Skip to content
Cold-Chain-Compliance--An-Essential-Part-Of-Your-Supply-Chain_banner
RouteiqueMay 13, 2020 3:22:00 PM4 min read

Cold Chain Compliance: An Essential Part Of Your Supply Chain

Cold Chain Compliance: An Essential Part Of Your Supply Chain

A cold chain is an uninterrupted transport and storage system of refrigerated goods from the manufacturer to the end consumer. Cold chains help companies safely transport everything from food to pharmaceuticals

 


Key Takeaways:

  • Common cold chain problems can include equipment malfunctions, incomplete standards or information, improper handling/loading temperature, and breaks in the cold chain. 

  • These issues can be solved by proactive maintenance and temperature control, synchronized and digitized product details, and streamlined warehouse procedures.

  • If a cold chain break does occur, effective and centralized documentation can help ensure that compromised products can be tracked or recalled 


 

The Importance of Cold Chain Compliance

 

Cold chain compliance is essential to:

  • ensure that the product arrives safely to the customer

  • comply with government regulations and client standards

  • reduce waste due to product damage or spoilage

  • prevent financial losses due to damaged or spoiled product

Cold chain failures can severely compromise product integrity. Depending on the product in question, this can result in anything from unsafe food to unusable vaccines. 

In addition to the trouble that this causes for consumers, failures can result in significant losses: Purfresh estimates that 20-30% of quality losses during shipping are due to improper temperature or atmosphere in the perishable cold chain.

Finally, following proper cold chain compliance helps you stay in good standing with regulators or local authorities.

  • For example, in our jurisdiction of Canada, it was recommended in 2015 that when a cold chain break occurs during vaccine transportation, you must contact the local public health office or immunization program to determine the next steps. Avoiding the need for such measures can save both you and regulators time, effort, and money.

  • In the US, states like California have charged up to $20 million in fines and restitution for transporting perishable foods without proper refrigeration.

 

 

Common Cold Chain Problems and Solutions

 

Equipment Malfunctions

Underperforming or broken cooling equipment, such as freezers or reefers, can lead to unwanted dips in temperature.

The Solution: When it comes to equipment malfunctions, prevention is the best course of action. Regular equipment status and temperature checks let you detect issues before they become critical. 

Manually monitoring and checking machines can be time-consuming and costly. That’s why we created our asset tracking and vehicle brain technology. It allows you to monitor asset health over time and alerts you when temperatures fall outside of the accepted range. Learn More About Proactive Temperature Control

 

Incomplete Standards or Information

If workers don’t have insight into products' required temperature ranges, this can result in errors.

For example, if team members do not know the specific refrigeration temperatures needed to keep items stable, they might put products with different temperature requirements in the same refrigerator.

The Solution: Accurately outlining the needed specifications for products’ cold storage is crucial. Through our Digital Control Tower product management tools, you can easily add product details, including temperature requirements as well as expiration dates. Learn More

 

Improper Handling/Loading Temperature

Packing and loading can cause unwanted temperature changes.

Points of transfer can be some of the weakest links in a supply chain because they are susceptible to human error and disruption.

The Solution: When goods are being transported between the warehouse and truck, or between the truck and refrigerator, it’s essential to follow the right procedures.

Your team should take steps like:

  • handling temperature-sensitive products in the appropriate, temperature-controlled zones

  • moving product to temperature-controlled zones quickly and effectively

  • proper packaging procedures when it comes to refrigerated containers, dry ice, and more are needed

Routeique’s Inventory Management system streamlines and enhances this process by offering employees the ability to manage every aspect of picking, packing, and loading from the palm of their hand.  Learn More

 

Breaks In The Cold Chain

Sometimes, brief interruptions in the cold chain are expected, such as product inspections at the border. At other times, they may be the result of human error or circumstances.

Examples include:

  • a staff member leaving a refrigerator unplugged after cleaning

  • an airport having insufficient room for your cargo in their cold storage areas

The Solution: Planning and communication can help you avoid preventable cold chain breaks, as well as to mitigate the effects of ones that are unavoidable.

  • For example, one respondent in a 2010 study stated that when they knew their product would be inspected at the border, they packed it on pallets so that it could be easily removed via forklift for inspection and then rapidly put back into the refrigerated truck. On the other hand, the respondent said, “if you floor load it, it’s going to take a whole day to get your frozen product out and then back in.”

Planning can be enhanced by full supply chain visibility. Additionally, supply chain transparency helps when and where breaks in the cold chain occur to avoid them in the future. Routeique helps you stop relying on small clusters of visibility, and start focusing on synchronized planning and execution across the extended supply network. Learn More

 

Putting It All Together

Maintaining cold chain compliance is essential to ensure product safety, customer satisfaction, and to minimize product loss. Routeique is here to help you gain insight into all facets of your supply chain, including cold chains.

 

Want to learn more?

To learn more about our Cold Chain compliance options, click on the button below!

 

BOOK AN INTRO CALL NOW

 

 

RELATED ARTICLES