The top 4 challenges in Cold Logistics and how to tackle them

When you are active in the cold logistics industry, your business faces numerous challenges. And not just in your warehouse or transport operation, but in your IT operation as well. From cyber security to resource capacity. And from customer demands to the incredibly fast pace of new innovations coming at you. If you want to stay in business, or even better, to have a competitive advantage over your competitors, it is essential that you make the right choices when it comes to IT. In this blog, we tell exactly how.

Resource capacity

There is a notable shortage of skilled workforce in the cold logistics industry. Labor shortages can seriously stunt your business growth, as you don’t have enough resources to tackle all logistic activities for your customers Based on a 3PL study conducted by NTT Data, Shippers are less satisfied with the IT capabilities of their logistics service providers. Furthermore, 40% of 3PL’s state labor shortages have impacted their SLAs. Here are some solutions to alleviate resource capacity issues:

Automation – In today’s world, it is all about low-code/no-code solutions that give you the power to automate tasks in your business process. You can greatly reduce manual labor by adopting a scalable software solution designed to meet your industry’s requirements.

Enablement – The quicker you can bring your employees up to speed with the daily processes of your organization, the quicker you enable new resources. Utilize diverse training opportunities, an intuitive software system, and a standardized company process to accelerate employee onboarding.

Move to the Cloud – Labor shortages are also noticeable in your IT department. This forces you to make choices where to put your limited resources. Instead of being busy with hardware, maintenance of on-prem solutions, backup procedures, and so on: outsource these tasks by moving to a cloud solution.

Industry Cloud Solutions

It is becoming increasingly more difficult to keep up with the pace of innovation. When it comes to IT, bringing the right capabilities to your customers is essential for your success. The combination of the speed of new innovations in combination with limited resource capacity is a toxic cocktail because again, difficult choices have to be made about where to put your resources. Among others, this is why Gartner predicts that by 2027, more than 70% of enterprises will use industry cloud platforms to accelerate their business initiatives.

True SaaS – Adopt the latest technologies within a truly scalable, multi-tenant SaaS environment that is tailored to the logistics Industry.

Industry standard – Only with the latest technology and the most recent workflow-based (so-called low code/no-code) software solutions can provide the flexibility needed to deliver technologically standard but functionally customized solutions. Generic workflow-based solutions, however, require too much configuration and force you to reinvent the wheel. That’s where industry solutions come in. The combination of flexible and configurable solutions in combination with industry best practices are shortening the time-to-market and bringing automation of business processes to a higher level.

Cyber Security

Cyber security is a hot topic in the world of cold logistics. Digitization in the industry has benefited businesses in many ways. But it has also brought some problems such as hackers and cyber threats. You might think security issues only happen to your neighbor, but the risk is always there. And best believe, your customers will ask you to make sure that you have all the measures in place to avoid risks – and can prove this by showing certifications! Here are some must-have measures:

Be Up-to-date – Make sure to continuously update applications in your complete IT landscape to the latest technology.

Create awareness – Everyone has received a mail scam in their professional life. Mistakes by your employees can put your organization at risk. Knowing how to handle fraudulent emails and messages is extremely important. Create cyber security awareness in your company. Don’t forget to train your employees on cyber security best practices.

Move to the cloud – Transitioning to a cloud-based software solution can greatly enhance security. By leveraging certified systems from leading IT companies, you can make your company less attractive to hackers.

AI & Integrations

AI has become a buzzword in recent times. Everybody is talking about it. And with more and more data being exchanged between companies in the supply chain, it is becoming increasingly more important. Furthermore, having a sufficient internal and external integration strategy is a must in the current logistics landscape. This is how to turn the tide in your favor:

Time-to-market – Reduce time-to-market of your integrations to just minutes, using packaged integrations.

Unstructured Data – Dealing with messy data is very time-consuming. By utilizing AI to capture and interpret unstructured data, you can convert it into structured data within your software without manual input making you less depended of (limited) labor capacity, reducing errors, and becoming more scalable to grow your business.

Analysis – Because of the large amounts of data coming your way, you need to have smart tools that allow you to make more informed decisions. Optimize warehouse processes with AI-driven analytics and predictive capabilities. This way, your software tools do the heavy lifting for you.

The solution to your challenges

To remain successful and competitive, it is essential to address these issues. With the right software, logistics providers can face these challenges. The core business of Boltrics’ 3PL dynamics once originated in cold chain logistics. There is a good reason why more and more logistic service providers are opting for Boltrics software. The total solution for 3PL’s and Cold Stores. By doing so, they benefit from the industry standard, running in the Microsoft cloud. Giving you all the tools you need to enter the competition without any problems. And, of course, always up-to-date keeping you in the driver’s seat, now and in the future. Learn more about our cold logistics solution.