Within the complex supply chain for perishable products, efficient storage and transportation are essential. Cold storage warehouses stand out in this scenario as indispensable pillarsfor preserving and maintaining the quality and integrity of food.
In this content, we will explore the sophisticated structure of these facilities and how they work to preserve and guarantee quality until the products reach the consumer.
Enjoy your reading!
What is a cold storage warehouse?
A cold storage warehouse is a facility designed for the preservation and storage of perishable foods that require temperature control in order to maintain product quality and consumer food safety.
These facilities operate with controlled temperatures and humidity, typically maintaining different temperatures based on the type of food. For frozen foods, -18°C is most common, while fresh or chilled products usually require temperatures ranging from 0°C to 5°C. These infrastructures are essential in the cold chain to ensure products remain at appropriate standards from producer to end consumer.
These warehouses use advanced refrigeration technologies and constant monitoring to avoid thermal variations, thus guaranteeing the integrity and longevity of stored items.
In this way, they play a key role in the logistics of heat-sensitive products and in reducing losses due to spoilage.
What is the structure of cold storages like?
The structure of a cold store is carefully designed to optimize the storage and preservation of the products kept in it.
The way a warehouse layout is designed has a direct influence on the efficiency of the logistics operation and consequently on costs, which is why a number of factors need to be considered when planning. For this reason, many companies choose to rely on the expertise and infrastructure of a 3PL logistics operator.
With special thermal insulation on the walls, floors, ceilings and doors, these buildings are built to minimize heat exchange with the outside environment. The internal chambers are modularized into different zones with varying temperatures, making them suitable for different types of products.
They have efficient refrigeration systems, i.e. capable of maintaining constant temperatures, reducing the risk of failures. They also include optimized racks for effective storage and handling, with some featuring automated storage systems.
The receiving and dispatch areas are also designed to facilitate these processes and must be refrigerated to maintain the cold chain. Overall, the structure is designed to comply with strict sanitary standards, ensuring food safety for the stored products.
How are warehouses classified?
Warehouses are classified based on their function and the type of product they store.
Among the main categories, we have cross-docking warehouses, designed to separate loads without storage; general warehouses, which offer storage and preservation of a wide range of products; and distribution centers, which act as strategic points for collecting and shipping products.
Additionally, there are specialized warehouses, such as bonded warehouses, processing or value-added cold storage, and others.
Blast Freezers
Blast freezers are special chambers designed to freeze a refrigerated product quickly, preventing ice crystal formation and preserving the product’s organoleptic properties. This allows the food to be safely transferred to the storage area.
Storage Chambers
Storage chambers are designed according to the type of operation, aiming to optimize both the efficiency and effectiveness of processes. They are generally square or rectangular, facilitating the flow of equipment such as forklifts and staff movement.
The most common storage systems are pallet racks, classified into various configurations depending on operational needs:
- Single Deep: Ideal for high-turnover operations, allowing quick access to stored items.
- Double Deep: A deeper system that increases storage capacity without requiring much more space.
- Drive-In: Suitable for storing large volumes of low-turnover products, allowing vehicles to drive directly into the rack rows.
- Pushback: Uses carts that enable pallets to be stacked deep, offering greater storage density.
- Semi-Automated Systems: Such as mobile racks, which provide flexibility and high storage density.
- ASRS (Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems): Automated systems ideal for high-volume and high-turnover operations, optimizing space and time use.
Refrigeration systems are typically designed to operate continuously, with backup power to ensure temperature stability, which is crucial for maintaining the integrity of frozen foods.
Benefits of cold storage warehouse automation
Automation in cold storage warehouses represents a significant advancement in cold chain management. The application of advanced technologies in these facilities not only increases operational precision and efficiency but also significantly reduces operating costs and maximizes overall performance.
Key benefits of an automated environment include:
- Product Safety and Quality: Automation minimizes human interference, reducing the risk of errors and ensuring products are consistently stored and handled, maintaining the cold chain‘s integrity.
- Space Efficiency: Automated systems like ASRS and mobile racks optimize the vertical and horizontal space of the warehouse, increasing storage capacity without needing to physically expand the facility.
- Energy Savings: Automation can be designed to operate with greater energy efficiency, functioning only when necessary and adjusting energy consumption based on movement and storage demands—crucial in refrigerated environments with high energy costs.
- Reduced Operating Costs: Fewer staff are needed to operate automated systems, and the precision of these systems reduces waste and product loss. Additionally, less handling time and fewer errors contribute to more cost-effective operations.
- Increased Productivity: Automation enables 24/7 operations with consistency, streamlining the receipt, storage, and dispatch of goods. This ensures faster and more efficient product movement, reducing lead times and improving market responsiveness.
- Operational Safety: Reducing the need for manual intervention in cold areas also improves worker safety, minimizing their exposure to extreme temperatures and risks associated with handling loads in low-temperature environments.
Although automation offers numerous significant benefits, implementing these systems involves substantial initial investment. Therefore, it is crucial to carefully evaluate when it is worthwhile to automate a cold storage warehouse.
Factors like warehouse size, return on investment (ROI), labor costs, and energy consumption should be considered before deciding. In large warehouses with high turnover and large volumes, automation tends to be highly advantageous, as the return on investment is faster. However, for smaller operations, where labor costs are relatively low or product movement volumes are reduced, automation may not provide the same immediate benefits.
Each operation must conduct a detailed cost-benefit analysis, considering its business and structural specifics. The balance between the initial investment and the long-term gains in efficiency, safety, and savings will be the key to determining automation viability.
Security
The automation of cold storage warehouses significantly improves the safety of stored products. With integrated real-time temperature and humidity monitoring and control systems, it is possible to minimize unwanted variations that can affect the quality and safety of food.
Moreover, the reduction in the need for manual handling reduces the exposure of items to cross-contamination, human error and physical damage. The automated equipment is programmed to perform tasks with constant precision, following strict hygiene and food safety standards.
Agile processes
Warehouse management systems (WMS) control all processes within the warehouse, such as product receipt, dispatch, inventory, and internal value-added processes. These systems optimize warehouse control based on the indicated parameters, ideally using FEFO (first expire, first out) for food warehouses, based on expiration date.
With a well-parameterized and agile system, the warehouse response time is significantly reduced.
Productivity
Through the same WMS and the use of automatic or semi-automatic handling and sorting systems like conveyor belts, operators can focus on higher-value tasks, leaving repetitive tasks to machines.
With systematic reductions in stock errors and precision in order selection, efficiency increases, allowing more products to be managed with less effort and time, thus boosting operational productivity.
Storage efficiency
Storage efficiency is another major advantage of automation. Intelligent management systems can optimize the use of available space to employ high storage density and improve the vertical occupancy of the warehouse.
With automation, shelves and racks are designed to be compatible with automated devices, which results in better inventory organization.
Learn more about our food storage and transportation systems
We are specialized in food storage and transportation solutions throughout Latin America.
Specialized in cold chain logistics operations, our infrastructure includes state-of-the-art cold storages that guarantee efficient logistics management to meet the various needs of the food industry, contributing to the delivery of safe and well-preserved food to the end consumer.
Our experience in protecting your product throughout the cold chain for food makes us a standout choice in Latin America.
