Cold transport and logistics manage highly heat-sensitive goods, requiring high-quality standards, complex procedures, and precise regulations. Therefore, it is essential for companies that operate with this type of products and want to be competitive to organise each phase of the cold chain.
In this article, we will see how to coordinate the cold chain, identify the most effective systems for storing frozen products, and which best practices to activate to avoid an interruption of the cold chain.
Efficiency Solutions for Cold Storage Warehouses
With the expression "cold chain," we mean the procedure that ensures the temperature-sensitive products maintain a precise and constant temperature throughout their life cycle ( from production to sale, including the transport and storage phases).
Worldwide, 13.8% of food is lost to spoilage from post-harvest to distribution—most of these losses happen because of poor or inadequately-managed temperature control within the warehouse.
Thus, how can cold chain storage flow be improved? To answer this question, let us see the solutions that can guarantee the efficiency and safety of cold storage warehouses.
1. Automatic storage and handling systems
Low temperatures often risk compromising the productivity and quality of manual activities. Thus, to safeguard the overall performance of the warehouse, it is advisable to maximise operating speed as much as possible through automation.
Automatic systems such as stacker cranes for pallets, horizontal transport systems, voice picking, radio-frequency can optimise time, lower costs, and significantly reduce the margin of error.
PDA solutions can manage the entire storage and warehousing process. The operation results are returned to the system in real-time. In this way, the operational strategy can be tracked, verified, and displayed.
2. Cold resistant equipment
The temperature of refrigerated storage ranges as low as minus tens of degrees. Ordinary mobile devices cannot operate normally in these conditions. Paper documents for managing the inventory is time-consuming and error-prone. Thus, the Urovo RT40 industrial mobile computer has been developed with hardware components and batteries resistant to cold temperature. Our device can support workers under extreme conditions.
Additionally, standard retail tracking technology is not designed to be used in cold temperatures like those required for cold storage. Laptop batteries stop releasing power, LCD screens freeze, and barcode scanners stop working if condensation or frost covers the scanner. Workers must switch to manual data entry to ensure traceability, significantly reducing efficiency when this happens.
Urovo RT40 is equipped with a professional anti-condensation screen and self-healing function. The device screen and scanner window do not become blurred and keep supporting operators during the whole shift.
3. Traceability of goods and exhaustive control of processes
The nature of frozen products, food, or pharmaceuticals, requires an absolute traceability control across the entire cold supply chain. Centralised management software allows operators to control all the information relating to the product (production lot, expiry date, characteristics, etc.) to monitor the incoming and outgoing goods and achieve higher efficiency in stock management. Ultimately, constant data collection through the cold chain is crucial to assure safety and high-quality standards to the end customer.
Barcode scanners simplify product traceability and demonstrate reliability to consumers. They provide data to regulatory authorities to ensure products adhere to government food safety protocols. The Urovo RT40 industrial mobile computer enables operators to scan products from a safe distance (up to 15 meters) with a millisecond speed response. Our solution offers the opportunity to minimise food losses and waste by carefully monitoring each stage of the cold chain
Conclusion
In most cases, we have reported that warehouse cold chain management can effectively reduce space requirements by up to 50%, energy consumption by 80%, and human resources by up to 70%. Properly managing cold chain storage can help managers reduce the deterioration of perishable goods and ensure consumer safety.
At Urovo, we develop news solutions with your success in mind. Our RT40 industrial mobile computer is designed to boost operation efficiency in extreme conditions, among other devices. Its rugged nature can sustain cold and enhance warehouse traceability and daily operations.