In late 2019, the coronavirus began to spread around the world. This massive plague has affected the world in every way and has changed our lives significantly. Masks and disinfectants are like everyday items. Blockages and restrictions seem to limit our range of action. Cold chain transportation as one of the most important logistics activities is inevitably affected by Covid-19.
On the one hand, infectious viruses have interfered with or restricted both international and domestic trade. Strict epidemic measures make shipping cold chains more difficult than ever. This means that many deliveries are made under ambient conditions or in safe and unsustainable solutions, leading to product spoilage and waste.
Covid-19, on the other hand, has significantly changed people’s shopping habits. Due to blockades and restrictions, more and more people are choosing online shopping and home delivery. In addition, the world is currently facing the challenge of safely and efficiently administering the Covid-19 vaccine, which requires strict temperature adherence. All of these deliveries rely heavily on refrigerated trucks.
Many urbanized communities around the world are completely panicked at most grocery stores looking at empty freezer aisles, few produce aisles and limited production. This was the first indicator that a transformative change in the cold chain process was about to take place as a result of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Just a year ago, growing awareness of the global impact of pandemics changed cold chain trends forever and rapidly, increasing both the complexity and growth opportunities of this supply chain industry.
The cold chain industry is considered “essential” and lockdown occurs shortly after the first outbreak of the virus, making the emergence of new cold chain trends a rapidly changing phenomenon that the cold chain industry addresses. It proves resilience when doing. So we face challenges. Rapidly adopted solutions have become part of the DNA of cold chain suppliers as important fresh food products continue to be delivered throughout the pandemic-stricken global region.
The pandemic has tested the supply chain and is under unprecedented pressure, creating uncertainty and having little time to respond to ever-changing situations. Trends emerging in the cold chain prove how companies have been able to quickly find solutions to adapt, change their strategies, and keep their critical supply chains intact.
As result of the pandemic, created growth opportunities within the cold chain industry, and rapidly accelerated cold chain outsourcing, refrigeration, warehousing, and much more shortly after the pandemic. It was driving a pandemic lockdown that brought demand to the field.
Restaurant/food delivery services suffered, but the acceleration in demand for packaged foods, driven by a shift to grocery retail, well offset the decline in the restaurant segment. This shift also impacted the supply chain planning process, allowing supply chain delays to be accommodated by increasing demand for cold chain storage and increasing source-to-shelf cycle time dwell times. Major grocery retailers have confirmed that sales increased by more than 20-30% at the peak of the pandemic blockade. Some of this was due to the rush of necessities, food stockpiling, and increased demand for food as a result of continuing homework. International shipping delays create an increase in cold chain warehousing capacity.
As a result of the pandemic, international shipments of refrigerated products continue to be delayed. Cold chain storage is a fast-growing area due to new foreign food inspection regulations, port congestion, shortage of refrigerated containers, and the emergence of port congestion, which are the enemies of rapid food delivery. Investing in cold chain storage and refrigerated food transportation is at the top of the list of investors with double-digit growth forecasts over the next few years.
Some catalysts are expected to drive growth in the cold chain sector. The pandemic has driven many changes in demand across the food category. Most notable is the shift from high-end gourmet specialty foods related to the travel, restaurant, and entertainment businesses to packaged frozen and fresh foods in retail stores. There are also several other important areas that drive exponential growth and trend shifts in the cold chain market. The trends in these major cold chains are:
1. Consumers have an insatiable desire for fresh food. Due to health trends, more and more consumers are demanding a healthier diet and the demand for specialty foods is increasing. Some of this has been accelerated by people who want to make healthier choices as they spend more time at home. Most data show that in the future consumers will demand a fresh diet that depends on the capabilities of the cold chain. With this accelerating demand for fresh and organic foods, grocery stores need to make sure that fresh foods are ripe and attractive and that there are many options for staying competitive.
2. Technology plays a more important role in the cold chain. As COVID-19 and the global regulatory framework continue to change, technology will expand its important role in the future in terms of transparency, monitoring, and compliance. As compliance becomes more stringent and the inspection process streamlined, the need to track food sources and monitor the environmental conditions of food freight accidents increases. In addition, as supply chain challenges associated with COVID-19 increase transit times, more controlled air freezing techniques are needed.
3. Access to additional personnel, capacity planning, and redundancy are prioritized to increase the reliability of the cold chain. The cold chain transport network will continue to be disrupted until the vaccine is widely distributed and available. Inconsistent performance and reliability as a result of the virus continue to challenge labor shortages, quarantine impacts, and delivery. This pandemic-related impact will encourage companies to rethink their planning strategies with layoff and emergency response options. This will also create a demand for gradual outsourcing of services needed to enable cold chain-related activities for virus prevention.
With the COVID-19 pandemic just a year ago, we need to do as much as we can from the last 12 months, plan for the future, learn from our mistakes, and build on our success. Efficient and effective cold chain management is an ongoing challenge for all cold chain stakeholders responsible for ensuring the uninterrupted supply of temperature-controlled products to key markets around the world. Fortunately, the cold chain industry has already proven to be able to quickly adapt and innovate to serve increasingly complex supply chains. Recent trends, new innovations, and new cold chain technologies continue to shape the ever-changing demands of the chilled and cold chain markets.