Dairy products being perishables have a limited shelf life and need to have strict SOPs in place for their transportation. Be it the right packaging material, to the right transportation material, the supply chain team needs to have thorough checklists, timelines and tracking devices in place.
Dairy ideally needs to be transported between 2-8C, and it again varies from product to product. For a commodity like ice cream cakes or sandwiches, the shelf life is slightly longer than say that of milk or plain ice cream. If milk is exposed to heated conditions due to bad packaging, it can start developing bacteria and get spoiled quickly. This becomes dangerous if distributed to the end user leading to health hazards!
If ice cream is transported at the wrong temperature, it too can start getting contaminated by melting. Once it melts, its texture starts to change, again due to bacterial contamination which then becomes unfit for consumption.
Throughout the supply chain, timelines need to be met. The operations team needs to manage timely deliveries and should ensure that there are no hindrances to the deliveries. In case there is a delay in one leg of the supply chain, the operations team must do a complete routine check before continuing the delivery process, to ensure that the consignment is still fit to be distributed. For milk, considering the shelf life is so short, the timelines need to be tight and strictly followed.
Along with this, the temperature of the consignment must be maintained throughout the supply chain. Allowing the outside temperature to play a role in damaging the consignment should be avoided at all costs. For reefer trucks, In case the ambient temperature might be unfavourable, the transportation team should minimise the opening and closing of the delivery truck as much as possible, with the engine running the whole time.
Each truck should also be equipped with a tracking device, by which the temperature can be monitored throughout the supply chain, in case of any disruptions.
Tessol has successfully been a part of multiple deliveries consisting of dairy products for companies such as Vadilal, Amul, Chitale, to name a few. Our solutions are simple, and extremely cost effective and sustainable. Our trucks and supply chain do not depend on the engine or fuel at all. We use PCM technology which is engine and fuel independent and is charged much earlier on at the warehouse stage. Our PCMs are conditioned to the right temperature, before being placed inside the compartments of our last mile delivery bags. For secondary and tertiary distribution, our Nova freeze trucks are highly used. The PCMs are placed inside heat exchanger compartments and are charged by a compressor. This is known as our Plug N Chill solution. Once the PCMs are charged to the right temperature, the consignment is placed inside.
We also use Zen Boxes which contain the refrigerated PCMs, conditioned to the right temperature, before the consignment is placed inside them. Our solutions allow for a temperature retention of 10-14 hours, and provide temperatures of 2-8 C or -20 to +15C, depending on the requirement. Being engine and fuel independent, no matter what the ambient conditions maybe, or how many times the transportation truck is stopped or its doors opened, the temperature is not affected and the consignment continues getting cooled.
We also provide a temperature monitoring system, known as TAMsys, which allows for real time monitoring of the consignment, throughout the supply chain, allowing for timely corrections in case of a shift in temperature.
For more information, visit our website, www.tessol.in
