Managing the Transportation and Delivery System

• Long or Short Distance Transportation in a Refrigerated Vehicle

• Short Distance Transportation in a Temporary Freezing Unit

• Managing the Material Handling

• Managing the Authorities, Check Posts and Lego-commercial formalities

• Deployment of Skilled Man Power

• Conclusive Findings on Transportation and Delivery System

CHAPTER-6

106-127

107-112

112-116

117-118

118-120

120-124

124-127

106

MANAGING THE TRANSPORTATION AND DELIVERY SYSTEM

In the previous sections of this study it has been elaborated on the subject of storage of

the product in the cold chain. The distribution chain or in this case the cold chain is a

combination of storage and movement of the product alternatively. This means, from

manufacturing point till its final consumption, the product is either being stored at some

locations or it is being moved in between the locations. In.this section of the study the

focus is on the movement part of the cold chain i.e. the transportation and delivery

system.

The safe and sound transportation and delivery system is extremely critical for the

success of the distribution chain in case of the short shelf life products like ice cream.

Like-storage, there is no relaxation in the cold chain requirement during the transportation

of the product. The essential low temperature of -22degree Cor lower is also required to

be maintained while the product is being transported from one place to the other. During

the transportation, the product is exposed to varying ambient temperatures unlike storage

period and therefore it is all the more difficult to maintain such an artificial condition

continuously. During the study, five major transport organizations engaged in refrigerated

transportation have been contacted and different information and data have been

collected from them to derive the observation and inferences.

Observations :

While going through the Transportation and Delivery system of ice cream, it was

revealed that it has five fundamental activity areas:

I. Long or Short Distance Transportation in a Refrigerated Vehicle.

2. Short Distance Transportation in a Temporary Freezing Unit.

3. Material Handling.

4. Managing the Authorities, Check Posts and Lego-Commercial Formalities

5. Deployment of Skilled Manpower

107

These activity areas have been studied thoroughly at all levels of the distributor chain

from the manufacturers to the retailers and consumers. The observations and analysis of

facts found through the study are presented in the following sections.

Long or Short Distance Transportation in a Refrigerated Vehicle:

The Long Distance Movement of ice cream takes place from Manufacturing Point to the

C&F point c:- to the Distributors of the company. Under the present circumstances in

India the ice cream is travelling as long as 800-1 OOOkms to fetch its C&F Point or

Distributor. Amul was bringing icc cream chocobars from Mother Dairy Delhi to sell in

Ahmedabad and Surat Markets in Gujarat in 1997-98. Similarly, Amul has been sending

icc cream from its Mother Dairy Gandhi Nagar to Jaipur, Indore, Bombay which ar~

distances from 650-700 Kms. Amul from its Baroda and Gandhinagar Plants transport ice

cream tofar flung areas in Gujarat also. Vadilal transports its ice cream from

Ahmedabad to Jaipur and other locations in Rajasthan, Bombay, Indore in Madhya

Pradesh and Delhi and fltr off locations in Gujarut. Kwality walls brings its icc cream

from their Nasik Plant and the Plants in Bombay to sale it in Ahmedabad and other cities '

in Gujarat, and also in Indore and other cities in Madhya Pradesh. These facts indicate

that ice cream is travelling considerably longer distance to meet its customers in India.

The longer the distance of travel, there is more risk for the product and it is quite costly

for the movement ofthe goods and dangerous from the point of marketing. Therefore,

P.mul has been working on creation of local manufacturing facilities for its brand at smaller distances by collaboation with other State level Co-operative Federations who

already have a plant and are to some extent engaged in marketing of their own Brand of •

ice cream locally in eastern and southern India ( especially in Bihar and Karnataka).

Similarly, Vadilal has now created a Plant at Barelly and another at Gandhinagar to avoid

very long distance travel of the product. These attempts to locate the manufacturing

facilities nearer to consuming markets will reduce the distance of travel. However, given

the dispersion of the markets in the large Indian geography, any marketer who would like

undertake the marketing in regional or national level, have to move the product to a long

distance.

108

Similarly, the short distance transportation of the product involves its movement from the

manufacturing or C& F point to the distributors in the local city, say within 50kms

distance or from the distributors to the retailers in the local area say within 10-15 kms

distance. For short distance, either one uses a refrigerated vehicle or uses the other

temporary transportation mechanisms. The temporary transportation mechanisms will be

discussed in the next section and the issues related to transportation by refrigerated trucks

can be taken up here.

1. The long distance transportation of ice cream is presently being done in India, by

Refrigerated Trucks on road. A Refrigerated truck is the only mode that is in vogue

now. The other modes of transportation such as Rail, Air or Sea are nonexistent now.

