Supply Chain & Post-Harvest
Cold Chain & Fresh Produce Logistics
An unbroken temperature record, or the load is worthless.
For fresh produce, meat, dairy and fish, the temperature record is the product record. This module manages cold store and vehicle temperature monitoring, handover documentation, breach investigation and the shelf-life implications of every excursion, with the evidence assembled continuously rather than reconstructed after a complaint.
- 12 capabilities
- 3 linked schemes
- Offline capable
- 12
- Capabilities in this module
- 5
- Interactive tools
- 3
- Linked support schemes
- 5
- Data integrations
- 5
- Measures reported
The ground reality
What is actually happening in cold chain in the UK
Cold chain integrity determines both food safety compliance and commercial shelf life, and a single unlogged excursion can invalidate a consignment. Retail customers increasingly require continuous temperature data as a condition of supply rather than a spot check at delivery.
Figures are as published at the time of writing. Farm policy and payment rates change frequently — verify against the primary source before relying on any number here.
In the field
Cold chain, as it actually looks
Photography from working UK holdings alongside the interface that records it. Every frame below is a commissioned slot: the brief is stated until the photograph is taken.
Cold Chain — a walkthrough
A working pass through cold chain: entering the record once, and watching it appear in the evidence pack, the calendar and the scheme application without being typed again.
- 0:00 What the module is for
- 0:48 Entering the record
- 2:05 Where it appears next
- 3:20 The evidence pack
Photography slots state their own brief until the shot is commissioned, so the layout never shifts when real images arrive.
Capabilities
What Cold Chain does
Every capability below is built on the same underlying record, so entering something once is enough for it to appear wherever it is needed.
Record and plan
- Cold store and chiller temperature monitoring with continuous logging
- Vehicle and reefer temperature telemetry during transit
- Pre-cooling and field heat removal recording for fresh produce
Operate and monitor
- Temperature excursion detection, alerting and investigation workflow
- Shelf-life modelling adjusted for actual temperature history
- Consignment handover documentation with signed temperature confirmation
Comply and evidence
- HACCP critical control point monitoring and verification
- Calibration records for every probe and data logger
- Loading and unloading dock time monitoring
Analyse and improve
- Cold chain equipment maintenance and failure history
- Customer temperature reporting on demand per consignment
- Energy consumption monitoring for refrigeration plant
Interactive
Tools you actually use, not screens you read
These are working interfaces inside the module — maps, calculators, planners and dashboards that respond to your own holding data.
Consignment temperature trace from field to delivery
Consignment temperature trace from field to delivery
ToolExcursion investigation workflow with root cause capture
Excursion investigation workflow with root cause capture
ToolShelf-life calculator adjusted by measured temperature history
Shelf-life calculator adjusted by measured temperature history
CalculatorProbe calibration status dashboard
Probe calibration status dashboard
DashboardRefrigeration energy cost tracker per store
Refrigeration energy cost tracker per store
ToolEnd to end
How Cold Chain runs, start to finish
The module is modelled as a state machine, so at any point the business knows exactly which stage every record is at and what has to happen next.
-
1
Calibrate and deploy monitoring
This is where the record starts, and getting it right here removes work at every later stage.
-
2
Pre-cool and record field heat removal
The platform prompts only for what this stage genuinely needs, and carries everything forward.
-
3
Store at the specified regime
Conflicts with scheme rules, regulatory windows and existing commitments are flagged here rather than discovered later.
-
4
Load and begin the transit trace
Capture works offline, so this stage is completed in the field rather than remembered afterwards.
-
5
Monitor and alert on excursions
Everything recorded at this point becomes evidence automatically, in every format that will later ask for it.
-
6
Investigate and document any breach
This is the stage most businesses currently do twice, once for the operation and once for the paperwork.
-
7
Hand over with a signed temperature record
Results feed the whole-farm view, so the effect of this stage is visible against the rest of the business.
-
8
Report to the customer and review shelf life
The cycle closes here, and what is learned is carried into next season's plan rather than lost.
Who uses it
Built around four real jobs, not one generic user
Each of these people needs something different from the same record. The module is designed so none of them has to work around the others.
Packhouse manager
Fresh produce despatch
Needs the temperature trace available with every consignment.
Haulier
Refrigerated transport
Needs alerts in transit, not a complaint on arrival.
Retail technical manager
Supplier assurance
Needs continuous data rather than a delivery-point reading.
Food safety officer
HACCP verification
Needs monitoring, calibration and corrective action records.
Schemes and funding
Support schemes this module works with
Agrivencia holds these schemes as data, so eligibility, payment rates, caps and windows update the day they change rather than at the next software release.
Farming Transformation Fund
Fund larger capital projects that transform farm productivity, water management or value addition.
