"The failures in the prevailing logistics model, from Colombia into USA, are based in two concurring elements that have affected most of the typical supply side for too many years", according to Mauricio. He identifies those reasons as:
- Cold chain (below 41ºF=5ºC) is actually pursued, by most exporters/importers, only at first port of arrival (i.e. Miami), which according to the most reputed scientists is too late and is performed on products which have already suffered significant losses.
- That model emphasizes sales on holidays, when volumes are 25-30 times larger, yet using the same infrastructure. For everybody in the industry those are the year after year nightmares when “bad turns worse”.
High quality for repeated purchases
Research indicates that consumers are willing to pay more for longer lasting and/or guaranteed flowers. "That negative long term trend has been identified as early as 2000, when an article warned the industry about the significant reduction within the consumer base (from 'about half the Americans to just 37% of them'). Since then, that figure further dropped down to 35%. The best conceivable remedy is, obviously, to make sure that only the best quality flowers are supplied, especially each and all holidays," Mauricio says. "Exactly the opposite of what has been the usual for many years."
The prevailing logistics model, he says, means that "not so cold flowers" are airfreighted to MIA. "The system is unable to timely correct the flaws within the reduced available time frames at each segment, from farms to consumers. That is the well-known 'impossible task'. That can be changed, using existing technology. The key to the solution is not to depend solely in airfreight on holidays."
Sea over air
Maritime shipments in refrigerated containers have proven to be much more reliable and safe for highly perishable, time-temperature sensitive products, according to Mauricio. "Properly handled (vacuum cooling at origin), they provide stable conditions of temperature and relative humidity for the flowers, also preventing the damaging effects of free moisture gain that causes botrytis."
With maritime temperature-controlled transport, he adds, "the perfect cold chain conditions can be ensured, whether on transit or storage from origin to final destination. Time frames for harvesting, packing and shipping are less subject to the typical, tightly restricted, by airfreight and their usual temperature excursions."
In this manner, the use of maritime reduces:
- Damages during transportation, distribution and storage.
- The increasing shortage and costs of airfreight, trucks and drivers on long hauls.
- Costs and damages of multiple handling.
- Carbon print of transport, by 90+%
He points to the UK as a shining example of maritime transport. "Since the beginning of this century, the UK experience based on that model proved the above and grew twofold in five years, three fold in 10 years and four fold in 15 years. Currently, the UK per capita consumption is 4 times larger than in USA."
The original print of the Perishable Consolidation Center for Medellin flowers (front view)
Perishable Center for Medellin flowers
In order to start the extension of shelf life as early in the chain as possible, Vacuum Cooling Colombia presents its new Perishable Consolidation Center for Medellin (MDE) flowers.
Due to the hilly topography of the Medellin, flowers are grown on several hundred small farms and also carried into the airport by hundreds of trucks. Logistics and temperature management have proven the biggest challenge for this growing industry. Several cargo carriers reduced or eliminated their operation. Many players had to opt for trucking into BOG.
The PCC features a total of 415 m2 (4500 sq ft) roofed space, dedicated to implement temperature checking and monitoring, consolidation, vacuum cooling, and cold storage, as well as three loading docks for maritime reefer containers or any other type of reefers: 1000 m2 (10,760 sq ft) parking space for trucks.
The center is accessible at any time, free of industrial parks' or communal restrictions, and is 11 minutes away from the JMC airport (MDE) and 300 m from the highway network to all ports and BOG (AutopistaMDE-BOG), as can be seen on Google Maps.
The partially built "skeleton" (seen from the back) of the PCC. The white rugged box at the back left is the 50 m3 vacuum chamber.
Technology
The new facilities can cool flowers down to 1-2ºC (34-36F) and load one 40 ft container per hour, while receiving two trucks and building boxes into wooden pallets at the same time.
"The center uses state of the art technology and equipment, with fast (30 minutes) and homogeneous cooling, for all species or mixes (exc. tropicals), with no hot corners left", Mauricio tells us. "It's suited to any type of box, dry or wet."
Free moisture is removed off flowers and packaging, precluding premature botrytis or other fungi. "At origin, we preclude vase life waste," he says, "and this results in brighter/better defined tinted colors. Using the center also reduces mechanical damage of flowers and packaging, and reduces or eliminates dormancy, ethylene, transpiration or dehydration damages."
Storage and distribution, neutral 4PL
"VCC's expertise in cold chain logistics issues (floral and aromatic herbs) has been used by all freight forwarders and carriers in Colombia since 2001", Mauricio explains. "Our services ensure proper cold chain for air, sea and truck transportation in a totally neutral way."
The center allows for long transit or storage times (24+ days for roses), reduces waste during transit and distribution, and extends vase life. The operation is monitored through 8 tv cameras. Customer reps can attend the operation in real time, and X-ray scanning is available at the customers' request.
"For maritime transport, our exclusive handling method provides dedicated carts for each pallet's content in accordance to our customers’ requests", Mauricio explains. For airfreight or truck transport, the process ensures the whole shipment to be properly cooled and built together into jet pallets. "Reception at origin and delivery at destination airports are much faster."
"We check temps of every truck upon reception and every pallet before/after vacuum cooling, prior to container loading and at shutting it down (temp and security seal). Photos are taken and included in our reports. At customers' request and presence we can put data-loggers."
And VCC keeps tabs on the entire process, right until the end of the cold chain: "VCC shall conduct long term storage and transit simulation, followed by vase life tests."
For more information:
Vacuum Cooling ColombiaMauricio Gleiser
[email protected]
www.vacuumcooling.ws