«En bref »
Cold chain logistics involves keeping temperature-sensitive products at the right temperature from storage through to delivery. It primarily concerns food and agri-business, health, cosmetics and chemicals. When properly managed, it protects product quality, limits losses and enables goods to be transported further, under better conditions.
Cold chain logistics: managing temperature to secure supply flows
For a perishable product, everything does not hinge on the moment of production. Its quality must be preserved at every stage of its journey. A poorly controlled temperature, overly long storage or a poorly organised transfer can be enough to compromise it. According to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), 526 million tonnes of food are lost or wasted each year due to insufficient refrigeration. Faced with these risks, cold chain logistics has become a central issue, from sourcing and storage through to transport and final delivery.
Cold chain logistics: what does it involve?
Cold chain logistics refers to all the operations that allow temperature-sensitive products to circulate under appropriate conditions. It therefore goes beyond refrigerated transport. It encompasses storage, order preparation, handling, transfers, transport and delivery, as well as the systems used to monitor conservation conditions.
Its objective is to maintain the continuity of the cold chain at every stage. The cold chain corresponds to compliance with the temperatures required by a product throughout its journey. Cold chain logistics, in turn, refers to the organisation, equipment and controls put in place to guarantee this continuity. A break in any one of these links can compromise the quality, safety or efficacy of the product.
The challenges of cold chain logistics
Cold chain logistics responds first and foremost to a health requirement. For perishable goods, maintaining temperatures limits the risk of degradation and the proliferation of micro-organisms. The requirement is equally stringent in the pharmaceutical sector, where the World Health Organization considers the storage and transport of temperature-sensitive products to be risk stages, on a par with their packaging or distribution.
It also raises a question of compliance. Conservation conditions vary according to the nature of the product, its use and the market for which it is intended. Operators must therefore comply with prescribed temperatures, but also be able to prove that they have been maintained. Standards such as HACCP for food safety, ATP for the transport of perishable goods and good distribution practices in the pharmaceutical sector govern different stages of these flows.
Economically, a break in the cold chain can lead to the deterioration or rejection of goods, reduce their shelf life and increase costs related to storage, transport or returns. Conversely, a well-organised chain makes it possible to preserve more products, limit losses and reach more distant markets.
The environmental dimension is also significant. Producing cold requires energy and uses refrigerants. The FAO estimates that the entire food cold chain represents around 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, taking into account both refrigeration technologies and food losses due to insufficient refrigeration. Reducing this footprint involves, among other things, more efficient equipment, better route planning and, where possible, the use of installations powered by renewable energy.
From food to medicine: different cold requirements
Not all temperature-sensitive products present the same constraints. Fresh food does not keep in the same way as frozen goods, just as a vaccine or chemical substance does not have the same requirements as a fruit or dairy product. The main categories concerned include:
Food and agri-food products: fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, dairy products, frozen goods or food preparations may require refrigerated or frozen storage to slow their degradation and preserve their quality.
Pharmaceutical and biological products: vaccines, certain medicines, biological products or samples intended for analysis may be sensitive to temperature variations. The WHO regulates their storage and transport according to conditions ranging from controlled room temperature (between 15 and 25°C) to refrigerated storage (between 2 and 8°C) or frozen storage (around -20°C).
Cosmetic products: certain products may require controlled temperatures to preserve their stability and properties. The use of cold depends, however, on the formulation and the manufacturer’s specifications.
Chemical and industrial products: certain substances may lose their stability or properties when exposed to inappropriate temperatures. They may therefore require a controlled thermal environment during storage and transport.
This diversity requires cold chain logistics to be adapted to the characteristics of each product, its shelf life and the conditions necessary to maintain it throughout its journey.
Which transport modes for cold chain logistics?
The choice of transport mode is an essential link in cold chain logistics. It depends on the nature of the goods, the distance to be covered, the expected lead time, the volumes to be transported and the available infrastructure.
Refrigerated road transport enables land-based shipments, regional flows and final delivery. Its flexibility makes it an indispensable mode, particularly for connecting warehouses, distribution platforms and points of sale or care. It does, however, remain exposed to road hazards, waiting times and the risk of breaks during loading and unloading.
Maritime transport is suited to long distances and large volumes, notably through refrigerated containers. It enables food, pharmaceutical or industrial products to be carried over international corridors, provided that a reliable power supply and constant temperature monitoring are maintained throughout the crossing.
Air transport may be preferred when speed is a decisive factor, particularly for high-value products, health products or goods with a limited shelf life. Its higher cost and environmental footprint mean, however, that it should be reserved for flows where lead time is critical.
Traceability and real-time monitoring: data in service of the cold chain
A product may have been correctly conditioned at departure and yet experience a temperature deviation several hours later, during a transfer or waiting period. Mastering the cold chain therefore also means knowing what is actually happening throughout the journey, not just defining in advance the conditions under which it should take place.
