Capability

Cold chain logistics in Singapore

Temperature-controlled storage and transport of perishable and sensitive goods, including food, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. Work maintains defined ranges from frozen to chilled through cold rooms, refrigerated vehicles, and monitored packaging. Buyers select on temperature bands held, GDP and HACCP compliance, and continuous monitoring.

Cold chain is the temperature-controlled discipline of Singapore logistics — chilled and frozen warehousing, refrigerated transport and the two very different worlds of food/perishables and pharma/healthcare cold chain. The market is worth roughly US$2 billion in 2026 and growing at about 7.4% a year, split heavily toward food (about 78%) versus pharmaceuticals (about 22%), with warehousing/storage the larger half against transport. The two halves are gated differently: food cold stores operate under SFA cold-store licensing, while pharma cold chain runs under HSA-administered Good Distribution Practice (GDP) covering the 2–8°C vaccine range, −20°C frozen and ultra-cold to −70°C. Singapore's role as a regional distribution gateway — anchored by the Changi perishables hub, which moves over 300,000 tonnes a year — makes GDP-certified, on-airport cold-chain capacity a genuine strategic asset.

The buyer reads a cold-chain operator on temperature range (chilled 2–8°C, frozen −18 to −28°C, ultra-cold), certification (IATA CEIV Pharma and GDP for healthcare; SFA and food-safety marks for food), automation and capacity (pallet positions, ASRS deep-freeze), and food-versus-pharma focus, which rarely overlap in one facility. The field has clear homegrown anchors. In food, SGX-listed SATS runs Coolport at the Changi Airfreight Centre — Singapore's first dedicated on-airport perishables-and-pharma cold-chain handling centre — while Commonwealth Kokubu Logistics (CKL), a Commonwealth Capital / Kokubu joint venture, is described as the country's largest food cold-chain logistics company, its Jalan Besut facility running over 500,000 sq ft and a 45-metre ASRS with up to 90,000 pallet positions; Jurong Cold Store operates a 35-metre automated deep-freeze holding 11,000 pallets at −22°C. In pharma, Singapore-headquartered Zuellig Pharma is the region's dominant healthcare cold-chain distributor, and foreign-HQ DHL runs a GMP/GDP pharma hub near Tuas Biomedical Park. The integrated majors — YCH and Yang Kee — carry multi-temperature capability within their wider networks.

Also known as: cold chain · temperature-controlled logistics · refrigerated logistics · reefer logistics · chilled and frozen logistics

Capability specifications

Temperature bands: Frozen (-18C and below), chilled (2-8C), controlled ambient (15-25C)
Assets: Cold rooms, reefer containers, refrigerated trucks, insulated packaging
Standards: GDP (pharmaceutical), HACCP, ISO 22000 (food)
Monitoring: Data loggers, real-time temperature sensors, alarm thresholds
Sectors served: Food and beverage, pharmaceutical, biomedical, chemical

Companies with this capability in Singapore

SATS Ltd (SATS Food Solutions / Country Foods)
An SGX-listed food-solutions group running large-scale contract manufacturing of frozen and chilled ready meals, marinated proteins and heat-and-serve products for airlines, retail chains and foodservice from Singapore facilities. Its Country Foods arm supplies private-label ready-to-eat lines to supermarkets and institutional buyers.
Website (opens SATS Ltd (SATS Food Solutions / Country Foods) in a new tab)
Commonwealth Kokubu Logistics (CKL)
A Singapore-HQ food cold-chain 3PL/4PL (a Commonwealth Capital and Kokubu joint venture, with MOL taking a stake), described as Singapore's largest food cold-chain logistics company; its Jalan Besut facility spans over 500,000 sq ft of ambient, chilled and frozen space with up to 90,000 pallet capacity, including a 45-metre ASRS. Food only, no pharma.
Website (opens Commonwealth Kokubu Logistics (CKL) in a new tab)
Zuellig Pharma
A Singapore-headquartered healthcare-distribution group and the region's dominant pharma cold-chain distributor, running GDP-compliant temperature-controlled (2-8 degrees C and frozen) storage and delivery for medicines and vaccines, with capacity expanded ahead of COVID-19 vaccine distribution, plus warehousing and healthcare contract-logistics services across the region.
Website (opens Zuellig Pharma in a new tab)
YCH Group
Singapore's flagship homegrown supply-chain champion, running its entire Asia-Pacific network from the purpose-built Supply Chain City at Bulim Avenue, with specialised Singapore nodes (YCH ChemPark for chemicals, YCH DistriCentre), multi-temperature cold-chain warehousing and a control-tower 3PL/4PL model on proprietary WMS technology. Serves electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and FMCG, and provides international freight forwarding across the region.
Website (opens YCH Group in a new tab)
Yang Kee Logistics
A homegrown Singapore-HQ integrated group with international air and sea freight forwarding, warehousing (including dangerous-goods and temperature-controlled cold storage), trucking, distribution and contract logistics across a multi-country network, with self-performed customs.
Website (opens Yang Kee Logistics in a new tab)
Jurong Cold Store
A Singapore food cold-store operator running a 35-metre automated high-bay deep-freeze holding 11,000 pallets at -22 degrees C, automated with Swisslog cranes and adopting Singapore Standard SS 668 for cold-chain management. Food and frozen focus.
Chiang Huat Transport
A customs-led Singapore logistics firm with a dedicated customs-brokerage arm registered with Singapore Customs: import GST, export and transhipment permits, Certificate of Origin and Strategic (controlled) goods declarations, with staff stationed at Keppel and Changi; serves FMCG, pharma, precious metals and oil-and-gas, alongside freight forwarding, warehousing and cold storage.
Website (opens Chiang Huat Transport in a new tab)
DHL (Singapore)
The Singapore operations of DHL Group (Germany), spanning DHL Global Forwarding (air and sea forwarding and customs brokerage from a regional hub) and DHL Supply Chain (the world's leading contract-logistics provider), which runs the Advanced Regional Centre at 1 Greenwich Drive and a Life Sciences & Healthcare pharma hub near Tuas Biomedical Park with GMP/GDP-compliant ambient and 2-8 degrees C cold rooms.
Website (opens DHL (Singapore) in a new tab)
Kuehne+Nagel
The world's largest sea-freight forwarder, with a large Singapore operation and a 46,000 sqm Logistics Hub (over 40% temperature-controlled, with 2-8 degrees C and 15-25 degrees C zones, vault storage and reefer bays; Green Mark Platinum / LEED Gold), delivering forwarding, contract logistics and cold-chain warehousing, and self-performing customs.
Website (opens Kuehne+Nagel in a new tab)

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