Therefore the life and quality of the product while in transit arc dependent on the

quality of the equipment of the refrigerated truck and its operational efficiency. A

badly me~tained refrigerated vehicle can cause loss of business and lot of tension in

rhe operation.

2. In India the road conditions are not satisfactory and there is deficit of Road -Space. I

There is more traffic on the road leading to congestion and very slow movement of

the vehicles on the road. Because of Slow traffic, the duration to cover a distance is

abnormally high putting more load and stress on the refrigeration unit since the

temperature has to be maintained continuously without interruption. This is

evidenced from the fact that a refrigerated Truck takes a duration of 30-40 hours to

travel from Ahmedabad to Bombay covering a distance of about 61 Olans.

3. Ouring this study, it was Jbund that ull tlw reJi'igeruted trucks were hired vehicles and

the manufacturers of ice cream usually have no refrigerated vehicles oftheir own

except one manufacturer who had a refrigerated truck for local pick up and local

distribution.

4. The quality of the refrigerated vehicles in operation which were hired from different

transporters was not satisfactory in 50% of the cases. These vehicles are old ones, the

refrigerating unit as well as the trucking unit both were in bad shape. In 60% of the

109

refrigerated vehicles; even it was found that the tyrcs of the trucks had outlived and

its condition indicated that it might fail any time on the road. These vehicles have

repeated break downs for which the products get affected and damaged.

5. A Refrigerated Truck has bfl,sically three operating units:

a) The automobile engine and the Chassis that constitute a normal

truck.

b) The Refrigerated Chamber with the Refrigeration Unit (Compressor

and the refrigerating equipment) that is mounted on the chassis of

the truck.

c) The power generating unit for running the Refrigeration Unit.

The above three components arc assembled and fabricated to make a Refrigerated

Vehicle that carries the ice cream on the road. The features of these components as

examined in this study arc given below:

a) The Truck: The Automobile Engine and Chassis:

It has been observed that for the purpose of fabricating a Refrigerated Vehicle the

chassis of an ordinary automobile truck is used .The truck could be an LCV( Light

Commercial Vehicle) or an HCV( Heavy Commercial Vehicle). The LCV Models

usually used in lnoia arc : Tata 407, 608 or Such Equivalent Models ofTELCO(Tata

Engineering and Locomotive Company Ltd.), Eicher Canter, DCM Toyota, Swaraj

Mazda. The HCV Models used for fabricating a refrigerated vehicle are usually

chosen from the two major Truck Manufacturers viz. Ashok Leyland or TATA

(TELCO). 1\hout 60% of the refrigerated vehicles used for carrying icc cream are

LCV trucks. The LCV trucks are found to be more suitable for Ice Cream

transportation because:

• A refrigerated container mounted over the chassis of an LCV gives a capacity of

around 2000 litres oflce Cream which is a reasonably good quantity to be bought

by a distributor at a time. In very limited cases the order size of a distributor

exceeds 2000 litres at a time.

• The new generation LCVs arc fuel efficient and have technological advantage

with less of mechanical break down and maintenance requirement.

110

• The maneuverability of an LCV on the road and inside the market area is easier

and it can run faster on the road while compared to an HVC refrigerated vehicle.

Since it can travel faster and cover distance at less time, it entails less of

expenditure in running the refrigerated unit mounted over it.

The Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV) converted refrigerated vehicles are used for

transportation of large quantity of ice cream over long distances. Usually, an HCV

.::onverted refrigerated vehicle gives a capacity of3000-4000 litres of ice cream. These

vehicles are used for transferring the stocks from the manufacturing point to the C&F

points or the Hub-Cold Storage where the ice cream has to be transported in large

quantities and in a number of assorted flavours and packs. The movement of this large

vehicles is slow on the road and because of the size of the truck and the refrigerated

space the cost of operation is much higher than the LCV and even in cases it is 1 00%

higher. The HCVs in India, as of now do not have much oftechnological advantage

also. There fore it was found that the breakdown and maintenance expenses are much

higher in case of the HCVs compared to the LCVs.

b) The Refrigerated Chamber with Refrigeration Unit :

While the truck chassis is the carrier unit in a refrigerated vehicle, the Refrigerated

Chamber with the refrigeration equipment forms the low temperature Shipper Unit.

