Are you planning to start a cold storage business and wondering how much cold storage business profit? Then you are here at the right place. At Natural Storage Solutions Pvt. Ltd. we have years of experience in this field.
Cold stores: design and automation:
Automated cold storage is an increasingly common solution in logistics. The use of cold to preserve products over the long term is not a recent invention, as it was already practiced in the Middle Ages. Thanks to the controlled temperature, the quality, and properties of the goods are preserved, which extends the life cycle of the products in the warehouse.
The new lifestyles have further strengthened the refrigeration logistics industry. According to a report by the consultancy firm Markets & Markets, the frozen food industry will experience annual growth of 5.14% over the next three years, reaching an aggregate turnover of more than $ 283,000 million in 2023.
In this article, we describe how a cold store works, its design, approx. cold storage business profit and how it has had to adapt to new logistical challenges. Indeed, many companies have implemented automated solutions to deal with the difficulties of working in a cold environment that can reach -30 ° C.
What is a cold store?
A cold store is a facility dedicated to the storage, supply, preparation, and shipment of products at low temperatures. This type of installation is composed of storage systems, handling equipment, as well as other elements that are part of its operation, such as conveyors, clean rooms, SAS (Security Airlock System) doors, etc.
Cold stores can be classified according to their storage system (automatic or manual) or their structure (self-supporting or not). However, the most common classification depends on the temperature control in the installation. We distinguish the temperature of:
– Refrigeration: these are temperature-controlled warehouses between 0 and 10 ºC. They are used in the food sector (dairy products, cold meats, among others), in the pharmaceutical industry, or the clinical sector.
– Freezing: these are cold rooms that maintain a controlled temperature that can range from -30 ° C to 0 ° C. They are particularly common in the frozen food industry.
It must be taken into account that the constant control of the temperature, not only during storage but also during the reception, preparation, and dispatch of orders implies a significant increase in the energy consumption of the installation. That makes the logistics process of each more expensive product.
Added to this factor is the complexity of manual operations: too long exposure to a temperature of -30 ° C can adversely affect the health and safety of operators.
In addition, when perishable, pharmaceutical, or food products are stored normally, it is very common for the installation to have a system ensuring real-time traceability of the goods.
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How is a cold store designed?
The main feature of a cold store is temperature control to extend the life cycle of the goods. It is for this reason that the Supply Chain must include mechanisms to respect the cold chain in all operations. For example, a state-of-the-art cold store is useless if loading docks do not ensure that a certain temperature is maintained.
The design of a cold store should be based on the specifics of the business. Among these, we can cite the following:
- The type of commodity to be stored.
- The ability to receive and ship goods.
- Loading docks and temporary storage buffers.
- The overall layout of the warehouse.
- The number of daily orders to ship.
- The storage systems used.
- Types of load units.
- The degree of warehouse automation.
If you want to calculate the cold storage business profit, a refrigeration installation must include storage systems – manual or automatic – suitable for low-temperature conditions. In addition to the shelving, the warehouse structure must also be prepared to keep the cold in the rooms.
This is the main reason why many companies opt for freestanding warehouses, where racks are the structure of the warehouse, which helps optimize storage capacity.
These warehouses must also be equipped with refrigerated doors adapted to the working temperature of the installation. Oftentimes, these doors are part of a Security Airlock System (SAS), a system that includes a pre-chamber with two quick-release doors that are never opened at the same time, preventing sudden changes in temperature inside.
Temperature-controlled warehouses also require a plenum or chamber in the upper part of the warehouse, air circulation tubes, evaporators, and an insulated raised aisle for the maintenance of these structures.
In the case of handling equipment, they can be manual or automatic. And if forklifts are used, they must necessarily be electric when operating in a closed installation.
Now, let’s come to the main point – how much is the cold storage business profit?
Cold storage business profit:
Cold storage business in highly profitable business. Cold storage business profit varies since the cost of setting up a cold storage in India varies according to locations. To know the exact profit, get in touch with us at Natural Storage Solutions Pvt.Ltd.
The advantages of cold warehouse automation:
With the installation of storage systems and automatic handling equipment, companies with cold rooms will obtain:
- Better productivity: In negative temperature environments, only automation guarantees a high frequency of entry and exit cycles, as excessive exposure of operators to these temperatures poses a risk to their health.
- More efficient picking: the implementation of an automatic or semi-automatic picking system – such as voice picking or pick-to-light – reduces the time spent by operators in the cold room, which optimizes routes order picking for more efficient order picking.
- Improved safety and hygiene: automated cold rooms reduce management errors and those of operators, who are no longer exposed to extreme environmental conditions. In addition, automation guarantees hygiene in all logistics processes, a key factor in sectors such as food and pharmaceuticals.
- Reduced logistics costs: energy is the most precious element in cold rooms. Automatic solutions optimize storage capacity, so energy consumption per pallet is lower.
- Optimization of storage space: Solutions like the Pallet Shuttle make it possible to compact storage space by eliminating aisles in the warehouse.
With these advantages and in a context where customers demand more speed in shipments, automation is essential to increase the frequency of the combined entry and exit cycles of the warehouse and more particularly, to maximize the profits of the company.
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