In this installment of Farm to Frozen, we are going to dive headlong into the world of public refrigerated warehouses (PRWs) and third party logistics providers (3PLs). Most readers of this series are familiar with the roles of 3PLs and PRWs in the cold chain, and perhaps, have used one in the past. In recent years, there has been a lot of commercial activity among these providers. Lineage Logistics, Americold and US Cold are the first brands that come to mind as they have come to dominate U.S. cold storage market share. Between these three providers, there has been repeated merger and acquisition activities as they continue to jockey amongst themselves for scale and customers., However, as independent operators have been scooped up by the big three, a new crop of companies have entered the space. All of which are eager to compete to store and handle your refrigerated and frozen pallets. Navigating and choosing between these legacy and new entrants can be daunting. This primer will give you a leg-up on your search and selection process.
Recently, several refrigerated and frozen food manufacturers, processors and distributors (all cold storage occupiers) have expressed a desire to control or own their own cold storage facilities. In a perfect world, these occupiers would be able to buy or develop as much cold storage capacity as necessary. In this world however, itis not always feasible to do either of those. Instead, occupiers turn to refrigerated 3PLs and PRWs to outsource their storage and logistics needs. PRWs serve a critical role in the cold chain by being the logistical facilitator between the production and the customer for these occupiers. By serving multiple customers in each location, PRWs have become experts in refrigerated and frozen storage, handling and value-added services. The volume, complexity and prolific nature of their businesses can often mean greater expertise in handling.