How to Maintain Quality Throughout Your Cold Chain During Periods of Change

I asked quality experts from a 3PL, manufacturer and packaging provider to share how they’ve upheld the highest standards during periods of immense disruption. Their practices are indeed best practices to replicate.

A Zebra Transtracker temperature indicator sits in a box being prepared for cold chain shipment

by Ashley Barey

October 12, 2022

They say the only constant is change, but I contend that quality can remain constant during periods of change as well. Other supply chain experts agree, especially those with extensive cold chain experience, including:

Mary Koenen, Vice President of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs at Cold Chain Technologies
Sean Merrill, Head of Quality at Langham Logistics

Steve Feldman, who oversees Quality and Regulatory Compliance for the six manufacturing locations servicing Zebra’s Supplies division

All three quality experts have decades of experience in commercial supply chains across the life sciences, medical device, automotive, aerospace and defense sectors. They have learned what effective quality practices look like, experienced the challenges of maintaining quality control amidst disruptive events, and successfully sustained the quality of their companies’ operations and products to customers’ benefit.

That’s why I invited them to join me for the latest roundtable discussion about effective change management in cold chains:

They had interesting perspectives about…

the three key qualities of a stable and sustainable quality control operation.
which recent changes to cold chain operations are eliciting the most significant changes to quality control and regulatory compliance efforts.
why you may want to consider outsourcing quality inspections to a 3PL or other downstream supply chain partner.
the quality control practices that were born out of the pandemic that are likely to be sustained long term, including virtual audits, daily open-door meetings and standardized manuals to address the majority of customer quality inquiries.
how to drive more visibility into quality operations and practices and why an outside-in perspective is becoming more critical than ever.

the specific role that each individual within your supply chain must play in quality control, and how to motivate compliance with processes and standards.
how to find and/or develop quality professionals for your organization, and why you may be injecting risk into your organization if you only look for people with “the right degree.”
the good, bad and ugly of quality – and the help you’ll need to navigate them all.

If you’re a quality expert, or your reputation is founded on quality, then you’ll want to watch the above video now or download the audio-only version to listen at your earliest convenience (perhaps while offline or on the road):

Listen or download now:

If you’re considering changes to your cold chain processes or technologies and would like to consult with one of these quality experts, send me a note and I’ll be happy to make an introduction for you. You can also learn more about the support Zebra can provide here.

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Did You Miss Our First Discussion about Managing Changes in the Cold Chain? Tune in Now:

How to Implement Changes Across Your Cold Chain without Resistance

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Ashley Barey

Ashley Barey is a Director of Strategic Development for Zebra Technologies currently based in the US, supporting the global Environmental Sensor category, Ashley has 15 years of supply chain experience and has worked on numerous supply chain data integration and automation projects throughout the U.S. and EMEA.