The most common mistake with a cold chain parcel is building the order backwards: the box is packed, taken to the counter, and only there does it turn out that the contents are refused or that the chosen service has no cold area at the hub. The right order starts with the carrier and leaves the box for last.
- Ask the carrier in writing whether it accepts the product and what temperature the service holds at each stage.
- Work out the real transit time, including collection, hub transfer, weekend waiting and failed delivery.
- Choose a container and coolant with margin over that time.
- Bring the product to transport temperature before dispatch.
- Pack, label and start the logger.
- Tell the recipient when the parcel will arrive and what to do first when it does.
Time and safety margin
The committed transit time is the lower bound of the plan. A parcel handed over on Friday can spend the weekend at a hub, and if nobody is at the address it stays on the road another day. The time the container keeps the product within limits must sit well above this bad case; the gap is the margin set aside for delay.
Packing and labelling. Coolant goes in fully frozen, or conditioned as its instructions say, with a divider between it and the product so the touching surface does not get too cold. Empty volume is filled, the inner container is leakproof, the outer carton is sound and the lid perimeter is taped. Keeping the container, number of coolant packs and layout the same on every shipment makes the records comparable. The outside is marked perishable with the temperature requirement; a label does not replace the written service scope, but it improves the chance of correct stacking and short waits at hubs.
Records and receipt
Note whether the logger reads the product or the air inside the container, and where it sits. At receipt, package condition, time and the measurement data go into the record. If a limit was exceeded, the load is set aside; restoring the process and deciding whether the product can still be used are separate tasks, as the FAO HACCP monitoring guidance and its corrective-action guidance explain. If the recipient leaves the parcel standing instead of moving it to proper storage, the cold kept on the road is lost at the door.
