As consumers expect year-round access to products that were once seasonal, from fresh fruit and vegetables to meat and seafood, regulators are placing greater emphasis on reducing food waste. At the same time, producers and retailers are facing rising costs and tighter margins, while supply chains continue to navigate disruption from geopolitical uncertainty, extreme weather and changing trade patterns.

Once viewed primarily as a sustainability challenge, food waste is now firmly a commercial concern too.

The European Commission estimates that more than 58 million tonnes of food waste are generated across the EU every year, representing an economic cost of approximately €132bn. Globally, around 14% of food is lost between harvest and retail before consumers ever have the opportunity to purchase it.

For food businesses, logistics is often the difference between maximising value and losing it altogether. That's why our end-to-end supply chain solutions are designed to support your unique logistics needs every step of the way.

From Cold Chain to Shelf Life Optimisation

For decades, the movement of perishables has focused on maintaining the integrity of the cold chain. While temperature-controlled storage and transportation remain essential, the conversation is evolving.

Food businesses are now placing greater emphasis on preserving not only product quality, but also the commercial value that accompanies it. The objective is no longer simply to deliver perishable goods within specification but to ensure products reach retailers and consumers with as much usable life remaining as possible. This requires an integrated approach that connects every stage of the journey, from origin handling and storage through to transportation, customs processes and final delivery.

Every hour spent in transit, awaiting clearance or sitting within a fragmented supply chain reduces the time available for sale and consumption, and for fresh produce, seafood, meat and dairy, even minor delays can shorten selling windows, increasing waste and eroding margins. Shelf life is the new measure of supply chain performance.

Food Logistics is Now a Value Preservation Exercise

Europe's food supply chains are increasingly complex and interconnected, with fresh produce routinely moving across multiple countries before reaching consumers. This makes the reliable flow of perishables an important component of both food security and supply chain resilience.

Delays can carry consequences far beyond transportation costs, and extended transit times can reduce product freshness, increasing the risk of spoilage or rejected shipments.

When perishables lose shelf life in transit, businesses often compensate through higher inventory levels, increased waste and reduced operational flexibility. These inefficiencies can accumulate across the supply chain, eroding margins and creating additional pressure on already constrained food systems.

As a result, leading producers and distributors are seeking logistics partners with supply chain expertise that helps protect the value of every shipment.

The Challenge of Preserving Freshness

Maintaining product quality across Europe's food supply chains requires far more than temperature-controlled transportation. Perishable goods often pass through multiple touchpoints, including production sites, ports, inland transport networks, warehousing facilities, customs processes, and final distribution channels. Each stage introduces potential risks, from delays and administrative bottlenecks to temperature deviations and reduced product freshness.

For food businesses, preserving shelf life increasingly depends on how effectively these different stages are connected. Fragmented supply chains can create inefficiencies that erode product value long before goods reach retailers or consumers. By contrast, integrated logistics networks help streamline the movement of perishable goods, improving coordination and maintaining greater control throughout the journey.

Our perishables solutions are designed to connect every stage of the journey, from production sites and ports to warehousing, inland transportation and final delivery. By combining transport, storage, cold chain capabilities and digital connectivity within a single ecosystem, we help customers reduce complexity and maintain greater control over their temperature-sensitive cargo. The result is a more resilient supply chain that supports longer shelf life and consistent product quality from origin to destination.

Visibility is Becoming as Important as Refrigeration

As supply chains become more complex, visibility is emerging as a critical factor in protecting product quality and preserving commercial value. While refrigeration remains fundamental, the ability to anticipate and respond to disruptions in real time is becoming equally important.

Digital technologies now provide food businesses with unprecedented insight into the movement and condition of their products. Real time monitoring of shipments, temperature conditions and transit performance enables operators to identify potential issues earlier and take corrective action before they have the chance to affect product quality. Rather than reacting to problems after they occur, businesses can make informed decisions that help safeguard freshness and minimise disruption.

Our network incorporates real time monitoring, GPS enabled tracking and digital supply chain visibility tools that support greater transparency across the movement of temperature-sensitive goods. This enhanced visibility enables customers to reduce operational risk throughout the supply chain.

Together, these benefits support both commercial performance and sustainability objectives, helping food businesses maximise the value of every shipment while reducing avoidable waste.

A Competitive Edge in Food Supply Chains

As pressure mounts to reduce food waste, logistics is becoming a strategic differentiator for food businesses across Europe. The ability to extend shelf life creates tangible business benefits as products that arrive with more usable life remaining offer greater flexibility for retailers, reducing the likelihood of markdowns and waste. In this way, logistics creates its own business case as a contributor to revenue protection and growth.

The importance of this approach is particularly evident across Europe's fresh produce supply chains. Major fruit and vegetable exporters in North Africa, Southern Europe and beyond depend on efficient transport links to reach consumers across the continent, often within narrow timeframes. Even small delays can reduce product freshness and increase the likelihood of waste, placing pressure on both profitability and sustainability outcomes.

As food waste reduction becomes an increasingly important commercial, environmental and regulatory priority, the conversation is shifting beyond temperature control alone. Success is increasingly measured by how effectively supply chains preserve freshness, extend shelf life and maximise the value that ultimately reaches consumers.

Achieving those outcomes requires more than refrigerated transportation. It depends on connected supply chains that combine infrastructure, visibility and expertise to keep perishables moving efficiently.

In modern food logistics, moving products efficiently remains important, but preserving their value has become essential. Find out more about our Perishables Logistics Solutions.