The quality of service the refrigerated chamber would give depends mainly on the

insulation provided inside the container and the quality and strength of the

rclrigeration equipment( the compressor unit) attached to the insulated chamber. The

refrigerated vehicles which were examined during the study revealed that the

insulation of the chamber was old in case of the 40% of the vehicle. The other vehicles

had good PUF (Poly eurathane Foam) insulation. In case of the 40% of the vehicles

which had old insulation had also local made compressors the performance of which in

terms of maintenance of continuous low temperature was not satisfactory. The ice

cream manufacturers were jittery over repeated break down of these vehicles and not

being available for their use in time. Besides the technology part, the availability of

alter sales service for these units is difficult excepting the major towns/cities.

111

During last 5 years, two reputed companies supplying cooling units for refrigerated

vehicles have launched their products and services in India. They are :

!.Carrier Transicold

2. Thermo king

Carrier Transicold is a Major manufacturer of refrigeration equipment in United

States of America. They have now set up their operations in India with a chain of

scrvicecentres at :

Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Mumbi, Chandigarh, Cochin, Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow, Agra,

Goa, Hyderabad, Coimabtore, Vishakhapatanam,Udaipur, Tuticorin, Indore,

Vijaywada, Thiruvanthapuram, Kolhapur, Chennai, Nagpur,Calcutta and Pune. It was

found that the cooling units of Carrier were functioning quite efficiently and they do

not have much of maintenance or break down problems. Their service net work wa<;

also found to be very helpful. However the transporters had commented that at the

non-metro locations sometimes non availability of spares is a problem. The company

feel.s there is no spare problem as it can be delivered any where in India in a matter of

24-48 hours by the help of the courier companies.

Thermo king is also a reputed manufacturer of cooling units in USA. Their technology

has been imported to India and they have now set up a chain of service centers at:

Bangalore, Thane, Nasik, Vadodara, Secunderabad, Chennai, Calcutta and New

Delhi.

A well designed refrigerated chamber with proper insulation and a technologically

improved refrigeration equipment will not only save cost but also carry the perishable

product like ice cream safe and sound during the transit.

The refrigeration unit runs by drawing electrical power from the Power Generating

unit during the period of transit or the vehicle is in operation. During the idling time,

112

the refrigerating unit can be connected to the out side general electricity supply line

through a changeover switch and be operated like a normal refrigerator.

c) The Power Generating Unit:

Along with the refrigeration equipment there is a power generating unit attached to

the cooling unit in a refrigerated vehicle. The power generating unit generates

electricity (AC) by its generator and supplies it to the refrigeration equipment to run

the refrigeration process and maintain low temperature for preservation of the

product. The Power generating unit of the refrigerated vehicle is Diesel Operated and

it is mounted on the refrigerated chamber. A good power generating unit is most

important as this is the unit which is prone to more break downs while in operation

due to high vibrations. The suppliers like Carrier Transicold or Termoking supply

their own power generator along with the cooling unit and it has been found to be

operating satisfactorily without much of problems .

. The consolidated cost of a refrigerated vehicle touches Rs.lS,OO,OOO/- to Rs.20,00,000/­

depending on the truck chassis used and its size. The LCV refrigerated vehicles charge

around, Rs.l2 per km towards their hiring charges. The HCV refrigerated vehicles charge I

Rc;.IS- !Rs.l6/- per km to~ards the hiring charges. Hence, the cost of operation of the

refrigerated vehicle is very high compared to the other ordinary vehicles.

Thus, a good refrigerated vehicle to be deployed for long distance transportation of ice

cream or such perishable products should consist of a good quality truck chassis, a

technologically superior refrigeration and power generating unit and an well insulated

refrigerated chamber. The same refrigerated vehicle can be used for the long distance and

short distance as well. In case of short distance, the other temporary transportation

mechanisms can also be deployed if a refrigerated vehicle is not available or the

operation of the refrigerated vehicle is not found to be viable in terms of operational cost.

Short Distance Transportation by Temporary Freezing Mechanism:

It has been discussed in the previous section that a refrigerated vehicle can be used for

long as well as the short distance transportation. It has also been discussed that a

).

