Cold Link Africa March/April 2021 | Page 11

INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
INTERNATIONAL NEWS steps and multiple changes of ownership throughout this journey .”
Consumers and regulators also demand greater transparency and improved traceability of food ’ s journey from farm to fork . “ To succeed in this environment , operators must employ best practices to deliver the safe , high-quality food offerings that customers consistently expect . It starts with understanding everything that contributes to food quality and safety lanes for quicker deliveries , predict riskprone zones through heat mapping , build effective KPIs for all parties in the supply chain and generate timely alerts before a temperature excursion occurs , saving millions of dollars in product damage , cold chain disruptions and re-shipping cost .”
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES HELP OVERCOME CHALLENGES
Some of the major challenges with regards
throughout the cold chain . Stakeholders
to maintaining cold chain integrity in
at each point are now able to monitor ,
the food and beverage industry centre
control and track a variety of conditions
around building technology infrastructure
necessary for preserving food quality ,
and calibrating an optimal level of data
including temperature , humidity , lighting
exposure , adds Sharma .
and more ,” adds Patenaude .
“ Most cold chain technologies like
Extremely useful data collected by IoT devices needs to be stored and distributed in a reliable
Another trend emerging from the
data loggers and warehouse temperature
and trusted manner which blockchain technology can comprehensively fill .
pandemic is a stronger desire for shorter
monitoring systems are still infrastructureheavy
supply chains with fewer links in the chain .
leading to heavy expenditure in
In fact , a study released by The FMI – The
deployment , testing and maintenance ,”
transit , is an important piece of the future
setting the incorrect temperature or
Food Industry Association and Label
he adds . “ When it comes to data
that can improve efficiency and reduce
run-mode or a reefer running out of fuel
Insight touts the rationale for how 81 % of
exposure , platforms need to evolve
waste for the entire cold chain , helping
or catching a mechanical failure too
shoppers say transparency is important
to calibrate the data in a way that it
food and pharmaceuticals safely reach
late are everyday threats to cold chain
or extremely important to them both
is relevant for every stakeholder in the
the consumers who need them . Greater
integrity , says Jake Gardner-Rosen ,
online and in-store . The analysis offers the
journey from the factory to the customer .
connectivity can also help to better
product marketing Samsara .
leading considerations among consumers
Sharing more data without context will
manage shifts in demand like we ’ ve recently
“ With less in-person oversight due to
for how they define transparency when
lead to presumed vulnerabilities , while
seen from foodservice to food retail .”
social distancing , these challenges have
grocery shopping .
less data will lead to mistrust . This is where
To better achieve cold chain integrity ,
only increased . Our AI Dash Cams help
For instance , 42 % of shoppers
the marriage of IoT and data science
companies also turn to blockchain
keep drivers safe while they ’ re on the
believe online grocery retailers should
becomes vital — sharing accurate data
solutions .
road . Samsara offers the ability to create
be responsible for providing detailed
with context , promptly .” For its part ,
For instance , Emerson participates in
live-share links with embedded real-time
product information compared to brickand-mortar
Dematic offers solutions for lower levels
the IBM Food Trust , where it leverages
GPS data , so customers are aware of
grocers ( 35 %), and less than
of automation to make existing and
advanced cold chain technology ,“ To
precisely when a load will be arriving . We
one-half of shoppers completely trust
conventional operations more efficient .
provide temperature-related information
use real-time GPS , two-way reefer control
product information from manufacturers
“ Warehouse software , voicedirected
on in-transit , refrigerated cargo to improve
and automated alerts to help reduce load
and brands ( 41 %) or from government
picking , layer and case
shelf life estimates and food freshness ,
loss . And , after the effects of the pandemic
institutions ( 46 %).
picking automation , employee safety
enabling more actionable data for IBM
began to be felt across the industry , our
“ Companies wanting to safeguard
strategies and automating of forklifts using
Food Trust network members ,” says Amy
teams quickly created a sanitisation
their cold chains need to develop
automated guided vehicles ( AGVs ) and
Childress , vice president of marketing and
workflow within our DVIRs on the Samsara
approaches that can adapt to future
autonomous mobile robotics ( AMRs ) are
planning , cargo solutions for Emerson .
