NEWS
Adversity has increased resilience of UK cold chain
T
he Cold Chain Federation (CCF) has revealed new survey results showing that 74% of
UK cold chain operators consider that the cold chain has emerged from supply chain challenges such as Covid-19 disruption and the energy crisis, more resilient than it was before.
Similarly, when asked specifi cally about the long-term impacts of Covid, most of the survey respon- dents said the UK cold chain is now more resilient to future disruption, that there is greater public aware- ness of the cold chain, and that there are stronger relationships between customers and suppliers to manage risk. However, most of the survey respondents also said that another long-term impact of Covid is an ex- acerbation of workforce challenges such as recruitment and retention. Cold Chain Federation executive
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director Tom Southall said: “Cold chain operators have faced crisis after crisis over the past fi ve years, not least the repeated uncertainty and disruption of post-Brexit cus- toms changes, the impacts of Covid restrictions and sky-rocketing energy costs. Throughout all this adversity, the industry has pulled together and found new ways to carry on provid- ing the crucial temperature-con- trolled storage and distribution
services which are so relied on for the nation’s food and pharma supply chains. Our new survey results show that this period of adversity has had a lasting impact in making the cold chain even more resilient to disruption. “It’s not all positive though, with many of the survey respondents also considering that Covid has had a long-term impact in exacerbating existing challenges with the recruit- ment and retention of people in our industry. Our people are at the heart of how the cold chain will grow and evolve to meet the nation’s changing needs, so investment in recruitment
and skills development remains cru- cial. Operators’ investments will be at their most eff ective with the right engagement from Government, and the Cold Chain Federation will con- tinue to advocate for this support.” The Cold Chain Federation re- cently welcomed more than 150 CCF members to an event in the Houses of Parliament to celebrate the skilful and resilient work of people across the UK cold chain’s wide range of roles, to demonstrate the industry’s investment into future skills needs, and to discuss with Ministers and MPs how Government policies can support the industry to the benefi t of
communities, the economy and the environment. The new survey data will be published as part of the Federation’s ‘State of the Cold Chain Report 2023’ in late July.
The Cold Chain Federation will soon be holding a series of online events for its ‘Refrigeration Week’, exploring alternatives to F-Gas, man- aging refrigeration in hot weather, and the impacts of PFAs in refriger- ants. Refrigeration Week starts on 17 July 2023.
www.coldchainfederation.
org.uk/cold-chain-refrigeration- week-2023
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