The Cold Chain Management in a supermarket : Case Study on the Fresh Food Logistics in a Supermarket

Abstract: Title: The Cold Chain Management in Supermarket-- Case Study on the Fresh Food Logistics in a supermarket Level: Final assignment for Master Degree in Logistics and Innovation Management Supervisor: Kaisu Sammalisto Date: June, 2011 Aim: The purpose of the paper is to research the cold chain management in supermarket by illustrating the case of a supermarket in Sweden. It aims to find out how the supermarket handles the fresh food cold chain by the perspective of cost and effectiveness. Method: The qualitative method was used in this paper, and the interview with the manager of the supermarket was conducted. The face to face interview provides the first hand information to the study. Neergaard et al (2007) state that qualitative approach is the best way to use to generalize the empirical investigations. To improve the validity, related literature was studied to get an initial idea about the research question. Result & Conclusions: The supermarket applies the simplicity strategy on the control of the fresh food cold chain. The unnecessary cost was cut down because of the simplicity strategy. Also, the local suppliers play an important role in the cost reduction. To improve the effectiveness, the supermarket uses the distribution centers and 3rd party logistics (3PL) to conduct integrated logistics.