113

refrigerated vehicle bas a very high hiring cost. The short distance transportation means

transportation mostly in the local area from the Distributors to the retailers. In case the

order size is not enough to fill the capacity of the refrigerated vehicle, it would not be

viable, to run the refrigerated vehicle. Therefore, certain temporary mechanisms of

storage Wld transportation are used to protect the product and effect its safe delivery. The

te1nporary transportation mechanisms are the following:

a) PVC Insulated Boxes with Chilled Glycol Pads

b) PVC Insulated Boxes with Dry Ice

c) Freezer on Wheels

d) Eutatic Vans

PVC Insulated Boxes with Chilled Glnol Pads

PVC Insulated boxes with Chilled Glycol Pads was found to be the most popular

temporary storage and transportation mechanism used by the distributors for supply of ice

cream to the retailers in the local area within a distance up to 15-20 Kms. Here the PVC

Boxes are large sized ( size varies) and have PUF Insulation with air tight lids. Such PVC

boxes are supplied by Syntex Plastics at Kallol, in Gujarat and also other plastic

ma~mfacturers in India. The glycol pads are basically, flat type (about lfUong, 9inch

wide and 1 inch thick) sealed bottles containing 'Glycol Liquid'. The Glycol Pads when

kept in a deep freezer for 6-8 hours they get chilled and carry a temperature of about -22

degree C . This temperature is retained under the insulated condition for about 4-6 hours.

The distributors keep 2 pads of Chilled Glycol inside the PVC insulated box along with

20 litres of ice cream approximately. There are larger insulated boxes which can carry

abo tit 40-SOlitres of ice cream with 4 glycol pads. Since the glycol pads under insulated

condition keep the product unaffected for about 4-6 hours, the insulated boxes are loaded

in a three wheeler or in a small vehicle and delivered at the retailers easily and quickly.

This is a very low cost operation. It was found that all the distributors whether they

represent Vadilal, Amul, Havmore or Mother Dairy, Delhi were following this practice

comfortably. What one needs in this case is a good number of Glycol Pads and Insulated

Boxes to meet the market requirement at short notice. This mechanism is also used for

home deliveries, and party supplies for bulk orders. Usually the companies buy the

114

insmated boxes and Glycol pads centrally at a bargained price and supply to the

distributors on payment recoverable basis. An insulated box costs about Rs500/- to 800/­

depending on the size. Similarly the Glycol pads cost around Rs.l 00/- per Pad. This is a

very low cost and effective practice for local delivery of ice cream. Since the glycol pads

are to be chilled and re-chilled only and it is a sealed system it lasts for years together

unless it gets physically damaged by some means and there is a leakage of the liquid.

PVC Insulated Boxes with Dry Ice:

Dry Ice is nothing but solidified CarbOn Dioxide. The temperature of dry ice is as low as

-72 degree C. The dry ice is subject to rapid evaporation with exposure to atmospheric

temperature. However if kept under proper insulation, the dry ice continues for 24-36

hours and gives a low temperature inside the insulated. chamber to the level of -20deg. C

to -18 degree C. Thus dry ice works as a very good cooling agent to preserve ice cream

temporarily. The ice cream is kept in a PVC insulated box and the dry ice is kept in

pieces on the top and sides ofthe ice cream and the lid is made air tight. With adequate

quantity of dry ice the ice cream can be kept in good condition in an insulated box lllDre

than 24 hours. It was observed that Dry Ice was used by the distributors for delivery of

ice cream to a retailer situated at a distant location in the same city and there is frequent

power failures in that area. Other wise in case of power failures or break down of the

deep freezers, the dry ice is being used for keeping the products in good condition till the

pow~r or the machine is brought back to order. Dry ice is very useful for carrying ice

cream to a Party or Celebrations where there is no deep freezer and the product needs to .!

be stored for longer hours. Also dry ice helps in transporting the product to the places

where there is no power supply. However, dry ice is a costly preservative. The cost of a

kilogram of Dry Ice in Ahmedabad is around Rs20/-. A kilogram ofDry ice can preserve

approximately 10~ 15 litres of ice cream in an insulated box for 24 hours. The cost of

preservation which is Rs.l.SO to Rs.2/- per litre for a day is a high figure for using the dry

ice on routine operations of local delivery. Therefore, the dry ice is used on special

occasions or in case of emergency.

Dry ice is a product of Fertilizer and Chemical Industries. The Indian Farmers Fertilizer

Co-operative's ( IFFCO) fertilizer plant at Kallol near Ahmedabad has facilities of

production and sales of Dry Ice. Also, Dry Ice is produced by some companies in

Bombay. It is used for distribution of ice cream in the suburban areas around Bombay.

Freezer on Wheels

115

A freezer on wheels is basically a 15-20 cu. ft. Deep Freezer placed in the Trailer of a

four wheeler van with a Generator attached to it. Unlike a refrigerated vehicle, there is

no structural modification done to the 4-wheeler van having a covered trailor. A Deep

frrezer and a generator are just kept on the trailer. The generator provides the electricity

to the deep freezer . The freezer on wheel is used for short distance local deliveries !o the

retailers. This is a safe mechanism and can also be used for delivery to the retailers

located outside the city area especially on the highways.

