Authors : Md Shahnawaz Haidar; Mohammed Abdul Azeem; Badiuddin Ahmed

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 9 - September

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/ynd4wu73

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26sep549

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : Purpose: India’s fragmented cold chain constrains the reliable movement of perishable food over long distances. Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR), a rail-oriented public logistics enterprise, has combined terminals, specialised storage, refrigerated assets, digital monitoring, and phase-change-material-based Ice Battery systems. This paper assesses how these capabilities could support a scalable and lower-carbon multimodal cold chain and develops a performance framework suited to temperature-sensitive logistics.  Design and Methodology: The study adopts an exploratory single-case design based on qualitative document analysis. Evidence is drawn from CONCOR annual reports, Government of India disclosures, technology-provider material and peer-reviewed literature on cold-chain performance, intermodal transport, phase change materials and the Supply Chain Operations Reference model. The analysis maps the case to Plan, Source, Transform, Deliver, Return and Enable processes and adds thermal integrity, product quality and environmental intensity to conventional SCOR attributes.  Findings: CONCOR possesses strategically relevant nodes and intermodal capabilities, but the public evidence describes a portfolio of facilities and demonstrations more clearly than an integrated national service. Ice Battery systems may reduce dependence on continuous diesel refrigeration on validated lanes, particularly during rail and terminal dwell; however, performance is conditional on pre-cooling, insulation, ambient heat load, door openings, module conditioning and route duration. Commercial scaling therefore depends on commodity-corridor design, assured schedules, end-to-end thermal accountability, balanced equipment flows and independent trip-level validation.  Originality and Value: The paper extends SCOR for rail-linked perishable logistics by treating thermal compliance and saleable-product retention as components of reliability, and by integrating operational, asset, quality, energy and emissions metrics in one case-specific framework. It also provides testable propositions and a matched-trip protocol for subsequent empirical research.

Keywords : Cold-Chain Logistics; CONCOR; Ice Battery; Phase Change Material; Rail Freight; SCOR; Intermodal Logistics; India.

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