The application of cold is one of the most widespread methods of preservation and is applicable to the food, sanitary and pharmaceutical industry. Cold Storage Companies, this method is based on lowering temperatures to inhibit the growth and proliferation of microorganisms and altering agents in whole or in part.
There are two types of cold storage:
Freezing: this is a long-term preservation method. The temperatures used are below 0 ° C.
Refrigeration: this is a short-term preservation method (hours, days, weeks). Temperatures are above 0 ° C and below 10 ° C.
Cold logistics, as freezing or refrigeration products are known in the industry, is defined as the series of elements and activities necessary to guarantee the quality of food, medical or pharmaceutical product throughout the Supply Chain.
These elements consist of primary and secondary transport, cold rooms, storage areas, and sales departments.
Transport is positioned as the key element because it presents the most risks due to the exposure of the service (truck breakdown, thermal malfunction or simply vehicle malfunction). Specialized cold transport lines are few in number at present and there is a huge opportunity to develop this service for years to come.
Expenses and investments in the cold chain
The distribution of a refrigeration product involves double the expenditure of a dry product and the quadruple of the expenditure of distribution of a frozen product. For this reason, Cold Storage Companies seek to establish efficient distribution channels through their own logistics or through third parties. The opportunities in this distribution chain remain numerous and the interesting thing is to deepen to reach the road in the shortest possible time.
Investment in cold infrastructure represents today one of the most important investments in the supply chain, the advantage of this investment requires an effective distribution of the product to the final consumer, i.e. ‘it implies that the entire chain remains intact.
Network studies and the correct sizing of a planned installation of 2 to 5 years are sufficient parameters of analysis to determine the profitability of investing in its own infrastructure or doing it via logistics operators, which can mitigate the spending with other customers.
The advantages are important as long as the best business model can be established with the best profitability, it is necessary to establish these parameters in any type of investment. Currently, we are looking for returns on investment that do not exceed 3 or 4 years of reimbursement, to prevent the white elephants from turning into large investments.
Cold logistics has a future, growth of 200% in volume is expected (according to figures from Retail) which is currently consumed for the next two years and in the long term, it will be necessary to modify the logistics strategy to support such growth.
Source website www.ittefaqgroup.pk