Presently Kwality Walls uses the freezer on wheels for local distribution activities.

Eutatic Vans:

An Eutatic Van is a new concept that has not been tried in India extensively. An eutatic

van is nothir•g but a refrigerated vehicle with a different mechanism of refrigeration. It

ha~- a highly insulated container and a refrigeration equipment which operates by

electricity. If the unit is operated by electricity for about 4-6 hours, the temperature inside

the insulated container goes as low as -28 to -30 degree C. The insulation system has

been such that this low temperature is retained without further operation by electricity if

the door is continuously closed for about 6-8 hours after which the temperature goes up

to the level of -15 degree C. This is a system of charging and recharging of the unit for

bringing up the required temperatw·e for operations. The technology is imported (source

could not be identified as it was not disclosed by the fabricator of the unit) most probably

from USA and it is very costly. It was found that Amul and Kwality Walls have tried the

eutatic van very selectively but it has not entered into extensive use because of the high

cost or the high rentals charged by the carrier. The fabricator at Bomay had disclosed

that for commissioning an unit on a Tata-407 LCV it costs around Rs20lacs which is the

cost of large HCV refrigerated vehicle.

116

An cutatic van is definitely u good transportation mcctumism for local distribution or

short distance transportation of the product. It is expected that the cost of technology may

go down in future, it would be very popular and find extensive use in the market.

MANAGING THE MATERIAL HANDLING 1

Since Ice Cream is a delicate and vulnerable product, its careful handling during the

operations is also extremely important in addition to proper storage and transportation.

Material Handling or Handling of the product during operations means loading and

unloading and stacking arrangement. Material Handling system followed in the

operations affects the product directly whether it is in storage or in transportation.

Therefore, Careful Material handling is critical for this kind of perishable products.

Observations on Material Handling

117

It was observed that all the manufacturers such as Kwality Walls, Amul, Vadilal or

Mother Dairy, Delhi were following a manual material handling practice. The ice cream

cartons are packed in the plastic crates containing 25·30Jitres of ice cream. The workers

pick up the plastic crate by hand and keep it inside a vehicle at the time of loading or

~1side the cold store during unloading. The manual system of material handling is time

consuming. Some times it was found that the workers were throwing the plastic crates

from a distance at the time of loading or unloading. If there is a distance between the cold

store and the loading bay, the workers have to carry the plastic crate on their shoulder to

reach the loading or the storing point. Because of the delays and time taking process of

manual operation there is substantial temperature loss of the product and at times it

aflects the quality ofthc product.

In case of manual material handling of the product, it was found that the workers did not

have enough warm clothes to go inside the extremely low temperature environment

inside the cold storage or the refrigerated vehicle for a little longer duration as it is not

possible to sustain inside without proper warm clothes. The workers were able to be

inside for hardly 3 to 4 minutes at a stretch and then they had to come out. Therefore, it

used to have Joss of time in the operation causing delays and Joss oftemperature.

118

lntercnccs on Matcrialllandling:

I. Icc cream is a perishable and highly temperature sensitive product. IJclays in material

handling and resulting temperature loss is very dangerous for the product. Therefore,

improvement of material handling system is essential. The minor issues like provision

of warm clothes to the workers for working in cold temperature can be addressed by

the companies very easily. In Europe and USA, special type of warm clothes are

available for the workers to work in the cold environment. Similar warm clothes

could be tried in India also.

2. Mechanical ways of Material Handling have not been explored as yet and it can be

tried to have a laster and etncient material handling system.

3. For loading and unloading as well as stacking purpose, telescopic conveyor belt

system should be the most beneficial one. It would reduce time of loading, damages

and loss of temperature from the cold storage and the refrigerated van as welL

Managing Authorities, Check Posts and Lego-Commercial Formalities

While one has to manage the distribution system; transportation and delivery of

perishable commodities across the interstate destinations in India, it is extremely

important to make arrangements to manage the various authorities, the check posts and

the lcgo-commcrcial formalities of the respective locations as they arc many and most of

the times create impediments and delays in the entire process.

There are various traffic and transportation authorities, Security and Law and Order

authorities (includes police), Licensing and Taxing authorities, Local Administrative

bodies like Municipal Administrations imposing various taxes and duties like Octroi, and

checking and inspection authorities like health authorities to check, inspect and detain

119

the travelling consignment and the marketer has to face and answer to them from place

to place. The authorities vary from state to state as the rules are not uniform across the

different states in India and there is a long chain of bureaucracy with too many

regulations. These authorities have their formalities and procedures to be completed.

