status until the products are sold into the U.S. market or re-exported. Importers of frozen products can better manage their risks, costs, and cash flow, while increasing the flexibility of their global supply chain strategies. If a product is subject to an import quota that resets annually, bonded services allow the importer to store it duty-free until it’s able to enter the domestic market, says Brian Beattie, president, western U.S. operations with Lineage, a global temperature-controlled warehouse real estate investment trust. CONTAINERS GAIN DURABILITY, TECHNOLOGY » The growing adoption of multi-use and reusable containers , with the most robust lasting more than 15 years, is another shift in temperature-controlled logistics, Rizzo says. CCT offers a range of reusable thermal packaging solutions and operates a network of 50 regional hubs across 20-plus countries that are located near clusters of pharmaceutical manufacturing and shipping lanes. The hubs make it easy for many shippers to both access and return their packages. » Recent advances in solid-state cooling are helping it to become more efficient and deployable on a mass scale, Li says. Solid-state cooling based on the Peltier effect—named after French physicist Jean Charles Athanase Peltier— occurs when an electric current flows through a junction between two different types of materials, causing a temperature
Americold picks and packs ecommerce orders inside a precisely temperature-controlled facility, ensuring every item maintains peak quality from fulfillment to delivery.
is an automated trailer unloading system that can unload in less than four minutes. “When we unload manually, it is closer to a 30-minute process,” Verbarendse says. As important as the efficiency gains is the system’s ability to maintain the cold chain as products move. Products move in a consistent flow from the manufacturing floor, cutting the likelihood of a backup in the production line. Within the facility, features such as energy-efficient ammonia refrigeration systems and insulated metal panel construction help cut water use by one- quarter, Americold says. Real-time integration between several systems, including the warehouse management and enterprise resource planning solutions, enable inventory visibility. WMS DOES MORE » Modern warehouse management systems (WMS) are no longer just inventory databases. “They are real-time control systems that track every pallet, case, and temperature zone throughout the facility,” says JD Schwefler, chief commercial officer with Arcadia Cold Storage & Logistics. A WMS can integrate features such as barcode scanning and temperature sensors, and connect to ERP or transportation systems, capturing live data at each handling point. This can enable the use of first-expiry/first-out rotation, so products with the earliest
expiration dates are distributed or sold first. The solutions can also provide immediate visibility into product status and movement, reducing errors and improving compliance. Technical advances are also boosting energy management efforts, which have become a strategic focus across many supply chain and cold storage operations, not only to lower costs, but also to improve reliability, sustainability, and network resilience, Schwefler says. Modern energy management systems (EMS) combine automation, analytics, and predictive control to continuously monitor energy consumption across refrigeration, lighting, compressors, and material handling systems, while smart algorithms can automatically adjust loads based on real-time conditions. As a result, an EMS can reduce power consumption by between 10 and 30%, while maintaining temperature control. CUSTOM BONDED WAREHOUSES » Customs bonded warehouses have become more prevalent over the past few years as tariffs and quotas have fluctuated, says Jim Henderson, chief commercial officer with Vertical Cold Storage, whose warehouse in Medley, Florida is fully licensed as a customs bonded warehouse. The benefit? Importers of frozen foods can hold their inventory in a duty-free
Vertical Cold Storage’s Florida facility operates as a customs bonded warehouse, which helps importers of frozen products better manage risks and control costs.
28 Inbound Logistics • December 2025
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