Temperature-Controlled Runs for Chilled and Frozen Loads

Chilled and frozen seafood gives you one chance to get the schedule right. Early windows, short legs and no idle waiting at the dock.

The brief

A supplier moving chilled and frozen seafood needed distribution that would hold temperature from the cold store to the receiving point, across the metro and out towards the coastal districts.

How we ran it

The vehicle specification was the straightforward part. What decided the outcome was the schedule. A refrigerated body holds temperature well while it is moving and loses it steadily while it is standing with the doors open at a dock waiting its turn.

So every run got a booked loading slot rather than a place in a queue, delivery windows were pulled into the early morning, and routes were kept short and direct with no mid-route consolidation.

Drivers were briefed specifically on door-open discipline -- how long a door stays open at a drop is worth more to the load than anything else within their control.

What it delivered

Runs held their windows consistently, and the client stopped having to build spoilage into their distribution cost. The operating pattern has since become our default for any temperature-controlled work.

Cold chain is a scheduling discipline

The equipment is the easy part; the waiting is what spoils a load.

• Loading slots booked ahead, never first-come at the dock.
• Short legs with no mid-route consolidation stops.
• Delivery windows pulled forward into the early morning.
• Driver briefed on door-open discipline at every drop.