JULY - AUGUST 202519 CANADACANADAAnother challenge stems from a shift in the industry's booking practices. Traditionally, companies book storage space based on specific needs for a set timeframe. However, there is a trend toward year-round commitments, where companies must pay for space regardless of utilization. This model poses challenges for businesses that require only cold storage during specific times of the year or for certain projects.Due to the high upfront costs of building new facilities and the limited availability of space at competitive prices, the cold storage industry remains challenging for existing and new competitors. What are some key trends anticipated in the cold storage and distribution space?Effective integration with warehouse management systems is becoming crucial from a technological perspective. This enables efficient load booking, real-time inventory tracking and collaborative business management. Many larger players in the industry are already adopting these systems.There is a growing trend among cold storage facilities to expand their services to include transportation support, such as offering pickup and drop-off within their networks. This flexibility helps address appointment scheduling and load times issues, enhancing overall efficiency.Advancements in booking capacity practices are driving a paradigm shift toward more flexible, year-round commitments, which aim to meet varying business needs and improve opera-tional agility.Please elaborate on the specific technology implementation or project initiative at your organization.We recently leveraged internal transportation services provided by our 3PL partners to alleviate pressure on our transportation providers. Many of these trips are booked as one-way appoint-ments in and out. Conventional booking freight with carriers for one-way trips tends to be more expensive. However, by utilizing the transportation networks of 3PLs, we have found cost advantages, particularly for inbound trips. These logistic partners can coordinate outbound trips with dif-ferent customers, leading to better pricing for us. This approach saves transportation costs and avoids tying up our local drivers and assets during potentially lengthy loading or unloading pro-cesses at facilities.Given the potential disruptions and transformations, how do you foresee the future of the industry in the coming years?We are reaching a point where the main suppliers of frozen 3PL are nearing capacity limits. This impact would resonate throughout the entire value chain for products requiring storage in these facilities. Without new vendors, the industry will need to explore creative strategies to mitigate cost pressures and ensure the sustainability of operations without passing on increased costs to consumers. Another emerging trend is manufacturers are exploring the option of building their own freezer storage facilities. However, this presents challenges due to the significant upfront investment and the need for specialized warehouse management. Many manufacturers may find this approach daunting, especially those dealing with fresh or dry products that only require temporary freezer storage.Partnerships between suppliers, manufacturers or distribu-tion centers are also becoming prevalent. Companies can achieve economies of scale and negotiate better pricing by combining their similar storage and transportation requirements. This collaborative approach allows for more efficient storage capacity utilization, where companies with varying storage needs can pool their resources under one partnership.What advice would you offer to your peers and emerging professionals in cold storage and distribution?It is crucial to continuously explore market trends and inno-vations and to think outside the box. Traditional strategies for handling frozen products and storage may no longer suffice, so we must be open to change and creativity. Given that freez-er requirements and energy costs are unlikely to decrease, we should focus on reducing our total cost of ownership.Do not hesitate to form new partnerships and experiment with different approaches. Even if some initiatives fail, they provide valuable learning experiences. Reach out to industry peers for insights and collaboration opportunities. We can col-lectively improve industry practices and outcomes by shar-ing ideas and experiences regardless of their size. Fostering open communication and collaboration will benefit everyone in the long run. We must explore creative avenues to lower the total cost of product ownership, ensuring prices remain stable and not burden consumers
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