Defra / Rural Payments Agency EnglandAdding Value Grant
Support investment in processing, packing and marketing that adds value to primary agricultural products.
Defra / Rural Payments Agency EnglandImproving Farm Productivity Grant
Support investment in robotics, automation and on-farm energy that raises productivity.
Defra / Rural Payments AgencyRates, caps and windows change frequently and sometimes without notice. Always confirm against the current published scheme rules before applying.
Measurement
How you will know it is working
The module reports against these measures from the day it is switched on, so the value is demonstrable rather than assumed.
- 01Consignments with an unbroken trace
- 02Excursions per thousand consignments
- 03Shelf life delivered against specification
- 04Claims and rejections
- 05Refrigeration energy per tonne
Traceability
The chain behind one batch
Assurance audits ask you to prove a chain you have already lived. The record is assembled as the work happens, so the audit pack is a printout rather than a fortnight of searching.
BATCH-91188A
-
Grown
- Who
- Field parcel
- Evidence
- Cropping record, inputs applied with dates and rates
- Held in
- Field record
-
Treated
- Who
- Spray operator
- Evidence
- Spray record with product authorisation and buffer compliance
- Held in
- Spray diary
-
Harvested
- Who
- Combine or contractor
- Evidence
- Weighbridge ticket, moisture and specific weight
- Held in
- Weighbridge
-
Stored
- Who
- Farm or central store
- Evidence
- Store temperature and drying record, bin allocation
- Held in
- Store record
-
Hauled
- Who
- Haulier
- Evidence
- Consignment note and cleanliness declaration
- Held in
- Haulage
-
Delivered
- Who
- Processor
- Evidence
- Intake spec, rejection reasons if any, and settlement
- Held in
- Processor
Take the record with you
Status
Where it has got to
One tracker for a scheme application, a marketplace order and an evidence submission — because the question is always the same three questions.
Cold chain submission
Reference
AGV-9118-4622
- Started Complete 14 days ago Draft created and the holding record attached.
- Evidence assembled Complete 9 days ago Every required document present and within its validity period.
- Checked Complete 8 days ago Internal validation passed; two advisory warnings acknowledged.
- Submitted In progress 7 days ago Lodged with Rural Payments Agency. Receipt reference stored against the record.
- Under assessment Not started expected The published service standard for this stage is 28 days from a complete submission.
- Decision Not started The decision and any conditions attach to the record automatically.
- Payment or delivery Not started Scheduled against the payment calendar so cash flow can be planned.
Questions answered
What people ask about Cold Chain
Does this replace the software I already use?
Not necessarily. Agrivencia integrates with authoritative sources and mainstream packages rather than insisting on replacing them. Where an incumbent does one job well, the platform connects to it; where the job spans several systems and nobody does it, the platform does it.
Will it work where I have no signal?
Yes. Field capture in Cold Chain is offline first, storing locally and synchronising when a connection returns. Only around a fifth of UK farms report reliable signal across the whole holding, so this is a design assumption rather than a feature.
What happens when the scheme rules change?
Scheme rules are held as data rather than code, so a rate change, a cap change or a window closure is a content update that takes effect the same day. The platform also alerts you to what the change does to your own position.
Who owns the data I put in?
You do. The Farm Data Charter gives you a complete export in open formats at any time, and every instance of data sharing requires an explicit, revocable consent that is visible in your account.
Does it work if I farm across a border?
Yes, and that is one of the main reasons the platform exists. A business with land in more than one nation sees one reconciled view rather than two portals, with obligations and deadlines from both administrations in a single calendar.
Can my agronomist or land agent use it too?
Yes. You grant scoped, time-limited access per holding and per module, and you can revoke it in one click. Advisers never get a shared password or a blanket view.
What is the biggest limitation of this module?
Logger failure creating a gap. Mitigated by redundancy and calibration discipline. We would rather state that plainly than let you discover it after signing.
Documents
Take it away with you
Everything here is printable and works on a kitchen table with no signal. Where a document asks for an email address, it says so on the button rather than after you press it.
The Unbroken Trace: Cold Chain Records That Protect the Consignment
The practical handbook for cold chain: what the rules require, what the evidence has to show, and the mistakes that cost people money.
cold chain — evidence checklist
Every document an audit or a claim asks for, in the order it is asked for, with the validity period of each.
cold chain — record template
The record structure the module uses, as a spreadsheet, so a business not yet on the platform can start keeping it correctly today.
Data model reference
Entities, fields and integration points for cold chain, for advisers and software partners.
See Cold Chain running on your own holding
Thirty minutes, using your parcels, your schemes and your enterprises rather than a sample farm. No obligation and no sales script — if it does not fit your business we will say so.
- Free tier available
- No card required
- Your data stays yours