Twenty years of cold chain

2007 was a landmark year for the field of food safety.

Since the launch of the special campaign to rectify food safety issues in April, the State Food and Drug Administration has dispatched inspection teams to conduct oversight in conjunction with the Ministry of Supervision, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Commerce. Amid the rapid growth of private food enterprises, numerous shocking food safety problems have been exposed, and many companies and officials have been held accountable.

Ciprofloxacin and erythromycin were detected in turbot; Staphylococcus aureus, which can easily cause food poisoning, was detected in branded dumplings; some flour factories used chemicals as whitening agents; and excessive levels of saccharin and MSG were found. Since the outbreak of Sudan Red and clenbuterol last year, stricter controls have been implemented.

In August of that year, the Ministry of Health and the National Standardization Administration issued the "Hygienic Standard for the Use of Food Additives." The illegal use of additives is extremely common in many food safety issues, often used to mask food spoilage. This national standard clearly stipulates the scope and dosage of use, and makes specific provisions for preservatives, colorants, and fortifying agents.

The introduction of this national standard has had a profound impact. It promptly curbed the use of additives, imposing restrictions on the entire industry without distinction, and applies to all producers, operators, and users.

Upon returning to Tongxing, Hu Shutong had a host of tasks to handle. His absence during this period meant he missed the graduate recruitment drive, and upon his return, he found that Tongxing had attracted several new faces.

It's worth noting that Tongxing hasn't recruited anyone from the University of Minnesota for two years; local industrial parks like those in the southern suburbs are more favored. Furthermore, with the rise of large cold chain logistics parks and factories across the country, professionals in cold chain logistics are extremely sought after, leading companies to compete fiercely for on-campus recruitment channels, and many graduates simply don't enter the job market.

Correspondingly, for graduates of universities such as Qingdao University, Qingdao Agricultural University, and Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Tongxing enjoys a favorable geographical location and popular support.

The first work meeting upon my return mainly consisted of reports from each department on their recent work. Listening to them was reassuring; each department was operating smoothly, and cooperation with major clients was also going very well. Cooperation with the Olympic food safety assurance team and with the health department's multiple spot checks during the special campaign were also handled flawlessly.

The Yuncheng transfer center holds special significance for Tongxing. Looking back over the past few years, no matter how much momentum Tongxing has generated, it has never left this land; its influence, as always mentioned, has never strayed from the northern part of Qingyan City. For cold chain enterprises, clinging to a single base camp will never lead to significant expansion.

Hu Shutong clearly understands the development trend of the cold chain industry. Tongxing must expand outwards, and it cannot afford to be slow. Just like a person's growth, cold chain enterprises must also enter a new stage. In the past, the focus was more on strengthening themselves and building a reputation, ensuring they always had the confidence and strength, like a college student who is unafraid of challenges only after mastering their profession.

However, going forward, we should pay more attention to strategic alliances. The costs of this approach are there, and mutual benefit is a consensus among companies—this is the essence of resource sharing. Before asking me to do something for you, consider what you can offer me; act like a responsible member of society.

Establishing a foothold early will become Tongxing's fulcrum in the near future, eventually aligning with the strategies of major enterprises and collaborating with the distribution centers being established everywhere, becoming an important asset that can be shared and advance in tandem with others.

When Hu Shutong revealed this, it was undoubtedly a huge surprise to everyone. Tongxing's core members were all thinking about it, considering things like previous contacts with Chunrong and plans for distribution centers—all essentially about how Tongxing could expand internationally. Now, realizing there was no time to lose, things needed to be moved forward quickly.

Throughout the meeting, Hu Shutong had remained relatively quiet, but everything he said was reassuring. Since the Yuncheng transfer center had been mentioned, it wasn't just something under negotiation as he claimed; it was practically a done deal.

"President Hu, I think we should have leveraged the influence of the Yuncheng Transit Center from the very beginning. Every time I go to Sanhe for a meeting, unless President Xiaoyang is present, the people there criticize us for being too short-legged and not in line with their corporate strategy," Su Mu said.

