive investment
Cold chain operators are looking for new ways to balance the energy-intensive needs of perishable products with the desire to reduce resource consumption. For example, Americold works with utilities to closely monitor power consumption and calculate CO2 equivalent emissions from its facilities.
3PL Penske Logistics in Reading, Pa., is testing the tractor's compressed natural gas (CNG) with customers including Wegmans and Kroger. Other service providers are using electric vehicles, especially trailers. But refrigerants are more challenging than fuels. In the warehouse, operators including VersaCold have shifted from Freon to ammonia, but the volatility of the compounds makes them unsuitable for trailers.
“The use of CNG in trailers is still in its infancy,†said Mark Smith, vice president of Penske Logistics.
Improvements in the insulation layer have improved energy efficiency to some extent, but the airborne fleet management system may bring greater savings. “The driver is no longer responsible for setting the temperature,†Smith explained. “Conditions can be controlled remotely, so fuel utilization is greatly increased and drivers are less likely to turn off the reefer to save fuel, thus reducing claims and lost sales.
Packaging is evolving to meet new demands
According to Luthman of MD Logistics, balancing packaging and shipping costs is a huge challenge for pharmaceutical manufacturers. For small packages in the environmental supply chain, 3PL can choose 24 hours, 48 ​​hours or 72 hours of packaging, but the more insulation insulation, the higher the cost. This is also crucial for international shipments, which allows partners to ensure that goods are re-frozen when delays occur.
Food manufacturers are turning to newer disposable packaging designs to ensure the integrity of more sensitive products. The use of reusable containers for food and pharmaceutical logistics is also increasing to reduce waste, and some companies are embracing more environmentally friendly packaging materials.
Technology investment is very important
Like all supply chains, cold chain operators must continually upgrade their technology to ensure efficiency, integrity and security. This includes back-end IT infrastructure and front-end equipment to collect and report data on critical goods in real time.
Cold chain transporters have invested heavily in equipment built into refrigeration equipment to track temperature and location and provide this data to third-party logistics and transporters in real time, providing greater visibility and prevention or mitigation The opportunity for loss. Some shippers use mobile sensors to independently track the temperature of cold goods, typically for high value goods and international freight.
Some food manufacturers have built this capability on the packaging. For example, MillerCoors uses temperature sensitive inks to show when a product reaches its optimum temperature. These inks are also used on the milk carton to show if the temperature is out of safe range.
Nestlé Canada uses GPS-enabled sensors for inbound shipping, rail and truck transportation. These devices include real-time alerts for zones, routes, intrusions and temperatures. Jewell said: "When importing, it is important to understand the location, safety and quality of the product.
The rising demand for real-time temperature and location status is driving the need for IT infrastructures that can analyze and deliver data anytime, anywhere. With the implementation of the 2017 series of regulations, pharmaceutical logistics will further challenge the infrastructure and require that all serial numbers in the product be tracked to the unit level.
Luthman said: "The serialization elements will affect the cold chain, not only identifying the integrity of the product, but also requiring 100% accuracy to provide information to the customer so that the product does not deteriorate. He pointed out that serialization will bring benefits, but will also increase The complexity and cost of the supply chain.
Customer habits are still the most difficult part of the cold chain
For many cold chain operators, the biggest obstacle is the part of the supply chain that they can't control: the moment the product is placed in the consumer's shopping cart or bidding to the healthcare provider.
Although the cost and effort of moving items within hundreds of miles through multiple transfers is considerable, products that are placed in shopping carts, hot cars, or cold rooms for extended periods of time may degrade quality, which is often the case. Blamed on the manufacturer.
As part of the lean program, Nestlé Canada looked at how consumers perceive the value of brands such as Drumstick and Parlour Ice Cream, including how to open more packaging to provide additional insulation.
Ensuring the integrity and safety of pharmaceutical, food and other refrigerated products remains the primary goal of cold chain operators. Globalization, tight regulation and changing consumer demand continue to change the scope of the mission while driving demand for technology, efficiency and safety.
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