Top 10: Cold Chain Logistics Companies
Critical materials like pharmaceuticals and food, or other perishable items like fresh flowers, all need to be transported in specific temperate-controlled vehicles.
To ensure they arrive at their destination fresh and safe, these items are under strict care with careful monitoring the entire journey.
Cold chain logistics refers to the careful movement of these perishable items and products like vaccines.
A significant amount of work goes into these cold chains, whether its new technology to ensure the safe monitoring of temperatures, or new vehicles which can manage the product.
This list covers the Top 10 cold chain logistics companies which have been working hard to establish reliable and safe delivery of these much-needed perishables.
10. GEODIS
CEO: Marie-Christine Lombard
Founded: 1904
Revenue: EUR 11.3bn (US$13.3bn)
Employees: ~49,700
GEODIS provides expert healthcare logistics services to ensure the safe delivery of pharmaceuticals, samples, clinical supplies and medical devices. It specialises in inventory and cold chain management for healthcare logistics, providing transportation and storage options at temperature-controlled healthcare sites and quality compliant transport networks.
It offers tailored door-to-door delivery of products, ensuring the close monitoring needed to be confident in high standard care. It particularly puts care into healthcare transportation, ensuring there is no room for error in its cold chain logistics.
9. DSV
CEO: Jens H. Lund
Founded: 1976
Revenue: DKK 43.5bn (US$6.9bn)
Employees: ~75,000
DSV has an extensive network with healthcare experience and global infrastructure, making it a reliable logistics company for the transportation of healthcare products. It ensures products are handled, managed and stored at the correct temperature end-to-end.
Due to its own air charter network, warehouses, ocean and road transport providers, DSV can have full control of the cold chain, ensuring a reduction in third party providers - keeping handover risk at a minimum.
8. CEVA Logistics
CEO: Mathieu Friedberg
Founded: 2006
Revenue: US$18.3bn
Employees: 110,000+
CEVA Logistics has a dedicated service network to handle perishable products anywhere around the globe in the most cost-effective way. It provides air freight temperature-sensitive and controlled solutions, with air freight packaging specialists.
CEVA hosts a range of cold chain solutions, from refrigerated to frozen, as well as controlled temperate solutions. It can offer dry ice products and gel packs as well as specialist containers to keep products at the most suitable temperature, considering distance and time as well.
7. Kuehne+Nagel
CEO: Stefan Paul
Founded: 1890
Revenue: US$$28.2bn
Employees: 80,000+
With Kuehne+Nagel’s dedicated reefer equipment and 24/7 monitoring, clients can be reassured that their temperature-controlled goods are in safe hands. From source to destination, K+N provinces seamless cold chain transportation with its dedicated solution KN FreshChain.
It can be customised to provide accurate service for seafood, frozen fruits, pharmaceuticals - whatever the perishable goods, K+N can ensure it arrives in perfect condition on time. It also provides visibility and shipment monitoring, so clients can be reassured of the products’ whereabouts at all times.
6. DHL
CEO: John Pearson
Founded: 1969
Revenue: EUR 84.2bn (US$99.3bn)
Employees: 600,000+
With DHL, you can ship everything that needs to be kept cold, from vaccines, fresh fruit, frozen products and cut flowers, to sensitive orchestra instruments. DHL Freight Coldchain provides individual solutions for temperature-controlled transport with humidity control too.
With DHL Freight Coldchain, the company has created a holistic logistics solution that can cover every temperate-controlled transport requirements - with capabilities to develop tailor-made solutions for tasks like the transportation of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s instruments.
5. FedEx
CEO: Raj Subramaniam
Founded: 1971
Revenue: US$87.7bn
Employees: 500,000
FedEx provides reliable solutions for the healthcare and food industries, with thorough plans for pharmaceuticals and perishables. It has cold packs, chilled boxes and other containers which are specially made to provide the needed temperatures and security for cold shipping regulations.
FedEx works with proven vendors to provide the best solutions for its customers, from cold shipping packages which keep shipments between 2°C and 8°C, to the Credo Cube which can provide cold temperatures for up to five days.
4. Americold
CEO: Rob Chambers
Founded: 1903
Revenue: US$2.7bn
Employees: ~10,000
Americold offers a comprehensive temperature-controlled storage and distribution network, using advanced technology and an emphasis on customer service. It aims to maintain the integrity of the food supply chain, ensuring every item arrives fresh and in excellent condition thanks to its cold chain logistics.
Americold can manage direct-to-consumer order volumes with its five fulfillment locations from coast to coast across America. It promises to deliver in two days or less to 99% of the US population.
3. Lineage Logistics
CEO: Greg Lehmkuhl
Founded: 2012
Revenue: US$5.3bn
Employees: ~26,000
Lineage Logistics is a leader in cold chain logistics, with its cold storage facility network and end-to-end transportation services. The company aims to reimagine the global food supply chain in order to eliminate waste at its facilities through its temperature-controlled warehousing and streamlined logistics services.
It uses data science and technology to keep up with modern solutions in order to solve a range of modern cold chain issues. Lineage is at every stop of the food journey before it reaches consumers’ plates, from storage to transport.
2. UPS Healthcare
President: John Bolla
Founded: 2020
Revenue: ~US410.5bn
Employees: 11,000
UPS Healthcare has a streamlined cold chain solutions network in order to deliver temperature-controlled shipments around the world, ensuring customers receive their medication in perfect condition.
From packaging to delivery, UPS Healthcare covers the entire process. It has developed its own thermal packaging solution which includes insulation and dry ice in order to keep individual items cool. From there, products are shipped in temperature-controlled transport, with the opportunity for dry-ice replenishment at various re-icing stations.
The UPS Command Centre monitors the real-time temperature and location of each box throughout the journey, before it reaches its customer. UPS Healthcare delivers its cold chain shipments the next morning, with arrival at -80°C to ensure the products are safe to use.
1. Maersk
CEO: Vincent Clerc
Founded: 1904
Revenue: US$55.5bn
Employees: ~108,000
Maersk’s cold chain solutions are powered by the latest technologies in refrigeration and remote management. Maersk blends human expertise in end-to-end supply chain management and logistics with technological advancements, all working together to ensure cargo contains its high quality and freshness. With a range of cold transit options - across land, air and ocean - and its own cold storage units, Maersk can take responsibility for entire cold chains.
Maersk owns its own assets and technology platforms, meaning businesses can have guaranteed support and oversight over operations and results from end-to-end. This also helps prevent an abundance of handovers, meaning transport is much more streamlined. Clients can also monitor container temperature in real-time thanks to the Captain Peter visibility assistant.
With Maersk’s unbroken cold chain, has established itself as an efficient, reliable and resilient cold chain logistics company.