They have their checking and inspection officials who verify the consignments on move

or-in store and in the process the moving consignments get detained and delayed. Some

of the authorities one has to face most frequently while managing the transportation and

delivery system are :

l.RTO Authorities (Road Transport Authorities)

2.Motor Vehicle Authorities

3.Traffic Police

4.Sales Tax Authorities

S.Octroi Authorities

All these authorities have their minimum formalities to be complied with. Evidently the i·

states have framed rules for limit of load ( tonnage) for specific vehicles. Such weight

restrictions have to be complied with. Similarly the Sales tax authorities have their

declaration forms and way bills to be filled in by the consignor or the consignee. If these

fomiali~ies are not complied, then the authorities resort to punitive measures and the

cc!lSignments get delayed and detained in transit.

Similarly at inter-state boarders and even inside the states, there are a number of check

posts which have been commissioned by different departments of the Government to

detain the vehicle while passing by and check for the documents and complianCe of their

formalities. Since the vehicular traffic on Indian roads is very high and the facilities and .

the staff at the check posts are limited, it takes a long time for a vehicle carrying a

consignment to get clearance to cross the check post. The vehicles have to wait at the

check posts for hours together and days together also.

The consignors (may be the manufacturer or their agents) have to complete the required

lego-commercial declarations and documentation before moving a consignment for

delivery. For instance a consignment has to have a copy of the invoice, packing list and

120

the Sales tax declarations or way bill accompanying the consignment note of the

.. transporter. It is the consignor who has to provide these clear documents to the carrier so

that his consignment does not get held up in transit by some authority or the check post. I

During the study it was found that two manufacturers were leaving large part of this

docwnenta.tion activity to the transporters to handle on their capacity and cost. When

verified it was found that the transporters would like that minimum expen.Ses are incurred

by them for this purpose even at the cost of the goods of the customer getting detained,

delivery delayed and damaged.· Since they would show the bureaucratic reasons which is

beyond the control of the transporter they would get away and the customer has to

ultimately absorb the cost. These manufacturers did not do enough study on the various

rules and regulations of the Central Government and the State Governments where they

wanted to operate before marketing the product in these areas. Even if they have been

aware, no concrete arrangements are made to take care of the formalities and the

rrocedure and, in the process, the companies had to suffer.

Inferences

There are agencies and individuals at each place to render assistance in such commercial

matters and handling the authorities and the formalities. Since, ice cream can not sustain

de:ention on the way, it is necessary that the company develops own or hired service

infrastructure at diflerent locations, check posts and in different states to overcome the

bottleneck of authorities and the check posts . Although it may add to expenditure, in the

long run the company will be saved from market problems and unwarranted burden of

lager cost.

Deployment of Skilled Manpower

Management of Transportation and Delivery system for perishable products like ice

cream, which involves running and maintenance of artificially created cold chain is not

an ordinary activity of transportation or delivery. It involves application of specialized

technology and equipment that require handling by a trained and skilled hand for its

effectiveness.

121

When it comes to a factory or production system, the companies were foWld to choose

the manpower that is technically qualified, trained, skilled or unskilled and deploy them

at different levels of activity depending on the requirement. However, for post-production

processes like Storage, Transportation and Delivery system there is no emphasis on the

manpower deployment and its quality.

All the companies under this study carry out the process of transportation and delivery of

their product& by hiring the services of the Transporters and Distributors on contractual

basis. While choosing a transporter, as reported by the company executives, the

companies use the criteria of:

• cost of transportation,

• .the regularity and reliability of service,

• number and type of refrigerated vehicles owned

• and the locations served etc

While choosing a Distributor, the companies use the criteria of:

• Infrastructure available, such as storage space and Delivery Vans,

• Financial Strength of the firm to invest in inventory and market credits,

• Market reputation and credibility of the firm in tenns of a reliable business house.

However, there has been no emphasis on the quality of manpower deployed by the

Transporters and the Distributors who manage the activities of the transportation and

deliverr. In course of the study, the staff of 5 refrigerated vans belonging to different

transporters and also the staff of the 5 distributors of different manufacturers were met

and discussions were held with them to gather information on the manpower. Certain

important observations on the manpower deployed are given below:

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• The drivers of the refrigerated vehicles manning the truck and the refrigerated unit

were just the drivers who had learned to drive a truck, had primary level of education

and no technical back ground. Usually a single driver mans the refrigerated vehicle.

• They only knew how to start and stop the refrigeration unit. In case of minor troubles

en route they even didn't have the knowledge to do the basic trouble shooting.

