Business Development

How to Ship Your Products Safely in the Winter

Published on: November 15, 2022

Last Updated on: September 24, 2024

Ship Your Products

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Are you shipping products that are vulnerable to freezing damage this winter?

All kinds of stuff can be damaged by freezing, including makeup, coffee, and perishable foods. Winter weather can severely threaten the quality of your packaging contents if you don’t take the proper steps to protect your shipments from freezing.

To ship products safely in the winter, you need to use freeze-protection technologies like insulation and heat packs. Use temperature indicators when appropriate to ensure your products aren’t freezing and thawing out again in transit.

And make sure you’re shipping your packages as quickly as possible so they spend less time on the supply chain, which is vulnerable to freezing temperatures.

How to Ship Freight in Winter

Well, shipping freight across a frozen landscape is a challenging job to do. However, if push comes to shove, you cannot help it. Therefore, instead of letting go of orders, here are some tips that you can follow.

In this section, we would like to point out some of the most essential points that you can follow in order to transport goods in winter or extreme tundra landscapes safely. 

Here we go!

Prioritize Basics

Before getting to the deep end, let us take a moment to understand the basics of frozen shipping. However, you must know that frozen shipping is not an easy task to master. Therefore, you need to realize that you can only anticipate what might happen but never know for sure.

Therefore, you need to understand and prioritize the basics. First things first, you need to make sure that you are well-protected against the cold. Carry heat-resistant clothes that can keep the weather out. 

Do not take anything lightly. Be vigilant and mindful of the whole deal, and understand that you need to be prepared at every rate. Take someone with you—someone who is qualified to take over if things go sideways. 

Use Freeze-Protection Technologies

Use Freeze-Protection Technologies

Don’t be intimidated by the term “freeze-protection technologies.” It simply means things that can protect your package contents from freezing, like insulation and heat packages.

You should pack your temperature-sensitive items with insulation. You can use styrofoam panels to insulate your boxes or place package contents within a thermal box liner. Wrap your products in thermal bubble wrap.

If you’re shipping something that has to stay warm instead of just not freezing, put heat packs inside the insulation. Heat packs can keep items warm in transit for up to 40 hours.

They’re perfect for shipping live plants and animals in the wintertime. Gel packs can keep package contents cool, which can be helpful for shipping fresh produce, fresh flowers, live seafood, and other heat-sensitive products, even in the winter.

You can also ask your carrier about temperature-controlled shipping. Usually, when people talk about temperature-controlled shipping, they’re talking about refrigerated trucks and containers – and though it might seem counterintuitive, refrigerated trucks do keep your products from freezing.

If you’re shipping something that needs to stay within a certain astonishing temperature range, refrigerated shipping is the best option. However, some carriers may also offer heated shipping for items that must be kept at a higher temperature.

Insert Temperature Indicators into Your Packages

You can’t always tell when something has been outside of its recommended safe temperature range during shipping.

If a shipment is delayed, heat packs or gel packs you’ve packed inside of your shipments might lose their efficacy, and you (and your recipient) will need to know how hot or cold the contents of your package have become in transit.

That’s where temperature indicators come in. If your shipping contents got too cold and froze, then thawed out later on before reaching their destination, a temperature indicator will tell you that.

Temperature Indicators

Temperature indicators will change colors or otherwise indicate when a shipment has reached an unsafe temperature. That way, you and your customers will know when something isn’t safe, even if it seems secure.

You can even buy real-time temperature indicators that will alert you if a shipment is approaching an unsafe (either too hot or too cold) temperature so you can reach out to the carrier and coordinate any changes that might be necessary to prevent damage to your shipment.

Keep Shipping Windows Small

Whenever you’re shipping perishable items, it’s always important to ship them as quickly as possible. If you can, you should always try to ship temperature-sensitive items overnight.

Only use two-day shipping when you have to, and never use any slower shipping schedule. Keeping your shipping window as small as possible helps make sure that your products are still fresh and in good shape when they arrive.

If there is a delay in shipping, you have a better chance of your products still being fresh when they arrive if you choose the fastest shipping option.

Shipping Windows

Heat packs last about 40 hours, so that’s how long you have before the package contents start to get cold. If you’re using gel packs, those have a lifespan of about 24 to 36 hours before your package contents are at risk of warming up.

You should always ship temperature-sensitive items at the beginning of the week, especially if you’re using a carrier like USPS that doesn’t ship all seven days of the week.

Sending shipments on Monday or Tuesday minimizes the risk of a shipping delay due to a weekend shutdown. Again, that’s especially important if you’re sending items through the mail, but don’t assume your carrier will offer weekend service.

Make sure they will before you try to ship a temperature-sensitive shipment over the weekend.

When it comes to shipping products safely in cold weather, you have to take advantage of all the tools at your disposal.

Packaging insulation, heat packs, and more can help you keep your products at a safe temperature range throughout shipping so you can keep your customers happy.

The Final Thought

This is what you need to remember about frozen shipping. It is a precarious business that requires a contingency plan that can help the company grow.

Therefore, if you are looking to try frozen shipping, you can certainly do so, but only after enough preparation. If you liked this piece of content, then let us know and keep following our page for more such content.

Thank you!

Additional

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Samik

Samik is a writer with 2+ years of experience in his pocket and a genuine interest in supply chain and logistics industry. He’s inquisitive and an Epistemophile who loves exploring industries like supply chain, business, finance, etc. When taking a break from his curiosity for logistics, he can be seen hyping over global phenomenon, documentary films, and motorbikes.

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