Cold storage can protect physical quality, but it can also hide slow-moving inventory. A product that remains saleable may still destroy return on capital if cash is tied up for too long, storage cost rises and later discounting becomes necessary.
Management should review stock by age bucket, landed cost, current market value, expected selling price, storage cost, receivable cycle and realistic exit route. The decision may be to hold, reprice, redistribute, repackage or liquidate rather than simply continue storing.
Protect product and cash together
Import buying, cold-storage occupancy and distribution targets should share the same stock-aging data so that commercial decisions are made before inventory becomes a problem.