While some businesses can ship their products regardless of the outside temperature or environment, others are not so lucky. Businesses that sell perishable or temperature-sensitive products have to put much more effort into their logistics and shipping processes to control the external temperature throughout the entire journey. Industry experts often refer to this type of logistics as cold chain logistics. While this sounds complex, many businesses find that transporting temperature-sensitive products is an easy process when they have the right 3PL and freight forwarders on their sides.
When you know how temperature control plays a role in freight delivery, you’ll have the information you need to guide your business’s logistics and shipping department to success.
Of course, the first reason why temperature control is essential in the shipping and logistics world is because it preserves perishable items. Milk, eggs, frozen vegetables, meat, ice cream, fresh fruit, specific medical items, and certain electronics all require a constant temperature in order to arrive intact at their destinations. Without temperature-control, these items would arrive moldy, unusable, or destroyed, thus being unsafe for consumers.
Although some items, such as certain fresh fruits, are not as temperature-sensitive as others, businesses choose to ship them in temperature-controlled environments to ensure the quality and freshness of the product. While a business might be able to ship flowers in an environment without temperature control, the flowers might arrive wilted and in poor condition. Although the products are technically intact, they are not fresh or quality items anymore.
The majority of temperature-sensitive foods can make consumers sick if a business does not ship them properly. One of the most well-known temperature-sensitive foods is meat. Meat must remain in a temperature-controlled environment to prevent the growth of bacteria that can cause horrendous illnesses such as salmonella. To keep consumers safe, the FDA and DEA of the U.S. government require businesses to keep their temperature-sensitive foods at or under a specific temperature.
Even if the U.S. government did not require businesses to maintain a constant temperature for certain products, corporations would do their best to keep their customers safe. After all, if a large number of consumers become sick from a product, the business selling the good can expect sales to decrease significantly. So, learning how temperature control plays a role in freight delivery and implementing cold chain logistics will greatly benefit your business and your consumers.
Every business desires to increase its customer satisfaction rates. When a business has happy customers, sales and profits are sure to follow. Additionally, when a business has rising customer satisfaction rates, that means it will keep its current customers while attracting new consumers. Temperature-controlled logistics allows companies to transport perishable items efficiently and successfully to ensure that they arrive in pristine condition. Today, consumers expect high-quality products, and cold chain logistics allows companies to provide just that.
When a business has a glowing reputation, it opens the doors for growth and expansion. Temperature-controlled shipping and logistics allows businesses to provide the highest-quality items to their consumers. As consumers continue to receive items in excellent condition, your business’s reputation will begin to grow. However, if a business does not take the proper steps to ensure quality and the safety for its consumers, its reputation will diminish quickly.
Many distributors rely on their retailers to sell their products to the public. However, retailers expect the products to arrive in the best possible condition. In fact, many retailers examine their products to ensure that they are quality items before putting them on shelves. To maintain beneficial relationships with retailers, businesses use cold chain logistics to ensure that perishable products arrive safely and intact.
Without cold chain logistics, companies would not be able to access certain markets. For example, a business selling meat would not be able to transport it out of the local area without cold chain logistics. So, the creation and operation of temperature-controlled logistics allows many businesses to expand their markets and grow their businesses to new heights.
As you can imagine, cold chain logistics opens up a whole new world in the industry. Maintaining a constant temperature throughout the shipping process is no easy feat. Today, 3PLs and freight forwarders rely on specialized equipment to ship temperature-sensitive items. From refrigerated trucks to dry ice, there are numerous methods businesses can use to transport these sensitive products. We’ll go into more detail about these methods in the following point.
Shipping perishable goods can take some effort. Even when you ship these sensitive goods in temperature-controlled environments, the whole process is simply a race against the clock, attempting to deliver items while they are still fresh or whole. When a business needs to transport a shipment quickly, they rely on 3PLs, such as Diversified Transportation Services, and their partnership with numerous reliable expedited freight carriers. With a 3PL on your side, your business will be able to make its cold chain logistic processes more successful and efficient.
As previously mentioned, businesses often use refrigerated trucks and dry ice to keep products at low temperatures. There are many other effective methods that companies use as well, such as refrigerated warehouses, reusable gel packs, and Styrofoam coolers. Additionally, it’s important to take the handling of the products into consideration as well. Personnel and employees should never leave these shipments out of the temperature-controlled environments for long periods of time. There are so many details that companies must take into consideration with this type of shipping.
If you want to partner with a reliable and concierge transportation provider, contact the team at Diversified Transportation Services. We’ll not only help you find the most reliable carriers or freight forwarders, but we can also help you navigate the shipping and logistics world with ease. Invest your time in other matters and let us handle all your temperature-sensitive shipping and logistics needs.
Whether you're a company looking to improve one facet of your supply chain, your entire supply chain, or simply looking for a transportation and logistics consultation, we can help.
