Make the shift to proactive cold chain management
Over the past 10 years, cold chain industry stakeholders have made a fundamental shift in the way they conduct business. The proliferation of data throughout various stages of the cold chain journey has provided new opportunities to protect perishable quality and improve operational efficiencies. But capitalizing on this data repository requires the use of new tools, technologies, and services that can transform raw data into actionable intelligence.
Historically, perishable food shippers, food retailers, and third-party logistics (3PL) providers have kept records as part of their quality assurance (QA) programs. This information was used to evaluate shipments after they’d reached their destinations and provide post-delivery reviews of perishable temperatures, conditions, and overall quality. Essentially, QA programs supported reactive measures to deal with rejections, claims, and disputes. QA staff were responsible for manual recordkeeping and interpretation of cold chain data.
Today, a digital transformation is taking place throughout the cold chain with data and services that are facilitating more proactive and automated QA models. Although this process is ongoing, with many stakeholders still in the early phases of adoption, it has the potential to deliver many customer-facing and cold chain provider benefits. From a customer’s perspective, this translates to:
- Maximizing perishable quality and safety
- Reducing food waste
- Optimizing the customer experience in restaurants and retail stores
When implemented correctly, this holistic approach to cold chain data management serves many purposes:
- Aggregating disconnected data silos
- Closing the gaps of communication among stakeholders
- Transitioning from manual to automated processes (labor reduction)
- Streamlining QA activities and processes
- Leveraging data to uncover operational insights
- Driving cold chain profitability
Escalating cold chain complexities
Modern cold chain networks are complex, with multiple stakeholders responsible for preserving perishable quality. Products include fresh produce, fresh and frozen fish and meats, cut flowers, and exotic plants—all with specific temperature-holding requirements, some even requiring modified atmospheres to delay or optimize the ripening process. Shipments can take days to weeks, with many changes of custody along the way.
Large retailers and growers ship high volumes of perishable products utilizing networks of distribution centers (DCs), carriers, and 3PLs. Food retail QA staff and logistics teams bear the responsibility of managing multiple transfer points and maintaining perishable integrity and quality at every step. Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) often utilize third-party DCs and partner with vendors to help complete QA processes.
Maintaining consistent cold storage temperatures at every step of the cold chain journey is essential to protecting and preserving perishable quality. For QA teams, this requires vigilance over a variety of potential issues and associated priorities, including:
- Limiting temperature excursions
- Preventing product theft
- Reducing shipment delays
- Maximizing food quality and safety
- Minimizing product rejection on receipt
From a business perspective, stakeholder profitability is directly impacted by the degree to which these goals are met. Responsible parties could lose money on rejected products or be forced to sell them at a lower price due to quality degradation or decreased shelf life. In addition, stakeholders often haggle over claims, which ties up time and resources for all involved.
Objective data is needed—via real-time alerts and analytics-driven insights—to shift from a reactive business model to a proactive strategy that delivers true operational intelligence. This holistic approach enables stakeholders to monitor shipments, identify trends, improve decision-making, automate manual processes, resolve disputes, and protect profits.
Building a cold chain data management infrastructure
A robust cold chain infrastructure starts with devices that can track and monitor the temperatures and locations of in-transit shipments. These devices are essential for capturing live data streams and contributing to the historical records necessary to unlock deeper insights and enable effective cold chain data management.
When integrated with cold chain software, live data is populated into active shipment portals to enable real-time visibility, while historic data can be aggregated and transformed into various types of reports and/or visualizations.
Emerson provides both the tracking devices and data analytics software to create this cold chain infrastructure. Our GO real-time 4G/5G trackers provide access to live location and key shipment conditions, such as temperature, light, and modified atmospheres. Combined with our Oversight Cargo Services software platform, this raw data is converted into reports and scorecards that can help identify trends and uncover root causes of quality issues, such as:
- Improper holding temperatures by third-party coolers, carriers and/or DCs
- Problems with loading and unloading at third-party coolers or DCs
- Historical performance or consistency issues of specific carriers/3PLs
- Improper pre-cooling practices from a shipper or processor
Extending cold chain capabilities and insights
Regardless of the size or sophistication of QA programs, many organizations will encounter gaps in their processes or issues that they simply can’t resolve. Many QA teams are inundated with alerts and don’t know how to prioritize or respond to them efficiently. Others may need help developing standard operating procedures (SOPs) to deal with temperature excursions and improve communications with carriers and DCs.
Emerson’s cold chain experts can serve as an extension of QA teams and provide a variety of value-added services (VAS), including:
- Triaging alerts and prioritizing responses
- Managing communication with carriers, 3PLs and other supply chain stakeholders
- Developing proactive processes that enable teams to be better prepared to respond more efficiently
- Improving cold chain processes from farm to fork to preserve product quality and shelf life
Some QA teams know they have cold chain issues that they can’t address or resolve themselves. They may simply be too involved in day-to-day issues or do not have the time and/or resources to step back and take a broader view of their data.
Emerson’s professional and consultative cold chain services can combine robust data analytics and deep domain expertise to solve a company’s most persistent cold chain quality issues. Its teams are available to conduct a retrospective evaluation—analyzing data from the past several years and performing on-site evaluations—to uncover the sources of problematic trends. The company frequently is commissioned to assist with:
- Analyzing trends across thousands of shipments and pinpointing potential root causes
- Mapping temperatures in coolers and cold storage zones
- Observing loading and unloading procedures
- Documenting and implementing proper shipping procedures
Raising operational intelligence with data-driven insights
Today’s cold chain stakeholders have tremendous opportunities to leverage data and drive real-time and historic visibility to their distribution networks—and, in the process, raise their operational intelligence. By combining a robust cold chain data analytics infrastructure with expert management, consultative and professional services, companies can protect their perishable products and accelerate their journeys from reactive to proactive QA models.
Emerson’s Oversight Cargo Services platform provides a full suite of data analytics, reporting, and visualization capabilities to establish a robust cold chain management program. Our cold chain experts are available to offer managed services and professional consultations to help uncover and resolve the most persistent cold chain challenges.
