Build the Foundation for a Career in Cold Chain Logistics
Preserve Product Integrity. Protect Public Health. Advance Your Career.
The American Certified Cold Chain Associate (AC-CCA)® is the foundational professional certification for individuals seeking careers in temperature-controlled logistics, pharmaceutical distribution, healthcare supply chains, food logistics, biotechnology, and refrigerated transportation.
Awarded by the American Association of Procurement, Supply Chain and Tourism Management (AAPSCM®), the certification develops the essential knowledge, practical skills, and operational competencies required to support the safe handling, storage, transportation, monitoring, and distribution of temperature-sensitive products throughout the global cold chain.
Whether transporting life-saving vaccines, pharmaceuticals, biologics, laboratory specimens, fresh produce, frozen foods, or specialty chemicals, maintaining the integrity of the cold chain is critical to protecting product quality, public health, regulatory compliance, and customer confidence.
The AC-CCA® certification prepares participants to contribute effectively to modern cold chain operations by developing competency in cold storage, refrigerated transportation, inventory management, temperature monitoring, quality assurance, documentation, traceability, and operational best practices.
Why Earn the AC-CCA® Certification?
The global cold chain industry continues to expand rapidly due to increasing demand for pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biologics, food safety, healthcare logistics, and international trade. Organizations worldwide require qualified professionals who understand the operational principles necessary to maintain uninterrupted temperature-controlled supply chains.
The AC-CCA® certification enables professionals to:
- Build a strong foundation in cold chain logistics and temperature-controlled supply chains.
- Develop practical skills applicable across healthcare, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, food, and logistics industries.
- Understand industry best practices for product handling, storage, transportation, and documentation.
- Strengthen employability with an internationally recognized professional credential.
- Demonstrate commitment to quality, safety, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence.
- Prepare for advancement into professional, supervisory, and managerial cold chain roles.
- Establish a pathway toward advanced AAPSCM® Cold Chain certifications.
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Course Description
The American Certified Cold Chain Associate (AC-CCA)® certification provides comprehensive foundational knowledge and practical understanding of the processes for safely managing temperature-sensitive products throughout the supply chain.
Participants learn how products are received, inspected, stored, handled, monitored, transported, documented, and delivered while maintaining required environmental conditions that preserve product quality and regulatory compliance.
The program introduces internationally recognized principles used throughout healthcare, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, food, agriculture, humanitarian logistics, and temperature-controlled transportation.
Key learning areas include:
- Cold chain logistics fundamentals
- Temperature-sensitive product management
- Cold storage operations
- Refrigerated transportation
- Packaging and thermal protection
- Temperature monitoring technologies
- Inventory management and traceability
- Quality assurance
- Regulatory compliance
- Risk management
- Professional workplace practices
- Emerging cold chain technologies
Throughout the certification, participants learn how operational discipline, documentation accuracy, quality management, and continuous monitoring work together to protect product integrity while supporting patient safety, consumer confidence, and organizational performance.
Certification Objectives
Upon successful completion of the American Certified Cold Chain Associate (AC-CCA)® certification, participants will be able to:
- Explain the principles, structure, and operational importance of cold chain logistics.
- Identify temperature-sensitive products and understand their storage, handling, transportation, and monitoring requirements.
- Support cold storage, warehousing, inventory, and refrigerated transportation operations.
- Apply appropriate temperature monitoring, environmental control, and documentation practices.
- Recognize packaging, labeling, insulation, and product protection requirements.
- Identify operational risks, temperature excursions, and product integrity issues.
- Support inventory control, stock rotation, traceability, and recall readiness.
- Apply quality assurance, Good Distribution Practices (GDP), and regulatory compliance principles.
- Respond appropriately to operational deviations, emergencies, and contingency situations.
- Demonstrate professionalism, accountability, ethical conduct, and workplace responsibility throughout cold chain operations.
Program Learning Outcomes
Graduates of the AC-CCA® certification will possess the foundational competencies required to support temperature-controlled logistics across diverse industries.
Upon successful completion, participants will be able to:
Cold Chain Fundamentals
Explain the principles, terminology, stakeholders, and operational processes that support modern temperature-controlled supply chains.
