Whether you transport food or vaccines, it’s important to ensure that your supply chain and cold-chain logistics are on top of everything. Environmental changes and various safety regulations create many challenges for the cold supply chain as these shipments travel from place to place. Products labeled as “perishables,” including meat, produce, seafood, medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, beverages, candies and frozen products, are everyday items that require cold-chain transportation.

Companies needing complex cold-chain logistics will benefit significantly by partnering with a dedicated 3PL provider who can mitigate many of the challenges. W.I.S. Logistics can be that partner.

Here are a few factors that must be considered:

  • Cooling Systems: This is crucial in mitigating food loss. A cold-chain logistics solution must provide different temperature control systems for different perishables. We transport refrigerated products in Reefers (temperature-controlled and insulated trailers). A TMS integrated with an ERP system can bring efficiency and accuracy to this challenge.
  • Cold Transport: Cold-chain transport needs special care as the trucks’ temperature and humidity must be automatically maintained according to safety regulations while in transit.
  • Cold Distribution: Perishables cannot wait for too long on docks or in warehouses due to the demand and the sensitive shelf life of the product. Efficiency and nimbleness are most needed for cold-chain logistics. W.I.S. Logistics uses our TMS to set up and dispatch shipments so they can be quickly delivered to where it needs to go.

Before you hire W.I.S. Logistics or any other 3PL provider, be sure to ask these questions:

  1. Can your systems support integration with my system and can it improve my current process?
  2. How do you handle urgent tenders and rush delivery or other specialty delivery/shipping needs?
  3. What’s your process for working with other network partners to maximize profitability?
  4. How do you prevent spoilage of goods and what protocols are in place for managing cold-chain transport?
  5. How is your company different than other transportation service providers?

Give us a call at (262) 797-9670 or email info@wislogistics.com and we’ll answer these questions and any others you may have on cold-chain shipping.