What is Cold Chain?

Cold chain is important for a variety of temperature-sensitive goods including perishable food, flowers and plants, pharmaceuticals, and reagents (chemicals used in testing procedures). The cold chain is especially critical in healthcare. According to the U.S. CDC, “The cold chain is the temperature-controlled supply chain that includes all vaccine related equipment and procedures. The cold chain begins with the cold storage unit at the manufacturing plant, extends to the transport and delivery of the vaccines and proper storage at the provider facility, and ends with administration of the vaccine to the patient.”

The global pandemic has brought the cold chain to the forefront, as the majority of COVID vaccines require low temperatures to remain effective. Success in the cold chain requires sophisticated solutions that support IoT and telematics to continuously monitor and provide real time reports regarding quality compliance and violations. This is a significant effort requiring advanced technology, as the task brings together many different constituents with many different technology stacks and integrations.

To ensure integrity of supply, the cold chain requires a platform that allows all the constituents to work together in real time, across a network. One Network Enterprises provides this unified multiparty platform. One Network’s solution enables all parties to track at the unit level, spot problems and respond quickly to exceptions. To represent the complete logistics lifecycle, the solution provides end-to-end and real-time logistics to warehouses, plants, DCs, carriers, LSPs, and customer and contract manufacturers.  In addition, it combines the power of telematics, IoT and AI to alert users to problems with predictive analytics and proposes optimal solutions. The platform also serves as the system of record for tracking compliance and identifying and reporting violations.