How to Keep the Cold Chain Safe, Secure and Competitive. An Italian Case Study of a Fruit and Vegetables Cold Chain

Purpose Some critical issues, related to sustainability, competitiveness, and security, characterize global trade in fresh food. Nowadays, Cold Chain (CC) requires an integrated risk and quality management based on intermodal and interoperable systems, in order to make every single logistic actor able to share integrated flows both logistics and informative. This study provides a model of competitive CC that will be tested through the case study narration. Methodology The present study has been based on a qualitative approach and in particular on the case study methodology, in order to better understand a real example of Cold Chain Management (CCM) through the experience of the Italian career Parteno Group. Findings In CC, food quality represents for logistic actors a fundamental need, being involved in all actions that contribute to offer to final customer a high quality food. Logistic companies are trying to implement efficient and effective risk management system, even if they still suffer for the lacking of public investment and/or cooperative projects aiming to make national CC interoperable and, consequently, competitive. Practical implications The proposed model could contribute to improve logistics managers sensitiveness in terms of value sharing and cooperation, mainly through the development of those intelligent and integrated systems that enables informative flows sharing, to ensure a total quality service and final client satisfaction. Originality/value The proposed model offers an innovative approach to CCM, aiming to better define synergistic strategies and action dedicated to improve CC competitiveness. This model isbased on the emergent concept of relational sustainability, which tries to respond to social request for secure and high quality fresh food.