Rates are often determined in dollars per kilogram. All approximated percentages were provided complimentary by HPL Hellmann. Again, it is important to notice that rates vary enormously according to many factors. The vendor is the first link of the chain. His role is to ship perishables and he has the choice of contacting a logistics provider to deliver safely his load to destination.
Some providers have local offices offering a service of consultation and, sometimes, engineering.
His decision will be based on rates, time delays and customer service. Once he settles for a carrier, the goods start moving throughout the chain. First, value-added service might be offered to the vendor. In the market of perishables, these might take the form of special packaging, cooling of produces, labeling, etc. Expertise from the provider in the domain of perishables is necessary because of their fragility and short shelf-life.