Twenty years of cold chain

For Hu Shutong, cooperating with the others in Sanhe or with Bao Xiaoyang were two different things. This was evident from the arrogant way Sanhe used to knock on Tongxing's door. If they were to cooperate with them, Tongxing would have no choice but to be subservient to them.

Once the business expands, these established companies will use their power to intimidate others, applying their old processes and methods to Tongxing. This will make it impossible for Hu Shutong to criticize or discuss the matter, and will cause obstacles and delays. Hu Shutong cannot accept that a lot of energy will be spent on this.

Li Shenglong's involvement gave Hu Shutong a glimmer of hope. With the booming e-commerce sector and the constant call for modern logistics, Hu Shutong increasingly sensed a bright future for the primary processing of agricultural products. Tongxing was an industry leader in temperature control and equipment, and this time, regarding the exploration of primary and semi-processing, Hu Shutong decided to no longer wait and see.

Even without the cooperation with Sanhe, the processing sector was poised for significant growth, especially since Tongxing's internal operations became much more agile after the garlic business was eliminated. Hu Shutong envisioned that the processing business not only be fully launched but also prioritized and strengthened, eventually becoming a new hallmark of Tongxing, on par with warehousing and distribution!

Looking at it now, the production line introduced for the national meat reserve is extremely forward-thinking; the next step is to introduce a fresh-cut vegetable processing line. Five years ago, when he met his teacher, his first task was to develop a fresh-cut vegetable production plan. Now, applying this to Tongxing gives one the feeling of turning back time.

When it comes to fresh-cut vegetables, Tongxing's advantages are obvious. In addition to making a profit by processing vegetables for designated enterprises, Tongxing can also perform preliminary processing on vegetables it harvests from the fields and then distribute them to vegetable supermarkets throughout the city. Tongxing can achieve a complete supply chain.

Vegetables that have undergone preliminary or semi-processing will appear in the market in chunks, shreds, or cubes. However, in actual operation, Hu Shutong still has many areas that need further optimization, such as the treatment to prevent browning and sterilize, as well as the selection of packaging.

At the call of the State Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the Standardization Administration of China, the "National Standards for Frozen Food Logistics Packaging, Labeling, Transportation and Storage" is about to be drafted!

It's easy to see from the name that it will be a major standard encompassing many aspects of the logistics industry!

People may not understand why the formulation of a standard would generate such excitement, but for those in the industry, it holds extraordinary significance. Only with standards can everything be based on a framework, and the issue of standards has been one of the most difficult problems for the cold chain industry to solve over the years!

As Dr. Li said, inconsistent food coding and quality standards make it impossible for radio frequency technology to thrive. What he said is just the tip of the iceberg; the chaos caused by the lack of standards is endless, and we haven't even standardized industry terminology.

On many food packages, we can see a code starting with GB followed by a string of numbers. This is the national standard. For example, GB2707 is the hygiene standard for pork, and GB2708 is the hygiene standard for beef, mutton, and rabbit meat. It is further subdivided into standards for meat floss, dried meat, and jerky, etc.

Hu Shutong knew that there would be logistics environmental protection standards, technical method standards, and refrigerated truck standards in the future!

There is no standard system for cold chain logistics. It's like an exam paper full of open-ended questions. You can only say you're right, but you can't say I'm wrong.

Along the way, many companies understand concepts like airtightness, low permeability, moisture resistance, and pressure resistance. But they think that understanding these concepts means spending more money. Since their neighbors aren't investing, why should I spend more and seem out of place?

This is precisely why the entire industry needs to work together; standards have the most profound impact on the cold chain. Therefore, this is a tremendous encouragement, signifying that the industry's path to revitalization will be paved with immense strength, leading us to the stars!

It is worth mentioning that the drafting of national standards for various industries is mostly done by standardization research institutes, industry associations, professional universities, and leading companies in the industry.

"Shutong, the era of standardization in the cold chain is coming, and the levels and classifications will become increasingly detailed. You are both one of the first graduates of the University of Minnesota and the leader of an emerging company. These two roles are very suitable for the drafting team of the industry, and there are not many people like you who have taken on both roles. In the future, when the formulation of various standards is needed, we hope you can participate."

"Don't worry, teacher, no matter how busy I am, I will never refuse!"

Pang Shiyou on the other end of the phone was silent for a while. "Shutong, you were born in a better era, an era that turns slogans into reality. We have walked a tortuous path, and we must cherish it even more because it was hard-won."

The teacher rarely showed such sentimentality; he would usually say things like this as a joke. Hearing Hu Shutong remain silent, Pang Shiyou immediately laughed. "By the way, Qingyan has a refrigeration society and a food association, and you should participate in these more often in the future. Also, recruiting talent is important, but so is cultivating talent. Just like I met you, you will also meet a few people you like in the future. This path is difficult in this way and that way, but ultimately it's because there aren't enough people."

"What's wrong with this old man today? Weren't we supposed to be talking about standard stuff?"

"Hmph! We can't stay calm just thinking about these standards. What's wrong with nagging a bit more?"

"Teacher, I suddenly thought yesterday that Tongxing should start its second phase. The market is too big now, there are too many customers that we can't attract, and we can't make a lot of money."

"Nonsense! How much money do you have that you can't handle? Before you think about the second phase, think about how much debt you're already carrying! Money can collapse so easily, do you really think you can handle everything? The better Tongxing does, the more you need to calm down. How come you haven't learned anything since graduation, but you've learned to be overly ambitious!"

"I've told you so many times, you have to take things one step at a time! If you haven't even gotten out of the puddle before you're already stepping into the mud, you'll only become less and less capable each day. Besides, some things just need to wait and see. What's most important is that you, Tongxing, work steadily and diligently!"

Hearing this enthusiasm, Hu Shutong laughed out loud; this was the familiar old man Pang.

"Teacher, why are you in such a hurry? I said it should start, not which year it should start."

"You little brat! Just you wait!"

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.