With its capital-intensive equipment and strict temperature requirements, companies specializing in cold chain logistics have started grappling with additional challenges. The recent increase in sensitivity, quality standards, and new regulations has made it difficult for food companies to ensure the shelf life of perishable food products. The changes in the food supply chain are further fuelled by the shift in consumer demands and changing regulatory norms. In this blog, we have explored key cold chain logistics problems that companies face in food cold chain management. 

Identifying and addressing cold chain logistics problems is imperative for companies to meet the demands of perishable food items. Request a free demo and gain precise cold chain logistics market insights from our experts that are needed to tackle the issues.

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Top 5 Cold Chain Logistics Problems

Cold chain logistics problems #1: Global uniform standards

The absence of standard laws that outline the guideline for proper cold chain management is one of the major cold chain logistics problems facing companies today. Companies across the world function on their own and determine ways to manage perishable foods. This makes it challenging for companies in the food industry to run global operations and ensure the quality of food products. 

Also, there may be adequate resources for refrigeration in developed countries, but not in developing countries. This is a major cause of concern for companies having global supply chains, as the food product either spoils or their shelf life is substantially reduced.

Cold chain logistics problems #2: Transportation and distribution of goods

Companies delivering food items in local stores, first need to transport food items to that location. However, temperature-controlled warehouses have a fixed location and temperature. They are difficult to maintain and are not cost-effective.  A refrigerated truck or other mobile refrigeration units may be used as an alternative but cannot be considered reliable. If the shipment gets stranded in a remote location, companies will suffer heavy losses as the shelf life of products gets reduced considerably.   

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Cold chain logistics problems #3: Temperature variances

Interrupted temperature is one of the top issues that cold chain logistics companies face. Exposure of perishable food products to ambient temperatures that are higher than the temperature set inside the refrigerated truck can affect the quality and safety of products.  This may happen if there is more than one delivery on the same truck, as the doors will be opened and closed many times. Companies need to ensure that the refrigerated unit is set to continuous and the pulp temperatures upon each delivery are documented properly.

Cold chain logistics problems #4: Product quality and packaging

Although the packaging of products depends on the product type, packaging methods can sometimes influence air flow rates around commodities, affecting the temperature of products in transit. Products, therefore, must be stacked to enable proper air circulation. Stacking of food products must also take into account the minimum damage to products that can happen during transit. To gain detailed insights into the cold chain logistics companies and problems, request more information here!

Cold chain logistics problems #5: Adequate Information

Data plays a critical role in cold chain logistics as the majority of food waste occurs during production and distribution. The gap in the communication among the parties involved has led to federal agencies such as the FDA demanding for the extensive collection and analysis of electronic records from food companies. Companies in the food industry need to inspect the facilities provided to their distributors and wholesalers and ensure that they are producing necessary information for cold chain records. 

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