• Four out of five ( 80%) drivers even didn't know the temperature requirement of the

products being transported. They had the impression that once the temperature

reaches -18 to-22 degree C nothing happens if the compressor is switched off.

Therefore, in order to save the fuel cost in running the compressor, they used to stop

the compressor intermittently which is hazardous for the products.

• There was no formal training given to the drivers for handling the refrigeration unit

and to do trouble shooting in case of minor fuults. For instance; due to vibration in

transit some wiring of the refrigeration unit gets loose and because of the loose

contact the unit does not work and the consignment is at risk. Similarly the fuse I

gettirig off due to any spark during transit and the refrigeration unit does not work. In

such cases the problems are very minor and could be attended and solved by the user

who is accustomed to the operation of the unit and there is no need to look for an

expert or a service station. With formal training on its operation the <!rivers can also

do this trouble shooting and save the products from spoilage in transit.

• The Sales staff of three out of the five Distributors (60%) who are supposed to

hafldle and deliver the products to the retailers were also ignorant of the operational

issues of the Deep Freezers and the temperature requirement of the products. They

had neither any formal training nor education in this subject and were doing the job

very mechanical wuy.

• The large number of retailers who handle the product day in and day out were

unaware of the effective ways ofhandling the products. For instance, it is essential

123

that the deep freezers are defrosted periodically for its better functioning. About 80%

of the retailers visited were not aware of this fact for which there used to be ice

accumulation in their deep freezers and the temperature efficiency of the machines

had gone down making the ice cream kept inside very soft.

Inferences on Deployment of Skilled Manpower:

It is evident from the foregoing discussions that the manpower deployed or engaged in

transportation and delivery of ice cream should have appropriate and trained skills in

handling the cold chain or the different refrigeration systems in use at each level. The

skills could be developed by the company by imparting appropriate training to the

manpower or hiring the manpower which is technically trained on the subject.

It is worth quoting here what the Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream of USA has to say regarding .

their Direct Store Delivery system for ice cream distribution and their manpower and

how they handle their distribution system for ice cream:

Quote;

From the minute it is made until the moment it is eaten, ice cream is a perishable product

that ueeds special care and handling. Even minor temperature changes can alter the

texture and taste of ice cream! It doesn't do much good to make great ice cream if it's not

in tip-top shape when it hits the grocery store freezer!

Because of this temperature sensitivity, the Dreyer's maintains a fleet of company -owned

rctrigcratcd trucks. Our drivers arc icc cream experts who carefully place each carton in

the grocer'c freezer. Direct store delivery (DSD) makes dryer's unique among its

competitors--in fact, Dreyer's has the nation's largest OSO network. Dreyer's cartons are

consistently rotated to make sure the product on your store shelves is in perfect condition.

And we stand behind each every carton we make! If you ever have questions or

comments about our products, we want to hear them.

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The DSD network gives Dreyer's full control of the ice cream from production to point of

sale, ensuring that consumers can find the flavors they want in the freezer case, and find

them in perfect condition. Dreyer's sales people visit each store several times a week to

stock the freezer and make sure a good selection of flavors and products is always

available. If you ever have difficulty locating your favorite flavor, send us an e~mail and

we will do our best to help you find it.

---~---- Unquote.

( Source : Internet : ~w\~:.,_<lr~ycr's.:..com )

Conclu§ive Findipgc41 on Transportation and Delivery System

Ba..«P..d on the observations and analysis of :fu.cts on the Transportation and Delivery

system in the present scenario and the requirements of the products like ic:e cream, the

following inferences could be drawn for further pursuance ofthis subject:

l. Transportation of the product through refrigerated trucks on the road for a long

distance is costly and also risky. As far as possible, the distance to be traveled at a

stretch from the manufacturing point until the product is handed over to a C&F point

or a distributor, is to be restricted to the minimum if the manufacturer has a choice of

localized manufacturing through own means or through contractual and collaborative

means.

2. If the product is being transported for a longer distance, say more than 300Ians which

would take overnight or more duration it is necessary that the company has a hub­

point of storage to recondition the product so that it goes to the subsequent levels of

the trade and di-;tribution channel in desired form.

3. There is an over dependence on the Transportation by Trucks on the Road. India has

an exten~ive railway network very widely connecting the cities amongst each other.

Presently, there is no facility available with the Indian Railways for transportation of

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perishable commodities in refrigerated conditions. Transportation by rail is an area

that may be worth utilizing by creation of a fleet of refrigerated rail containers.