This is where data is taking on an increasing role in cold chain logistics, through several technologies capable of facilitating responses in the event of an anomaly. Data loggers can, for example, record temperature at regular intervals to maintain a record of the journey. IoT-connected sensors go further, transmitting this information remotely and triggering alerts when a threshold is exceeded.
Combined with geolocation, this data can help to determine where and when a problem occurred, and then facilitate its resolution. This circulation of information becomes all the more important when several actors succeed one another in the journey: producer, carrier, freight forwarder, warehousekeeper or recipient may all need access to the same data to track goods and verify their conservation conditions.
Technologies such as blockchain can then contribute to recording and sharing certain data securely between the various stakeholders. Their interest lies less in the idea of “putting the cold chain on blockchain” than in their capacity to strengthen the traceability of information and trust between actors.
The regulatory framework and standards
Cold chain logistics is also governed by regulatory and normative requirements. These rules vary according to sector, the products being transported and the destination markets, but they all pursue the same objective: to ensure that temperature-sensitive goods retain their quality, safety and compliance throughout their journey.
In the food sector, the HACCP approach makes it possible to identify hazards linked to food safety and to control critical points, particularly during storage, preparation or transport. For perishable goods transported at controlled temperatures, the ATP agreement sets out requirements relating to vehicles, refrigeration equipment and transport conditions. European regulation CE 37/2005 imposes, for certain frozen foods, temperature monitoring during transport, warehousing and storage.
In the pharmaceutical sector, good distribution practices (GDP) govern the storage, transport and traceability of medicines. They require, in particular, that products are kept under conditions compatible with their specifications, with documented evidence in the event of an inspection. Standards such as IFS Logistics may also apply to logistics service providers, to assess the management of storage, transport and distribution operations.
For operators, these standards are not mere formalities. They require documentation of temperatures, qualification of equipment, training of staff, procedures in the event of a deviation and the retention of reliable evidence.
Cold chain logistics in Africa: progress and challenges
Africa offers a particularly important environment for the development of cold chain logistics. Its agricultural base, which supports a large proportion of the population and supplies local, regional and international markets, relies heavily on perishable products whose value depends on their ability to be preserved after harvest. The same need exists in the health sector, where vaccines, medicines and other temperature-sensitive products must circulate under controlled temperature conditions, sometimes to areas far from major urban centres.
Initiatives are already helping to strengthen these capacities in several countries, including Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. In Rwanda, the African Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain Solutions conducts research, training and demonstration activities around solutions adapted to African realities. Events such as the African Cold Chain Conference of the Global Cold Chain Alliance also help to structure exchanges around these issues.
Scaling up, however, faces several challenges. Insufficient infrastructure, irregular or costly access to electricity, high temperatures and the complexity of corridors can weaken the continuity of the cold chain. Added to this are the ongoing needs for financing, maintenance and technical skills, which can slow the deployment and reliability of equipment.
Cold chain logistics and sustainable development
Cold chain logistics meets an essential need, but it also consumes a great deal of energy. Refrigerated warehouses, cold rooms, generators, refrigerated containers and temperature-controlled vehicles must operate continuously to keep products under the required conditions. In countries where electricity is expensive or unreliable, this constraint directly affects costs and the reliability of operations.
The challenge is therefore to produce cold more efficiently. This involves better-sized equipment, regular maintenance, appropriate insulation, reduced unnecessary openings and the use of monitoring systems to identify temperature deviations or overconsumption. Where conditions allow, the use of installations powered by renewable energy can also contribute to reducing the environmental footprint.
Route optimisation also plays an important role. Better planning of loads, routes and deliveries makes it possible to limit empty runs, reduce waiting times and make better use of available capacity. For sensitive products, this can also reduce the risk of prolonged exposure during transfers or the last kilometres.
Conclusion
In a context where supply chains are lengthening and African markets are increasingly interconnected, cold chain logistics is gradually becoming a factor of competitiveness. Being able to preserve a product for a few more hours or days, transport it over a longer distance or guarantee its compliance at destination can make the difference between a valorised product and a lost one. For producers and health actors alike, the challenge is therefore no longer simply to have access to cold, but to be able to guarantee it wherever the product needs it.
This requirement means thinking about flows in their entirety, connecting storage, transport, monitoring, compliance and distribution. It is on this integrated approach that Africa Global Logistics positions its solutions for the agri-food and health sectors, combining in particular controlled-temperature storage capacity, flow management, traceability and transport solutions. The extension of its Abidjan Aerohub, whose refrigerated capacity has grown from 600 to 1,800 m², illustrates this commitment to supporting sensitive goods as close as possible to markets.