author(s)
Dr. Andukuri Raj Shravanthi and Dr. K Mahendran

abstract
Cold chains are essential for extending the shelf life and reducing transport bottlenecks during peak period of production. The present study was conducted to examine the relationship and information management activities of Cold Storage Warehouses (CSW) with its stakeholders in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. 45 cold storage warehouses were selected adopting a snow ball sampling method. 180 farmers and 60 traders were randomly interviewed for research investigation. The results revealed that the customers storing in CSW in Guntur were majorly farmers who occupied 160 thousand tonnes capacity of cold storage space followed by traders and processing industries. The major attributes that influenced CSW selection by the stakeholders was proper temperature maintenance and regulation, followed by transportation facilities in case of traders and advice by commission agents on cold storage warehouse choice in the case of farmers. Farmers showed higher loyalty than traders. Hence if CSW gave priority to farmers over other customers in providing storage space, both the CSW and farmers would benefit. Word of mouth, mobile calls and SMS were commonly used modes of communication in these cold storage warehouses.