4. The refrig~ration units mounted on the truck trailers are presently fixed on the truck

itself and it is not transferable to another truck trailer. Because of this reason, even if

the truck is having a break down, the movement of the products get affected as the

refrigerated unit is fixed over it. The refrigerated unit can be made a transfurable

Cl')ntainer similar to those of standard containers used in the transportation by sea.

There are Reefer Containers presently used for carriage of perishables in the vessels

sailing on the sea even for very long distances world wide. These reefer containers

are adaptable to multi modal transportation i.e. to truck trailers on road, to rail trailers

and also the vessels on sea. The reputed shipping companies like Maersk Line, APL

and P&O Nedlloyd have good quality and specialized reefer container service for

carriage of perishables under multi-modal transport system. No one has tried this

kind of containers for inland transportation inside India for carriage ofthe products

like ice cream or other perishables. Such containers have been used for the purpose of

exports only. It is practicable to have transferable containers for the truck trailers and

rail for transportation inside the country. Even the sea containers can be used for

carriage of ice cream and other perishables inside the mainland on truck trailers and

rail. Also, some of the shipping companies are now trying to put feeder vessels on the

Indian sea coast for transportation of various commodities from the West Coast via

Southern Coast to the East Coast locations. In such a case, transportation by sea in

reefer containers will also be very useful for longer distances.

5. The manufacturers are using, in all the cases, the hired refrigerated vehicles. In case

of hired vehicles, there could be limited control on the operations in transit.

Therefore, it is necessary that the manufacturers may acquire a fleet of their own

vehicles for taking care of the contingencies and also to have some control over the

movement of the stocks. In developed countries like USA the manufacturers have

·.:heir own fleet of refrigerated vehicles for transportation and delivery.

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6. The technology used in the fabrication of refrigerated containers should be nothing

less than the best. Now that the reputed suppliers like Carrier Transicold and

Thermo king are in India, there is no dearth of improved technology for refrigerated

transportation. The old inefficient and cost deficient technology neeci to be discarded.

7. For short distance transportation and local deliveries, eutatic vans and freezers on

wheel is the best option if the volumes are large. However, for small quantities and

shorter distances, the chilled glycol pads and insulated pvc( polyvinyl chloride) boxes

are the choice on cost considerations.

8. The hygiene and neat ness of the refrigerated vehicles and the delivery units is

necessary to make a safe and sound product available for the consumers.

9. Use of material handling equipment like telescopic conveyor belt and fork lifts which

can load the products inside the delivery vans will facilitate faster loading and

unloading compared to current manual practice and save loss of temperature of the

product so that the quality is not affected. '

10. It is necessary that the workers who are supposed to operate inside the cold storage

for loading and unloading, are provided with adequate warm clothes so that they are

able to sustain in the low temperature inside the cold store and the time taken for ·

loading and unloading is reduced so that there is not much of temperature loss from

the cold store or from the refrigerated van.

11. Before moving the products from the factory or undertaking interstate or intrastate

movement of the stocks, it is necessary to plan and make advance arrangement how

to manage the authorities, check posts and completion oflego-commercial formalities

that most of the times detain the consignment and cause delays thereby involve

additional costs and damages to the stocks. There are agents and consulting firms

available at interstate boarders, near the check posts and in the major towns and cities.

It is necessary that the companies study the requirements thoroughly before launching

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the product in any location and make advance arrangement so that at a later date

when the marketing operation is on, these formalities do not hinder the activity. These

issues are critical issues and can not be left to the transporters to handle as being done

even by the large companies observed during the study.

12. Above all it is basically the people who manage the activity and the rate of success

depends on the people who are managing the operations. It is necessary that

appropriately educated and trained manpower is engaged to r:m the operations at each

level depending on the need, the nature and intricacy ofthe r•ctivity. For instance, the

company may look for Drivers of the Refrig.;.cated Vehicles as ITI (Industrial

Training Institute) trained persons so that they can take care of the refrigeration unit

well and also undertake small trouble shooting works in case of emergency.

Otherwise7 if the driver is to be used ordinarily for driving the vehicle only, an ITI

trained person may be placed in the vehicle along with the driver so that he takes care

of the refrigeration unit in transit.

The C&F Agents, the Distributors and their staH: the salesmen of the Distributors and

the Retailers as well, should be trained, educated and made aware of the ideal

operational requirements for products like ice cream, as to how to handle the product,

its refrigeration requirement, the use and modality of handling a refrigeration

equipment etc. so that the entire distribution channel and the different components of

the cold chain work in consonance and tandem.

Never the less., it would require a paradigm shift in the minds of the companies that an

effective and sophisticated transportation and delivery system would bring in good riches

for them instead of the ~e old modality and technology that they rely on.