Cold storage is much more complex than its dry counterpart.  Refrigerated warehousing tends to be more costly, so many manufacturers opt to outsource their cold storage to third party logistics providers.

Diverse customer needs are shaping the evolution of the cold storage industry—and these needs are not limited to added value services.  They also have to do with the nature of the goods themselves being stored.

Different products have varying shelf lives, ranges of temperatures they are required to be stored at, and amounts of time they can spend between the cold storage facility and a transportation vehicle before spoiling.

To make things even more complex, there are food and product safety regulations attached to each type of product that requires temperature controlled transportation and storage.

♦  Some examples of products that may require cold storage or at least a temperature controlled warehousing solution include:

• Perishable nutrient products
• Perishable food (vegetables, fruits, meat and seafood, dairy products)
• Flowers and plants
• Biopharmaceutical products
• Artwork

♦  Studies have shown that refrigerated warehouses and cold storage facilities can be incredibly inefficient if they aren’t equipped with the highest quality doors and insulation, and if the warehousing process isn’t optimized to limit exposure of the open warehouse to the outside world.