There are markets whose products fall into a special
niche--temperature sensitive. For: Pharmaceuticals.
Food. Meat. Fish and seafood. Produce.
Chemicals. To protect against Thaw. Freeze. Melt. Degradation. Spoilage.
Growth of pathogens. Loss of efficacy.
Cross-polymerization. Product degradation. Irreversible physical change. With problems and failures, the product loses
some or all of its purpose, quality, and value.
It may also create dangers and risks for end-users. As a note, there is more as to industries and
products, but this is illustrative of temperature control.
The cold chain segment got global attention with early
stories about one of the CoViD vaccines and its extreme cold temperature
requirements. The temperature cited
would have been a serious challenge for its worldwide movement, logistics, and
distribution to vaccination depots and administration locations.
Supply chain management (SCM) for the cold chain is more than
storage and shipping. There is product
risk that makes it unique. And that risk puts requirements of the supply chain.
Overall, for cold chain, the SCM has to be elevated beyond non-unique products.
This upraising should be done around the supply chain structure—process,
technology, organization. And that structure should mirror the company.
The design of your supply chain and its operation should draw
on lessons learned from the pandemic.
And that means resilience—both inside your four walls and outside. Increased resilience means reduced risk. A centerpiece of becoming resilient is your
supply chain structure.
First, though, there is no universal agreement or standard
for the temperature range for the cold chain.
This reflects that the protection need depends on and varies by
product. Different products; different
temperature range. From chill to cryogenic.
Managing the cold chain, end-to-end, is a challenge. It is preferable to finding out at delivery
that a shipment went bad. The longer the
transit both as to time and distance, the more parties and movement stops
involved, the greater the risk. The
end-to-end challenge can then be defined as risk mitigation.
This special supply chain, especially for export/import,
presents criticality and has requirements that must be recognized. These demands meld and include:
·
Maintain end-to-end
temperature. It is not an option. Reality
is where a company sits in the end-to-end cold chain affects how it handles it--from
manufacturing through to local distribution.
There is a range of activities from production/preparation
to "consumption" by the end-user.
With it goes important temperature integrity. Failures create product
problems and even peril for end-users. Be aware too of regulations that may apply.
There are two parts here. The logistics/transport
segment will be highlighted below. The other is about your company and its
product.
You sell the refrigerated
product. So you may view your role here as
done. And it is. But they have to remember that it is your
product, your company, and your brand image if something negative happens to
the product. So the challenge escalates with changes in product ownership that
may occur. Be aware of the big picture
here.
·
Understand the end-to-end
logistics providers and infrastructure. This is the transportation and
logistics. Different modes and different
roles. And warehouse/storage. Your issue, as always, is that the temperature is
controlled.
As with above, there are two parts. The logistics infrastructure. The refrigerated container or trailer and the
warehouse. And, the transport/logistics
service providers who move these products. These two parts are what have
permitted this market segment to significantly increase worldwide. Selecting the right transport and logistics
providers is underpins your success here.
This also is important when part of the logistics
are outsourced. Be aware that the benefits an outside provider brings may also
be offset because of possible risk with an outsider and how it fits into the
supply chain operation.
Be aware of the providers that you may not see,
that you do not select, or do not directly pay the charges. For example, think of all the movements and
places your export shipment goes through from your door to be safely placed on
a ship. Think of potential delivery delays.
It is all to protect your shipment.
· Integrate the logistics activities and their continuous movement. This means coordination, collaboration, planning, and more. Not every step is providing some type of temperature control, but where there is activity, nothing must go wrong. This can include temperature fluctuations. Think of the times where, for example, a trucker moves a refrigerated container or trailer. Or it is an export move, and all the players must make sure the container moves, is plugged in, and other attention that is needed. The interim steps and players cannot be excluded. Think the same with delivery and stops on the route.
· Assess and validate the process (not
procedure). Follow the product and the
activities. Understand what participants say happens. Then examine it with tracing and tracking customer
orders or purchase orders. Do you find
gaps that slow down the process or redundancies along the process which are
made because of gaps? Think of holes in
the process as potential temperature protection failures--risks to your
product's integrity. Reducing process time can improve process control and
product integrity. Think time and
temperature.
· Utilize technology. It is not
optional. You need to know if doors on
the trailer were left open or how long a container sat unprotected. That is an application for technology to
monitor and maintain. This is both for storage and for transport.
Visibility, which is more than track
and trace. Blockchain, add blocks and build the chain for visibility. It also
aids with the chain of custody that is important for many.
You also want technology at a
granular level—the case and pallet. This
tech application is increasing. Bots. Sensors. Chips. Temperature trackers. Sensors. Time-temperature indicators (TTI)
that change color. Data logging monitor.
RFID (radio frequency identification) tags. GS1-128 bar codes and labels for
international shipments.
· Organization. While cold logistics is a vital part of the
supply chain, its role should be defined.
This differs from the more traditional of fitting the supply chain into
the logistics. This difference is not subtle.
than delineating by logistics and
transportation, the organization should upstream and downstream. That also
aligns with how the company does things.
Upstream would be sourcing and manufacturing (or for sea and
agriculture, it would be close to those activities). Downstream would reflect
more as to sales.
The particulars of your product will affect your efforts
above. It also comes into play as to
trailer specifications and how you load the shipment. The devil is in the details.
When your high-stakes
cold chain supply chain operation is designed and operates well, then chill.
