Chronopost becomes the French carrier with the largest temperature-controlled network

 

Over the past 8 years, Chronopost, France's leading express delivery company for parcels weighing less than 30 kg, has invested in developing its temperature-controlled transport network to meet the new challenges associated with food products (fresh and frozen) and heat-sensitive healthcare products (medicines, laboratory samples, etc.).

The Chronopost Healthcare division, which specialises in transporting healthcare products, and the Chronofresh subsidiary, which specialises in transporting food products, are aiming to double their temperature-controlled volumes within five years. Food and healthcare will account for 20% of Chronopost's sales by 2025.

As a new step in this development, four new-generation hubs dedicated to temperature-controlled activities are being opened in Corbas (southeast Lyon) and Chilly-Mazarin (southern suburbs of Paris), for a total investment of €22 million. This new infrastructure means that Chronopost's temperature-controlled network now comprises 9 hubs, 93 branches and 32,700 m² of cold stores.

 

Temperature-controlled logistics: the key challenge for the transport of the future

The food and health sectors are undergoing profound changes, which have been speeded up by the pandemic. Changes in food consumption patterns, the rise of urban distribution channels with smaller storage areas, and the development of direct sales from producers to private individuals and professionals have led to the emergence of the food parcel market, including for fresh and frozen products. In healthcare, major therapeutic advances (cancer treatment, diabetes, etc.) are increasingly based on heat-sensitive medicines. These products require temperature control throughout the transport chain.

Benoît Frette, Chairman of Chronopost, explains:

“Temperature control has become essential for the transport of food and healthcare products. Professionals were looking for solutions to comply with regulations and protect consumers and patients at a time when heatwaves are becoming increasingly frequent. Chronopost now has a unique position in the market thanks to its temperature-controlled transport network, which is the most extensive in France.”

Chronopost is upgrading its production facilities to handle temperature-controlled deliveries

A pioneer in express delivery in France for almost 40 years, Chronopost has invested €400 million over the last ten years to build a robust industrial infrastructure (around a hundred sites equipped with cutting-edge technology), including €60 million to build its temperature-controlled network: 93 Chronopost branches equipped with cold rooms and now 7 temperature-controlled hubs, a total of 1,000 refrigerated vehicles and almost 13,500 temperature-controlled containers. All this, with a strict separation between health products and food products (separate hubs, mechanisation, cold rooms, etc.). These infrastructures have facilitated the rapid development of Chronofresh, a Chronopost subsidiary launched in 2015 (revenues of €120 million in 2022, i.e. +23% compared with 2021) and the launch of Chronopost Healthcare in 2020 (revenues of €160 million in 2022), which complements Chronopost's established experience in ambient healthcare.

 

7 new temperature-controlled hubs

4 main hubs, dedicated to controlled temperature, are being built:  2 for Chronofresh and 2 for Chronopost Healthcare, in Chilly-Mazarin (southern suburbs of Paris) and Corbas (southeast Lyon), featuring:

• Completely independent Chronofresh and Chronopost Healthcare cold rooms, enabling operations to be strictly separated;

• Vast cold rooms (over 4,000 m² in both Lyon and Paris), with 5 different temperature zones ranging from -30°C to 15-25°C, thanks to a partitioning system and advanced insulation;

• A high-performance industrial refrigeration system using more environmentally-friendly refrigerants (Global Warming Potential - GWP - of less than 10), with heat recovery for the 15°C-25°C cold room (installed by Dalkia Froid Solutions, an EDF subsidiary). Shared cold production;

• The conveyors are supplied by Anjou Solutions Industrie, a company based in Angers;

• HGV loading bays directly connected to the cold rooms.

• Buildings are fitted with solar panels for either feeding into the grid (Corbas) or self-consumption (at Chilly-Mazarin: maximum production capacity representing 25% of the site's total requirements);

 

These new hubs, the result of a €22 million investment, play a crucial role: they reduce transport times between different locations in France (next-day delivery), which is a major expectation of professionals given the nature of the products transported.

