Track: Supply Chain Management

Abstract

The cold chain is of critical importance in sustaining the ice cream quality from manufacturing to retail freezers.  A high performing cold chain in a country has been demonstrated to have lower post-harvest losses. Papua New Guinea (PNG) rated poor on its cold chain situation including local frozen and chilled products and this study considered one of the most trusted ice cream manufacturing companies in PNG with an average market share of 80%.  The study focused on the current cold chain system of an ice cream manufacturer situated in PNG and analyze its cold chain efficiency using various analysis and design tools such as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis, value engineering, systems analysis and design, and total quality management. The study showed that strong internal and external maintenance strategies, real-time temperature logging of manufacturing plant and storage freezing, and senior management support in cold chain initiatives are the strong points of the ice cream manufacturer. Energy usage reduction by 22%, energy sub-metering, and preventive action plans for retail freezing breakdowns were the improvement points for the company. The study also indicated the technical requirements for real-time data monitoring for retail container freezers which complimented the business requirements from the manufacturer’s senior management.