With industries like food and pharma rapidly expanding, the players in these sectors are looking for new ways to make perishable items last longer and reach different parts of the world to meet the rising demand. However, logistics has long been a significant concern for manufacturers banking on cold chain facilities due to strict temperature requirements, capital-intensive equipment, and energy dependence. Furthermore, capacity and resource constraints, cost concerns, and matching the exact storage and logistics needs of each sector are some of the other challenges of cold chain logistics. Curious to know about the trends in cold chain logistics that manufacturers should be aware of?
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Cold Chain logistics trends
New Packaging Trends
Packaging remains one of the most crucial aspects of the cold chain process. The main reason for this being that the packaging decides how safe and fresh the contents inside remain till it reaches the end user. In the case of players in the pharma industry, the primary challenge is to balance the packaging and transportation cost; in this case, the more insulated the packaging the higher is the cost incurred. Manufacturers in the food industry are slowly shifting towards disposable and reusable packaging owing to the focus on ‘going green.’
Watch Out For The Regulations
There has been a sharp rise in the number of incidents pertaining to food safety and pharma counterfeit,s which are prompting governments to make stringent regulations on production and supply chains. This is one of the main reasons why various cold chain logistics providers such as Americold are investing in additional credentials and incorporating strict practices to adhere to the regulatory requirements.
Companies Are Shifting To ‘Power Saving’ Mode
Several players in the cold chain logistics business are looking for innovative ways to strike a balance between the energy-intensive requirements of products that are easily perishable and the need to reduce resource consumption. Therefore, these companies are investing heavily in researching and developing new ways to arrive at an optimum solution. Many players are experimenting with improvements in insulation, which are likely to give more savings and at the same time ensure energy efficiency.
Product Quality And Sensitivity Are In The Spotlight
As they say “ survival of the fittest,” customers today are more conscious about the quality of the products they are buying. What does this mean for players in cold chain logistics? This means that they have to ensure that the products should be prevented from any damage in the packaging or the quality until it reaches the final consumers. Therefore, manufacturers are relying on various cold storage techniques such as controlled temperatures to suit various products and the logistics cycle they have to go through.