Sustainable Cold Chain and Information Technology

With changing consumer preferences, social structures, increase in food wastage and losses, and rising health and wellness awareness, sustainability in cold chain has become a pre-dominant concern. Technology can play a significant role in curbing such issues while enhancing sustainability. Considering the above, the study focusses on the role of emerging technologies in making a cold chain sustainable. Technologies including IOT (internet-of-things), AI (artificial intelligence) and Blockchain have been considered in the study to highlight the benefits and impact of use of technology on the cold chain. As per the study, there are numerous benefits with some of them being: reduced wastage, enhanced efficiency, improved trust, to name a few. The findings of the study will help set scope for future research for examining the factors influencing towards a sustainable cold chain. A mixed approach of qualitative and quantitative analysis is proposed in the study to analyse the different sustainability indicators for a cold chain for future research scope. It will also assist the policy makers and decision makers to prioritize their efforts towards a sustainable cold chain