Vaccines require cold storage temperatures to preserve their therapeutic benefits, necessitating careful logistical coordination to maintain quality standards.
Telematics technologies for cold chain track and monitoring are vital tools in these situations, with food and pharmaceutical industries as primary users of fleet telematics solutions.
Storage
Cold chain storage ensures the safe transport of food, pharmaceuticals, and medical products such as vaccines; for example, it ensures they remain at a consistent temperature throughout their distribution to protect against infectious disease transmission.
Many medications require refrigeration during their transport between manufacturing facilities and final markets, including asthma inhalers and insulin used to treat diabetes which must remain at a cold temperature, while organs or tissues used in transplant procedures or cancer therapy must remain frozen at all times; special refrigerated containers must therefore be used for transportation of such drugs.
Klinge Corporation offers an impressive selection of high-quality refrigerated transport containers designed to preserve the integrity of cold chains, featuring either active or passive cooling systems, with various temperature control solutions available – for instance, gel packs containing phase-changing substances and pumps to push cool air into main payload areas to keep temperatures stable. At the same time, transit occurs, while others utilize dry ice to keep contents frozen solid.
The type of container needed depends on its destination and origin, such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices requiring insulated shipping containers to comply with regulatory compliance requirements for transport within US or Europe, in addition to installing temperature monitoring trackers for tracking purposes.
With increasing demand for refrigerated containers, the industry is investing in innovative technologies to increase the efficiency of cold chain operations. Blockchain provides one such tool; companies using it securely share information among supply chain partners while it reduces damaged goods in cold chains.
Telematics devices have become invaluable for cold chain operators looking to increase visibility. Telematics enables them to track the temperature of shipments easily and respond quickly when temperature fluctuation occurs. Furthermore, it will reduce incidents that result in lost profits.
Transportation
Cold chain operations must transport products efficiently from one location to the next, which requires unique transport systems that maintain an appropriate temperature level for each product group. Electric, diesel, batteries, ice packs, or dry ice can power such transport systems. They must also meet any regulations from industry groups, local or global organizations, and existing shipping methods.
Cold chain transportation technologies use various monitoring, tracking, and communication technologies to ensure the integrity of shipments. This includes GPS trackers on vehicles and containers which transmit their location data directly to an app, website, or business management solution – providing logistic providers and shippers with an overview of where their shipments are at all times; furthermore, these technologies help companies manage inventory more effectively as well as quickly reacting to changes in demand.
Effective cold chain transport is vital to the success of any supply chain, especially when time is of the essence. Damaged perishable products during transit can result in costly recalls and lost revenue; for this reason, a scalable cold chain technology system must be put in place.
Your Edge Blog Team: Common technologies used within cold chain operations include radio frequency identification (RFID), Bluetooth(r) Low Energy, and other location solutions that offer real-time visibility of items moving through facilities via automated barcode scans. Fixed industrial scanners found on assembly lines or warehouse conveyor belts also assist in keeping inventory accurate by scanning items as they pass through or leave.
Manufacturers and distributors of temperature-sensitive goods use digitalization to lower costs, increase productivity, and ensure product safety. Zebra’s Trax software’s innovative contracting feature automates final agreements as soon as predetermined conditions have been fulfilled, eliminating human error and delays while improving efficiency across their enterprise. It can even integrate seamlessly with ERP/CRM software for optimal business efficiency.
Automation
Transport of cold-sensitive goods requires special refrigeration equipment known as reefers or freezers, typically deployed in trucks, railcars, cargo ships, and aircraft. When these units fail to function correctly, perishable goods could suffer temperature variations that compromise their quality and safety – it’s therefore crucial that shippers, carriers and 3PLs monitor environmental conditions while cargo is on route to address any potential issues quickly and ensure regulatory compliance.
Multiple regulations keep supply chain participants on their toes, from requirements on visibility and traceability of goods, temperature monitoring, packaging requirements, and supporting documentation to meeting labor shortages and increasing energy costs. Participants must remain current with so much at stake in running an effective cold chain organization. To adapt with these challenges, complex chain organizations must upgrade their operations in order to stay profitable.
Automation is an indispensable asset to cold storage facilities, offering multiple advantages that will lower operating expenses and increase productivity by automating repetitive tasks. Furthermore, automation enables cold chain warehouses to scale production more efficiently while providing consistent and accurate fulfillment services and lowering staffing costs, allowing companies to increase wages while keeping employees.
Cold chain automation also offers companies another significant benefit: helping to address workforce shortages. Since the pandemic caused by “The Great Resignation,” businesses have struggled to attract and retain talent – especially in warehousing, which relies on an agile and responsive workforce. Cold chain companies can transform minimal staff into an effective productivity force by employing automated workflows.
Cold chain automation technology is constantly developing. Artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) enable these systems to learn, anticipate, and optimize operations; plus, they offer predictive maintenance, which knows when service or replacement should take place – capabilities that help cold chain companies maximize their return on investment (ROI) while making efficient use of available resources.
Monitoring
Cold chain logistics refers to an interlinked network for storing and transporting perishable or temperature-sensitive goods. It requires sophisticated monitoring technology to prevent suboptimal conditions from degrading quality during transit; furthermore, these technologies can assist in predictive maintenance, regulatory compliance, remote monitoring, fleet management, and fleet operations management.
One of the primary factors fueling advances in cold chain technology is the stringent temperature requirements imposed by pharmaceutical manufacturers. For instance, COVID-19 vaccines require specific storage and distribution temperatures that must be tracked throughout their supply chains to maintain efficacy; advanced temperature monitoring systems provide this necessary monitoring service and help ensure optimal temperatures are always met throughout shipping processes.
Manufacturers rely on temperature monitoring technologies to maintain customer loyalty. With grocery delivery and meal kit services markets growing exponentially, companies need to regularly evaluate the quality of their products to provide consistent experiences, said Pelino. Temperature-monitoring technologies help manufacturers see how a product is stored before shipping it out, so any issues can be detected immediately and resolved as quickly as possible.
Cold chain management will become even more vital to international trade as globalization increases. Detecting temperature issues and redirecting payloads quickly can reduce product damage while improving supply chain efficiency – both are crucial elements in increasing cold chain technology used in transportation and storage, thus driving the global industry’s continued expansion in coming years.
Pharmaceutical and food companies in the US are driving innovations in cold chain monitoring technologies. In particular, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an explosion of demand for monitoring systems to store and deliver lifesaving vaccines – meeting stringent regulatory and clinical trial requirements to ensure patient safety is guaranteed.
Cold chain companies are improving their logistics and tracking systems by installing battery-powered GPS devices in shipping containers, which transmit information directly to a cloud-based software platform allowing businesses to track the location of their cargo in real-time. Furthermore, some firms use PCM-embedded thermal covers designed to keep refrigerated or frozen shipments cold for as much as 36 hours after being unplugged from power at ports and then back on again later on.