In addition, three other existing Chronopost regional hubs are being equipped with temperature-controlled cold rooms in Brive-la-Gaillarde (southwest France), Le Mans (northwest France) and Dijon (eastern France).

Christophe Desgens, Chairman of Chronofresh, explains:

“The double-digit growth we have experienced every year since our launch has shown that our solutions meet a real need among players in the food market. The deployment of these new infrastructures will enable Chronofresh to accelerate its development in deliveries to professionals (restaurants, retailers, craftsmen, wholesalers, manufacturers) and private individuals”.

Frédéric Bernard, Director of Chronopost Healthcare, adds:

“With temperature-controlled deliveries, we are adding to our long-standing expertise in the transport of healthcare products at ambient temperature and are now able to meet all their needs (next-day deliveries, dedicated rounds and vital emergency deliveries) throughout France.” 

As a result of this ramp-up in temperature-controlled services, the food and healthcare sectors are expected to account for 20% of Chronopost's turnover by 2025. These advances contribute fully to the strategic objectives of its holding company Geopost, a subsidiary of Le Groupe La Poste, which aims to boost its growth in these market segments.

 

Appendices

HUBS	Chronofresh		Chronopost Healthcare
	Paris	Lyon	Paris	Lyon
Cold room surface area	2,700 m2	2,300 m2	1,500 m2	2,200 m2
Cold room temperatures	●      Fresh 0°C-4°C, ●      Frozen -22°C		●      15°C-25°C ●      2°C-8°C, ●       <-20°C
Special installations	Dry ice production area		Metrology laboratory
Number of loading bays HGVs	16	10	10	10
Number of light vehicle doors	21	18	10	18
Address	1 rue Denis Papin, Chilly-Mazarin	Bd des Nations, Corbas	1 rue Denis Papin, Chilly-Mazarin	Bd des Nations, Corbas
Number of employees (permanent contracts)	52	16	14	8

 

KEY FIGURES	Chronofresh	Chronopost Healthcare
Number of parcels in 2022	8.5 million	25 million
Of which temperature-controlled	Nearly 6 million	5 million
Number of dedicated temperature-controlled vehicles	500	500
Surface area of cold stores nationwide	22,000 m2	10,500m²
On-board containers	12,000 containers (insulated boxes and rolls) complying with the Agreement on the Transport of Perishable Foodstuffs (ATP)	1,500 active refrigeration containers
Hubs	2 dedicated hubs + 2 hubs located on Chronopost sites	2 dedicated hubs + 3 hubs hosted on Chronopost sites
Branches	93 branches equipped with positive and negative cold rooms dedicated to food products	69 branches equipped with positive and negative cold rooms dedicated to healthcare products
Other equipment	All Chronofresh equipment is ATP* certified Food safety compliance (SDA) Metrology, supervision	2 metrology laboratories 1 supervision team
Types of customer	Private individuals (70%) Business customers (30%): restaurants, retailers, craftsmen, wholesalers, etc.	Pharmaceutical industry Medical biology laboratories Hospitals

 

*The ATP is a United Nations agreement signed by 48 countries and sets out the requirements for temperature-controlled transport (refrigerated transport).

 

 

 

About Chronopost

Chronopost is the leading national player in the express delivery of parcels weighing up to 30 kg to businesses and individuals. With a team of 5,000 employees, Chronopost delivered more than 230 million parcels in 2022.  Chronopost serves 230 countries and territories around the world and has special access to Geopost’s global network of Pickup points.

Through innovative technologies, local expertise, dedicated customer service and a network of 19,555 outlets in France (Chronopost branches, post offices and Pickup Points), Chronopost offers the best possible customer experience for both senders and recipients.  Chronopost fully offsets its CO₂ emissions and ensures 100% low-emission delivery in Paris and around sixty cities in France.

Chronopost is a member of Geopost, the international parcel delivery network. GeoPost, Le Groupe La Poste Group's holding company, recorded revenue of €15.6 billion in 2022.