Temperature-Sensitive Products
Identify handling requirements for pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biologics, laboratory specimens, food products, chemicals, and other temperature-sensitive materials.
Cold Storage Operations
Support receiving, inspection, storage, inventory management, picking, packing, staging, and dispatching activities within refrigerated warehouse environments.
Refrigerated Transportation
Describe refrigerated transportation systems, loading procedures, transit monitoring, delivery requirements, and product protection practices.
Packaging and Labeling
Select appropriate packaging methods, insulation materials, refrigerants, labels, and handling instructions to maintain product integrity.
Monitoring and Documentation
Use temperature monitoring technologies while maintaining accurate operational documentation and regulatory records.
Quality and Compliance
Apply quality assurance principles, sanitation practices, workplace safety requirements, and Good Distribution Practices (GDP).
Inventory and Traceability
Support inventory control, lot and batch management, FEFO practices, product traceability, and recall readiness.
Risk and Deviation Management
Recognize operational risks, temperature excursions, equipment failures, and deviation reporting procedures.
Professional Practice
Demonstrate ethical conduct, teamwork, communication, accountability, customer service, and continuous professional development.
AC-CCA® Virtual/Online Instructor-led 4-day Training
Select an instructor tab to view session details and full trainer profile.
Gleb Mikulich – AAPSCM® Executive Trainer | Supply Chain Strategist | Digital Transformation Leader
Gleb Mikulich is a seasoned professional with over a decade of expertise in supply chain, procurement, logistics, and digital transformation. He has collaborated with globally recognized organizations, including Accenture, Procter & Gamble (P&G), Pfizer, CNH Industrial, and Mediterranean Shipping Company, delivering impactful solutions across diverse industries.
- Industry-leading experience in Global Supply Chain Operations – Gleb has collaborated with top-tier industry leaders such as Accenture, Procter & Gamble, Pfizer, CNH, and Mediterranean Shipping Company, delivering measurable results in supply chain integration, procurement modernization, and performance optimization.
- Certified Supply Chain & Project Management Expert – Gleb holds industry-recognized credentials, including SCPro Certified (Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals), and additional certifications in Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, PMP, and PMI-ACP, showcasing his multidisciplinary expertise in process improvement, agile project leadership, and operational efficiency.
- Advanced Academic Credentials in Strategy & Digital Technologies – Gleb earned an MBA from IE Business School, with a concentration in strategy, operations, and digital technologies, and pursued advanced supply chain management training through MITx, equipping him with cutting-edge insights into global logistics, data-driven decision-making, and tech-enabled supply chains.
- Recognized Leader & Emerging Talent in the Field – Gleb is the recipient of the Young Professionals Emerging Leader Award from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), and a lifetime member of Beta Gamma Sigma, a recognition of academic excellence and leadership in business education.
Dr. Jason Matyus – Advisory Board Executive Director, Training, Course Development, and Examination
Dr. Matyus is the Advisory Board Director for Course Development, Training, and Examination. Dr. Jason Matyus’s career spans many disciplines. Dr. Matyus started as a public school teacher. After leaving teaching he worked for 20 years as a business professional working for two Fortune 500 Companies. Within those 20 years, he had varying roles that touched Project Management, logistics and Supply Chain, Procurement, Corporate Trainer, and Leadership. After receiving his MBA in Leadership and Doctorate in Business Management, he spent the last 5 years in higher education. In addition to his work in business, he is also on the Board of Directors for Cornerstone Care and the Carmichaels Area School District Board of Education and currently serves on the Farmville Urban Development Board.
Séverine Boulard – AAPSCM® Executive Trainer
Séverine Boulard is an international HR consultant, trainer, and founder of HR Graff Consulting GmbH, Switzerland. With over 20 years of experience in global HR leadership roles across banking, finance, consulting, fintech, and high-growth international environments, she specializes in HR transformation, compliance, talent strategy, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness. She has led HR functions across multiple jurisdictions and is recognised for combining strategic expertise with practical, business-focused execution. Séverine delivers engaging training programs designed to translate complex HR topics into real-world leadership capability. She holds a European Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management and completed executive studies in HR Transformation through Cornell University. She trains in English, French, German, and Russian.
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