Food Cold Chain Case: Indonesia VSM Low-Temperature Storage

“In a 3-8 C low-temperature food warehouse in Indonesia, Anhui QianDe’s automated three-dimensional warehouse (VSM) operated continuously for one month without failure, accurately sorting tens of thousands of bottles of freshly squeezed beverage products every day. It not only solved the efficiency bottleneck of traditional warehousing, but also helped us protect the lifeline of food freshness.”

Customer Background

A food company in Indonesia is a well-known local low-temperature fresh beverage and food enterprise. Its business covers the production and distribution of frozen rice and flour products, frozen seafood, and freshly squeezed beverages, supplying major supermarkets and restaurant chain brands across Indonesia. As demand in Indonesia’s frozen food market has grown year by year, the company renovated a 20 m2 internal warehouse with a height of 4.5 meters. However, it faced the dual challenges of warehousing efficiency and food preservation in a low-temperature environment, and urgently needed an intelligent storage solution suitable for cold chain scenarios.

Low-Temperature Warehousing Pain Points Limited Business Expansion

Before introducing the QDITC automated three-dimensional warehouse, the company used traditional manual work plus ordinary shelving to manage low-temperature storage. A series of problems gradually became clear, and it was unable to integrate the production line, storage, sorting, and shipment process.

Low operating efficiency in cold conditions: employees worked in a 3-8 C environment, where physical energy was consumed quickly and movements became slower. Manual sorting of one item took on average twice as long as in a normal-temperature environment, and the daily sorting volume was less than 40,000 bottles, making it difficult to match production line and distribution needs.

High risk to food freshness: frequent manual entry into and exit from the cold room, plus excessive time spent outside the warehouse, easily caused local temperature fluctuations. Some frozen products showed thawing and softening, affecting quality and shelf life.

Insufficient space utilization: ordinary shelving could only use six levels of space. The 20 m2 warehouse could store only 150 cases of goods, with each case holding at least 180 bottles of freshly squeezed beverages. As the product line expanded, warehouse capacity could no longer meet peak-season demand.

Lack of management accuracy: manual inventory records were prone to errors and could not accurately trace the inbound time and shelf life of each batch of goods. This created the risk of missed inspections for near-expiry products and did not meet Indonesian food regulatory standards.

Integrated operation: one end of the warehouse connects to the production line, while the other end connects to the sorting and shipping outlet, enabling the fastest possible integration from production to shipment.

Cross-Border Trust: From Evaluation to Export Implementation

“We compared three international warehousing equipment brands and finally chose QDITC, not only because its automated three-dimensional warehouse had a mature low-temperature adaptation solution, but also because the team showed strong professionalism during the early evaluation. They deeply understood Indonesia’s food cold chain regulatory requirements and the spatial layout of the cold room, and even considered the impact of local voltage stability on the equipment.”

To ensure that the equipment adapted to Indonesia’s low-temperature warehouse scenario, the Anhui QianDe team carried out multiple customized upgrades: low-temperature-resistant servo motors and transmission components were used to adapt to the constant 3-8 C environment; equipment circuit protection was optimized to handle voltage fluctuations in some regions of Indonesia; and an English operating interface and localized training were provided to help local employees get started quickly. Starting in mid-2025, the full VSM automated three-dimensional warehouse completed production, customs declaration, and ocean shipping, and was successfully installed, commissioned, and put into use in the Indonesian low-temperature warehouse.

Case Highlights — Core Advantages of VSM in Low-Temperature Environments

Stable operation in low temperatures: the core equipment components use a wide-temperature design from -20 C to 50 C. In the 3-8 C low-temperature warehouse, the system runs continuously for an average of 12 hours per day, with no delay in sorting response speed, meeting the high-intensity operating needs of food cold chain warehousing.

Efficient sorting reduces cost and improves efficiency: the system can sort up to 60 cases of goods per hour, increasing daily sorting volume to 480 cases over eight hours. Compared with manual sorting, efficiency improves by 100%, while low-temperature labor is reduced by 50%, lowering the risk of cold-related injuries to employees.

Precise temperature control preserves freshness: the VSM system supports accurate “goods-to-person” sorting, reducing the time goods are exposed outside the warehouse to within 30 seconds. Cold room temperature fluctuations are controlled within +/-1 C, and the freshness retention rate of frozen products rises to 99.8%, fully meeting Indonesian food hygiene standards.

High-density storage expands capacity: the three-dimensional stacking design fully uses the 4.5-meter vertical space of the low-temperature warehouse. Storage density increases by 1.46 times compared with traditional shelving. The 20 m2 warehouse can store 220 cases of freshly squeezed beverages, equal to 220 x 180 = 39,600 bottles, meeting peak-season inventory needs without additional warehouse expansion.

Intelligent traceability strengthens compliance: equipped with a cold-chain-specific warehouse management system, the system automatically records the inbound time, shelf life, and storage location of each batch of goods. It supports English report export, making it easy to handle regular inspections by Indonesian food regulatory authorities and avoid risks from near-expiry products.

Since the equipment was put into use, the food company’s low-temperature warehousing costs have decreased by 35%, order fulfillment time has shortened by two days, and its share in Indonesia’s frozen food market has further expanded. By the end of 2025, the company had already planned to purchase a second Anhui QianDe VSM Vertical Sort Module.

Final Note

“Choosing Anhui QianDe’s VSM automated three-dimensional warehouse was the right decision for our food cold chain upgrade. It not only adapts to Indonesia’s low-temperature environment and regulatory requirements, but also proves through stable and efficient performance that Chinese intelligent warehousing equipment is fully capable of serving food enterprises worldwide.”

Adapting to cold chain needs across the ocean, intelligent sorting protects freshness.

For low-temperature food storage, trust Anhui QianDe’s VSM automated three-dimensional warehouse.