Snowman Logistics is India’s largest cold chain network, built to solve a simple but hard problem: keeping perishable food and life-saving medicines at precise temperatures as they move across a vast, hot country where reliable cold storage has always been scarce. It began in 1993 as a warehousing venture, was acquired by rail-logistics group Gateway Distriparks in 2006, and has since transformed from a storage provider into a full-service logistics partner that can own a client’s inventory, manage its procurement, and deliver to its last mile. The recurring approach is to offer more of the supply chain under one roof - first the warehouse, then the truck, then the trading desk - so that large food and pharma companies get a single, accountable partner instead of stitching together dozens of small, unorganised operators. # Business segments Three engines that stack on top of each other - a warehousing foundation that owns the cold rooms, a transportation arm that moves goods between them, and a trading-and-distribution layer that takes over the client’s entire supply chain, from buying raw materials to billing the end customer. ## 1. Temperature-controlled warehousing: the cold rooms that anchor the network **A pan-India footprint of 45 large, multi-temperature warehouses - the largest such network in the country - earns steady per-pallet storage fees from food and pharma companies that cannot build this infrastructure themselves.** - **Paid by the pallet, month after month** - revenue comes from per-pallet-per-month charges for storage space, with a mix of fixed committed rent and variable fees for extra handling, repacking, or blast freezing, giving the business a base of recurring income. - **The largest cold chain network in India** - 45 warehouses across 21 cities hold 1,54,319 pallets of capacity, with chambers that can maintain any temperature from +20°C down to -25°C, and blast freezers that plunge to -40°C. - **Utilisation stays high because demand outstrips organised supply** - the network ran at roughly 86% utilisation in FY26 and 91% in FY25, as India’s fragmented cold storage sector leaves few alternatives that can match Snowman’s scale and compliance standards. - **New capacity is increasingly asset-light** - the company still builds its own warehouses, like the 5,630-pallet Kolkata facility, but it has also opened its first fully leased cold store in Guwahati and is adding Built-to-Suit facilities in Pune and Patna, reducing the upfront capital needed to grow. - **A-grade certifications unlock pharma and export customers** - facilities carry ISO 22000 for food safety, BRC certification (with one warehouse achieving AA+ grade), and compliance with the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, so the rooms are ready for everything from ice cream to vaccines. ## 2. Refrigerated transportation: the trucks that connect the cold rooms **A fleet of over 600 specialised vehicles, a mix of owned and leased, moves temperature-sensitive goods from factory to warehouse to shop - and the company earns a fee on every trip or kilometre.** - **Two brands for two jobs** - SNOWLINE® handles long-haul primary transport in 12-to-18-ton loads from suppliers to central warehouses, while SNOWREACH® does short-haul secondary and last-mile distribution in smaller, multi-temperature vehicles. - **The command centre watches every truck, all the time** - a 24x7 on-premise control room uses IoT sensors to monitor vehicle location and chamber temperature in real time, with system-triggered alerts if something drifts out of range, so a broken reefer does not go unnoticed. - **A marketplace model gives customers choice** - the proprietary SnowLink platform aggregates third-party fleet capacity alongside Snowman’s own vehicles; customers bid trip-by-trip, and Snowman takes a margin on the price the customer sets, a “price-minus” model that keeps asset utilisation flexible. - **Every warehouse has reefer plugs** - trucks can plug into the cold chain at loading bays to maintain temperature integrity during loading and unloading, closing the gap where most cold chain breaks happen. ## 3. Fifth-party logistics and trading: running the client’s supply chain **Snowman does not just store and move goods - it buys them, owns the inventory, and sells to the end customer on a just-in-time basis, becoming an outsourced supply chain department for brands like IKEA and Baskin Robbins.** - **It takes title to the goods** - unlike a traditional 3PL that merely handles someone else’s stock, Snowman’s 5PL model means it onboards vendors, audits their plants, negotiates prices, buys the product, consolidates it in its warehouses, and then sells it to the client, recognising revenue only when title transfers. - **First mover in Indian cold chain 5PL** - the company launched the service in October 2022 and was the first in the sector to do so, giving it a head start in a model that creates deep customer stickiness because switching means rebuilding an entire procurement and distribution operation. - **A consignment agency extends the model to retail** - under the SnowAgent brand, Snowman manages procurement, distribution, invoicing, and even receivables collection for manufacturers, with a single-window bill covering the entire post-manufacturing cycle. - **Technology makes just-in-time possible** - the Snowman Order Management System (SOMS) gives clients an online portal for order creation and approvals, while in-house IT provides complete visibility across inventory, billing, and deliveries, so the client sees everything without running any of it. # Technology and quality infrastructure **A proprietary digital backbone - built in-house - gives every segment real-time visibility and control, while a stack of international certifications turns cold storage rooms into audited, compliant facilities that pharma and export customers can trust.** - **One integrated system runs the warehouses** - Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central acts as the combined ERP and Warehouse Management System, handling operations, finance, CRM, and analytics in a single platform. - **IoT sensors feed a 24x7 command centre** - vehicles and chambers are monitored dynamically with system-triggered alerts, and digital locks on chambers and trucks add a layer of physical security that is controlled electronically. - **150-plus quality audits a year** - the company conducts over 150 quality audits and 140 travel path checks annually, and holds certifications including BRC (with an AA+ grade at one site), EIA at four warehouses, and MPEDA for marine product handling. - **Solar power cuts energy costs across the network** - rooftop solar installations at 14 locations generate about 7.4 million units annually, supplying roughly a quarter of the company’s energy needs, while battery-operated material handling equipment runs inside every warehouse. # Group structure and partners **Snowman is a 50.01% subsidiary of Gateway Distriparks, India’s largest private container train operator - a parent that brings rail-linked logistics muscle and a shared management team, but Snowman itself has no subsidiaries of its own.** - **Gateway Distriparks holds majority control** - GDL acquired its stake in 2006 and raised it to just over 50% through a creeping acquisition in December 2024, making Snowman a consolidated subsidiary within a group that also runs 34 container trains and a network of inland container depots and container freight stations. - **The boardroom is shared** - GDL’s Chairman and Joint Managing Directors serve as Snowman’s Chairman and Directors, and the two companies hold joint earnings calls, signalling tight operational alignment. - **No subsidiaries, no joint ventures** - Snowman is a standalone operating company with no equity interests in other entities, keeping its structure simple and its cash flows transparent.