Invitation to Participate: International Cool Chain Survey "Effect of different Forms of Collaboration on Cold Chain Performance"

Collaboration has always been a key aspect and much debated topic amongst the members of the Cool Chain Association. We therefore strongly support the Research by our esteemed member Jacobs University Bremen and request your participation in the Survey called: "Effect of different Forms of Collaboration on Cold Chain Performance".The significant impact of cold chain disruptions has been acknowledged by practitioners and researchers alike. Whereas studies on vaccines found exposure to freezing temperatures in 75% to 100% of monitored shipments, food losses have been found to be as high as 35% due to interrupted cooling. At the same time, case-study research in food chains found that by changing patterns of coordination, inventory levels dropped by 55%, or shelf life increased by 18.3%.These preliminary results indicate that there is a considerable potential for reducing waste of resources and energy, as well as increasing profits along the cold chain. This research is one of the few attempts to identify successful techniques for coordination based on an international survey among managers of all cold chain segments.Purpose: to identify successful forms of collaboration between companies along the cold chain. The focus lies on how to prepare interactions with transaction partners, so that processes are optimally coordinated between companies.Design: the target group are managers and experts, who are involved in the planning, preparation, monitoring and optimization of temperature-controlled logistics operations with customers and/or suppliers. Each participant receives a personalized access code to an online questionnaire with multiple choice questions, which will take not more than 15 minutes. The questionnaire is available for 6 weeks on a T?V secured internet platform and answers are completely anonymized.Benefit: every participant completing the questionnaire receives a summary report of findings. This summary will provide among others the following benefits: for managers involved in logistics and supply chain management, it offers insights on how to enhance the seamless process flow at interfaces. For quality management, it indicates how cold chain disruptions might be prevented and which procedures and instructions are more effective. Finally, for strategic management, information will be provided to guide decisions on supply chain design and strategic partnerships.About the researcher: Verena Brenner is a researcher and Ph.D. candidate in the work group ?Systems Management? of Prof. Dr. Michael H?lsmann in International Logistics. Before starting her research, she worked for the Cool Chain Association (CCA), where she coordinated an international project on cold chain monitoring for citrus from South Africa to Europe. At Jacobs University, she continues investigating challenges in cold chain management, publishing on food and pharmaceutical logistics in peer-reviewed journals and mainstream media, and speaks at logistics conferences across Europe. This empirical project is part of her Ph.D. thesis. Verena Brenner holds a Diploma in Economics with a focus on Logistics and Sustainable Management.About the university: Jacobs University is an international, independent and residential university in Bremen, Germany. It is one of the most diverse universities worldwide, with more than 100 nations present on campus. The focus of research and transfer lies on concrete and practical challenges, such as energy consumption, environment protection, sustainable food supply, and conflict management. Jacobs University is regularly top-ranked in the German university ranking for Higher Education Development (CHE). The work group ?Systems Management? focuses in research and industry projects on the strategic management of complex networks. Especially relevant are thereby questions of strategic collaboration and technology-driven coordination, and their impact on network profits.If you would like to participate or if you have any questions please contact:Verena BrennerJacobs University Bremen gGmbH ? Campus Ring 1 ? 28759 Bremen ? GermanyMail: v.brenner@jacobs-university.de ? Phone: +49 421 200 3469 More information:? Edwin KalischnigCool Chain AssociationMajoppeveld Noord, Leemstraat 15P.O. Box 10864700 BB RoosendaalThe NetherlandsT: +31 639837627www.coolchain.org?? ?