Developing an advanced Multi-Temperature Joint Distribution System for the food cold chain

For temperature sensitive and perishable products (TSPPs) logistics, a special type of supply chain management called Cold Chain Management (CCM), has been established. Temperature monitoring and control are essential mechanisms in CCM, because they are necessary for maintaining food safety and quality. However, they are costly to logistics service providers (LSPs). In this paper, a logistics service model based on the advancement of the Multi-Temperature joint Distribution System, namely MTJD, is being proposed for the food cold chain. The proposed service model facilitates innovation in logistics services and gives the logistics sector a competitive advantage in the area of thermal protection for perishable shipments and temperature sensitive products. Smaller shipments and timely deliveries offer unique challenges when operating a cold chain. The MTJD-based model is designed with these challenges in mind. A case study is performed by using the regulative cycle. In this paper, an MTJD-based model is presented according to the requirements of the food chain and the operations of a 3PL in Taiwan. MTJD provides a new scheme for continuously temperature-controlled logistics, which can jointly deliver and store multi-temperature goods. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.