The desire for "fresh-and-healthy" and "ready-to-eat" products has grown tremendously in the Indian market and consumers are demanding better quality food items at affordable prices. To satisfy this exponential growth in demand, companies are relying on Cold Chains to provide sophisticated storage and value-added services. The cold chain industry is moving beyond the traditional freezer box approach and is playing a significant role in the overall supply chain strategy of companies dealing with food and beverages, fruits and vegetable, pharmaceuticals, and horticulture. However, the success of implementing cold chain solutions to serve the end customers involves careful facility planning and build out, continual monitoring of product quality throughout the distribution channels and having appropriate corrective action plans in place to counter any gaps.

Although the basic principles of supply chain network design, facility planning and build out, and operations hold true for cold chains, there is added complexity due to the fact that quality, temperature and shelf life criteria of the perishable products is harder to maintain. In addition to this, higher costs associated with operating cold chains warrant the need for excellent operational efficiency and continuous process improvements to maximize profits for the service providers. Additional challenges that make cold chain networks in India more complex than the regular supply chain networks include inadequate logistics infrastructure, poor rural connectivity, shortage of efficient transport providers, and inadequate IT systems to support efficient routing and transport management.

ThinkLink offers complete solutions in cold chain strategy development, design, build out, and commissioning. Our team of experts has a thorough understanding of the nuances in this sector and are well versed in the additional considerations that need to be incorporated in the Indian market. We differentiate ourselves by rolling up our sleeves and getting your cold chains right. Our Cold Chain solutions can be categorized as follows:

• Cold Chain Strategy Development
  • Business Strategy:
    • Benchmarking of companies in this sector
    • Alignment of business goals with the project so that the overall objectives are met
  • Network Design and Benchmarking:
    • Analysis and what-if scenarios based on different constraints such as temperature range across the regions of transit, no entry rules etc.
    • Right number and capacity of facilities
    • Balancing inventory and transportation with service
• Facility Layout and Engineering
  • Layout Design:
    • Considering expected throughput, available space, and handling equipment
    • Structural modules to support logistics infrastructure as per pre-defined plans
    • Flow planning, inbound and outbound dock design
  • Turnkey Project Development and Implementation:
    • Sizing and Capacity based on average supply and demand for a particular period
    • Refrigeration choices based on product requirements and capital availability
    • Energy saving initiatives to reduce operating costs at the facility
• Project Management and Build-out:
  • Ensure that the work is in accordance with drawings, statutory approved plans and as per the specifications
  • Development of plans at various levels of details using MS Project and other project management tools
  • Provide necessary supervision and survey support to ensure correct lay-outing and construction
• Start up and Go-Live:
  • Process Design:
    • Design of processes according to the products being handled in the Cold Chain facility
    • Creation of SOPs to ensure higher productivity and proper handling of the products
  • Systems Implementation:
    • Selection and implementation of Information Systems to support the cold chain operations
    • Design of modular collection centers including sorting and grading, pre cooling, chill storage, and reefer movement to market centers
    • Staff Training on Systems
    • Go-live and implementation support when required