How We Modernise a Cold Storage Site
What comes to mind when you hear about a modern cold storage facility? Automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, new refrigeration systems or warehouse management software? Those investments matter. Operators need to invest in smarter infrastructure and better technology to remain competitive. But they're rarely where modernisation actually begins. In Europe, many of the great cold storage businesses are family-owned operators who have spent decades refining how they work. Their competitive advantage isn't simply found in their buildings or equipment. It's found in the experience, discipline and decision-making of the people who run them. The real challenge isn't introducing new technology. It's ensuring that decades of operational knowledge can continue to drive performance long after the founder has stepped away. That's what modernisation looks like for us. Capturing what works, codifying it, and integrating it into a larger platform that enhances the site's work.
Understand What Already Works
Modernisation often carries the assumption that what's there today needs replacing.
In reality, many family-owned cold storage businesses have built resilient, profitable operations. They know their customers and understand their local markets. They have been working successfully and consistently at a high-satisfaction rate.
For Dami Agbaje, Co-Founder of One Frio, that's where every modernisation process begins.
"We're rarely chasing turnaround stories. What we're trying to do is identify the secret sauce, define it and institutionalise it in a way that makes it repeatable."
That humility is an essential part of the One Frio philosophy. Rather than arriving with a predetermined operating model, the first task is understanding why a business has been successful in the first place. The goal isn't to replace what already works; it's to ensure those strengths aren't lost as the business grows or changes ownership.
The Knowledge Is The Secret Sauce
Every successful founder has knowledge that extends far beyond financial reports or operating manuals.
It influences hundreds of decisions each week: how products move through the warehouse, how customer relationships are managed, when equipment should be serviced, how quality is maintained and how problems are identified before they become operational issues.
Much of that knowledge is instinctive.
It's built over years of experience and often exists almost entirely in the founder's head.
That creates both a strength and a risk.
While founder-led businesses can operate with remarkable agility, they also become heavily dependent on one person's judgement. When ownership changes, that knowledge can disappear unless it has been deliberately captured.
One example comes from the founder of one of One Frio's acquired businesses. His facility is recognised for its controlled atmosphere storage capabilities, but the technology itself wasn't the defining advantage.The real differentiator was operational discipline.
Every process was carried out with extraordinary precision. Every routine contributed to extending the storage life of fresh produce. Yet much of that discipline relied on behaviours that had never been formally documented.
As Agbaje describes it:
"We're trying to capture that essence in a bottle."
Modernisation, in this context, isn't about changing those behaviours, rather it is about making them repeatable.
Modernisation Is a Process, Not a Project
It's tempting to think of modernisation as a capital investment programme.
In practice, it's a structured process of building a stronger operating system around an already successful business.
That process typically follows five stages:
Understand what makes the business exceptional. Identify the routines, behaviours and decisions that consistently drive performance.
Capture that knowledge. Work alongside legacy owners to document how the business actually operates.
Turn experience into systems. Develop standard operating procedures that reflect proven ways of working rather than replacing them.
Measure what matters. Introduce reporting frameworks and operational KPIs that provide visibility across the business.
Use data to guide investment. Prioritise infrastructure, technology and process improvements based on evidence rather than assumptions.
Each stage builds on the previous one.
Without understanding what already works, it's difficult to know what should change.
Turning Good Judgement Into Repeatable Systems
One Frio's approach reflects that philosophy.
Rather than imposing standard operating procedures across every acquisition, the business works alongside legacy owners during a structured transition period to understand how the site operates and what has contributed to its long-term success.
Together, they translate those insights into documented processes, measurable performance indicators and reporting frameworks that allow future leaders to manage the business with greater consistency.
As Agbaje explains:
"We're not imposing our own SOPs from the outside. We're trying to identify what's made the business successful and develop those SOPs in conjunction with the legacy owners."
The objective isn't bureaucracy. It's creating a business that can perform consistently without depending on one individual to oversee every decision.
Why Data Matters More Than Technology
Technology often dominates conversations about modernisation. But technology is only valuable if it helps operators make better decisions. Data is what enables those decisions.
Across acquired businesses, One Frio's early focus is on creating better visibility across operations. By connecting operational information into a single view of the business, patterns begin to emerge that would otherwise remain hidden. Those insights are often practical rather than dramatic.
They may reveal whether every service being delivered is correctly invoiced, where labour productivity could improve, how energy consumption varies between facilities, or whether maintenance practices are shortening the useful life of critical assets.
In one example, a portfolio-wide profitability review revealed that several long-standing customers had been receiving preferential pricing based on personal relationships with previous owners.
Those arrangements reflected the trust that often defines family-owned businesses. Viewed through consistent operational data, however, they could also be evaluated against the long-term health of the business.
Data gives organisations the confidence to understand which decisions should remain rooted in judgement and which are better supported by evidence.
Better Information Leads to Better Investment
The same principle applies to physical modernisation. Decisions about refrigeration systems, warehouse layouts or automation are expensive and long-term. Making them without understanding how the business performs, introduces unnecessary risk.
Operational data provides a clearer foundation for those investments. Lower profitability per pallet may indicate an inefficient warehouse configuration. Rising electricity costs may point towards ageing refrigeration infrastructure. Labour data may identify opportunities to redesign processes before investing in automation.
Rather than allowing technology to dictate strategy, evidence determines where investment will create the greatest operational value.
Preserving Identity While Building for the Future
One of the biggest concerns for family-owned businesses considering succession is whether their identity will survive under new ownership. It's an understandable concern.
Many businesses have earned customer loyalty through local relationships, trusted teams and ways of working that have evolved over decades. Institutionalising those businesses shouldn't mean standardising them into something unrecognisable.
That's why One Frio typically works alongside legacy owners during a six-month transition period, jointly documenting processes, identifying opportunities for improvement and developing a roadmap for the next phase of the business.
The result isn't simply a more documented organisation. It's a business that's better equipped to grow, easier to lead and more resilient as responsibility passes to the next generation. Or in other words, a more modern business.
Looking Beyond Technology
Artificial intelligence and advanced analytics will undoubtedly reshape cold storage operations over the coming years.
Routine issues will be identified more quickly. Operational anomalies will become easier to detect. Recommendations will become increasingly automated. But none of that happens without strong foundations.
Artificial intelligence cannot preserve knowledge that has never been captured. Before businesses can automate decisions, they first need to understand what good performance looks like. They need reliable data, clearly defined processes and governance frameworks that people trust.
Modernising a cold storage site isn't simply about replacing equipment or introducing new technology. It's about preserving what already works, making good judgment repeatable and giving future leaders the information they need to make better decisions.
Buildings can be upgraded. Software can be installed. Equipment can be replaced. Operational knowledge is far harder to recreate once it's has been lost.
The businesses that create the greatest long-term value over the next decade will be those that treat modernisation not as a construction project, but as the careful process of turning decades of experience into a resilient operating system.
That conversation is already underway.