Chu Lihe immediately looked displeased. "That's bullying! Why should Sanhe blame us for having short legs? All he does is talk about corporate strategy, but he never delivers! We can't mention Yuncheng. If we do, Sanhe will think we're setting up transshipment centers everywhere. If we don't build branch factories and just rely on cold chain partners to run around the country, we'll be worked to death!"

"President Chu, Sanhe is a major client of ours. We can't hide what's going on in Yuncheng. Instead of accusing us of concealing our channels later, why not just bring it up openly? Even if they don't build a branch factory, letting Sanhe's meat go out into the market is still a new contract."

"So what if they try to cover it up? Tongxing has no obligation to tell them everything!"

Why are you so fixated on this pretense? Is that what I meant?

Hu Shutong remained silent, and soon both of them fell silent as well. It was unclear when, but the atmosphere at the meeting had become increasingly tense. Su Mu was a pragmatist, believing that steady progress was the key to success, but Chu Lihe was difficult to categorize precisely. In truth, labels didn't matter; all that mattered was knowing that the man before them was a man of many thoughts, complex and multifaceted, ultimately completely unrelated to the label of "college student."

Speaking of Sanhe, Hu Shutong was also at a loss. Bao Xiaoyang's much-talked-about strategic plan still hadn't yielded any concrete results. Chu Lihe was right; relying on partners to travel the country was unrealistic. Su Mu's demands weren't meaningless either. We couldn't replace the branch factory, but we could still benefit more from it.

After a moment, Chu Lihe continued, "President Hu, Yuncheng itself is our priority; cooperation with our partners is a secondary matter. I believe this matter should be pushed forward immediately, and a Yuncheng business team should be established specifically to handle liaison with Minghe Group."

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Su Mu nodded in agreement. "We should make arrangements as soon as possible to cooperate in establishing a transshipment warehouse of this scale."

"Do you have any ideas on who should lead this business group?" Hu Shutong asked.

Before Su Mu could hesitate, Chu Lihe quickly asked, "What does President Hu think of Yuan Feng?"

Hu Shutong glanced at Su Mu, whose expression remained unchanged. Su Mu then looked at Hu Shutong and brought up another matter, "Mr. Hu, our contract with Qingyuan has expired. Should we continue to push things forward?"

Normally, Su Mu wouldn't ask such a question. When a contract expires, it's time to discuss a new round of cooperation. The reason he asked this question is that Qingyuan's momentum in recent years is unpredictable.

As expected, Hu Shutong shook his head, "It's not necessary for now."

It was early 05, the most difficult time for Tongxing. They had just had a falling out with local vegetable vendors, and their only business was vegetables, which had just started to take off.

It was at this time that Tongxing welcomed its first major client, Qingyuan. I still remember that Jiang Zhipeng brought a large team to Tongxing for a meeting, explaining the advantages of Tongxing's location, and scanning the map with a laser pointer to see the bright prospects for cooperation between the two parties.

Jiang Zhipeng's words made perfect sense. Goods traveling from Tongxing to the city center were equivalent to three trips in one, and that's how the cooperation started. Hu Shutong knew that Jiang Zhipeng's high-profile cooperation with Tongxing at that time was based on a lot of personal relationships; he hoped it would not only generate one order but also create some ripple effects.

Hu Shutong once firmly believed that Tongxing would accompany Qingyuan to go further, and that Tongxing's plans and layouts would never forget Qingyuan, whether within or outside the province. However, as time went on, it became difficult for the two of them to align their paths.

To put it simply, Qingyuan no longer needs Tongxing's large-scale ice cream storage and transportation.

Qingyuan underwent a transformation, and it now appears to be complete, with infant formula becoming its main business. Moreover, this year's formula market has been astonishing, as the supply of milk sources failed to expand in time, causing formula prices to soar. Qingyuan's goods experience no transit delays; distributors from all over come to Qingyuan to pick up their goods, and distribution is rapid at each level.

This is an unprecedented boom for the dairy industry. Dairy companies of all sizes are scrambling to seize market share, and the profit margins here are incomparable to those of ice cream and yogurt.

After making several attempts, Hu Shutong finally met Jiang Zhipeng.

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.