Valentine’s Day: Cold Supply Chain Champion
By Alex Batty, MHI Marketing Communications Coordinator |@mhi_alex
Well, from the title, it’s pretty obvious what we’re talking about today: Valentine’s and supply chain. So how could I not talk about the two stereotypical gifts that everyone gets at Valentines: flowers and chocolates.
Since most people don’t grow cacao trees or cultivate roses (side note: my grandmother has beautiful roses and they are a pain to take care of, so I get it), they obviously have to be bought. And shipped in. Which is where supply chain comes in. And to top it off, it’s usually cold chain, which is an extra magical child. Temperature-controlled transportation ensures that Valentine’s gifts arrive in the best condition possible, making for a much happier significant other.
Flowers
Over the three days that surround Valentine’s, about 200 million flowers are sold and delivered, and over half of those (sitting at 110 million) are roses. But of those, approximately 90% of flowers purchased for the holidays are grown in Latin America. To get flowers that are only grown internationally can take up to two weeks to ship them over to the US. Retailers want to receive cut flowers as soon as possible to extend vase life, and cold shipping helps to slow the wilting by putting the flowers in refrigerated shippers of temperatures between 34 and 36 degrees Fahrenheit. Supply chain works hard to not only keep them refrigerated, but to move them as quickly as possible.
As companies respond to increasing customer demand for fast shipping, shipping times have decreased all across the chain as those solutions from last-mile delivery and omni-channel fulfillment are applied to diverse supply chain problems. So companies’ stepping up to the plate means you get both your flowers and your baby bandana bib set faster.
Chocolate
Approximately 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are sold for Valentine’s Day every year, but the things is cocoa beans can only grow in a very specific, very small part of the world. Which means that once it’s grown, it has to be shipped to other places, like Europe (seriously, I love my cheap Hershey’s, but it is NOT the same as European chocolate) to make it into chocolate and then shipped further to make it to your romantic dinner.
Chocolate also has a relatively low melting point, which is why M&Ms had to coat it in candy to get it to “melt in your mouth, not in your hand”, so shipping it in trucks that get pretty hot isn’t very conducive to it arriving in pristine condition. The supply chain of chocolate is so intricate, researchers at Cargill (yes, you read that right, people research chocolate supply chain) have studied it. They said, “The supply chain that lies behind the production of chocolate, one of the world’s favourite confections, spans the globe and is shaped by powerful forces of supply and demand. The changing habits of customers define the direction of product innovation, and addressing the pressures on farmers growing cocoa beans is central to maintaining a reliable supply of raw ingredients. Add to this the volatility of global food prices plus the concerns over food security, and the story of chocolate becomes a complex one.”
As you’re enjoying Valentine’s Day, however you choose to celebrate it, just remember that the stuff you’re getting doesn’t get there without supply chain. Now I’m off to buy some chocolate.
Random fun fact: St. Valentine is apparently also the patron saint of plague fighting. Why are we not celebrating that? Don’t me wrong, I have no strong feelings for or against Valentine’s Day being about love and relationships, but we should totally also have a St. Valentine’s Day that celebrates fighting the plague, because that’s pretty hardcore. August doesn’t really have any major holidays…