Driver app . This allows fleet managers to set
shocks , ideally avoiding huge inflexible
in place or being developed to serve the
As far as ethical supply chains , many
a digital workflow that ensures drivers are
capital expenditure that locks businesses
industry ,” says Biolchini . “ Order fulfilment
business owners are transitioning to
wiping down their vehicles at the end of
in for years and years , or even decades ,”
for e-commerce has grown dramatically .
lower global warming potential ( GWP )
their shifts , or that their peers did so before
says Dan Crossley , executive director for
This has caused a shift in how products are
refrigerants in their cooling equipment to
they left the vehicle ,” says Gardner .
the Food Ethics Council . “ We ’ re starting to
picked for fulfilment . Full pallet shipments
improve global sustainability footprints .
see a shift away from food value chains
have decreased as case-level and
“ Ever-changing refrigerant and energy
MAINTAINING FOOD SAFETY IS TOO
being mostly opaque , long and complex
sometimes each-level fulfilment have
regulations , combined with an increased
OFTEN TAKEN FOR GRANTED
toward ones that are shorter , more
increased , creating the need for additional
awareness of the environmental impacts
“ Yet food safety concerns will rise if
transparent and fully traceable . Fairness
labour and delaying deliveries . Automated
of legacy refrigeration systems , are
supply chains break down and cold
needs to be embedded at every stage ,
solutions to handle this omnichanneltype
prompting some to shift their focus to
chains fail , which is a risk with rapid
ensuring fair treatment and reward for
environment have already been
adopting sustainable best practices ,” says
changes happening to value chains
everyone in that chain . The public should
implemented in other vertical markets
Patenaude . “ Emerson continues to help
during the pandemic . Building resilience
and will be more involved in shaping higher
and can be adapted for the cold chain
support this transition by working with early
into our food system locally and
standards in future . The question businesses
industry as well .”
adopters of low-GWP refrigerants and
nationally will become a big focus in the
should be asking is , if our customers could
Likewise , Carrier Transicold ’ s solutions
supporting technologies .”
years ahead ,” says Crossley .
see everything about how our food is
platform controls transport refrigeration
“ By providing enterprise management
The new cold chain economy is
produced , distributed , stored and sold ,
equipment from a central location ,
of refrigeration and other key facility
developing in the ‘ new normal ’, largely
would they still want my product ?”
including changing cargo temperature
systems , we can help retailers preserve
driven by new consumer behaviours .
Another change post-Covid-19 is that
profiles and setpoints , and making
food quality while meeting food safety
“ Consumers are demanding greater
the custodian of ethics , transparency and
adjustments as needed while the cargo
compliance mandates ,” says Katrina Krites ,
efficiency in cold chains beyond meeting
trust is no longer the shipping company ;
is in transit . Fleets can also remotely
marketing and business development
compliance requirements . Frequency
it has become the brand owner . “[ For
and intelligently monitor and download
manager , food retail , cold chain for
of store visits are reducing and demand
example ], it was Conagra ’ s name that
temperature data reports from anywhere
Emerson .
for shelf life of perishables like fresh
took centre stage in the recent chicken
in the world via desktop , smartphone or
For in-transit monitoring Emerson
product or yogurt is increasing . Therefore ,
bowl recall , not the production facility
tablet , and share information with key
introduced Oversight 2 , a cloud-based
the new cold chain economy is about
where the problem occurred . It will be
cold chain stakeholders without having to
online portal that serves as a realtime
delivering faster and improving optimal
the same when it comes to cold chain
collect data on-site at the point of delivery .
resource for monitoring shipment
conditions throughout the supply chain ,”
integrity . The brand will be impacted much
This provides producers , drivers , transport
information such as temperature , location ,
says Sharma . “ Post-covid-19 , integrity in
more than the shipping company or the
managers and retailers vital information on
light / security and other measurements for
cold chains has evolved to comprise of
3PL that operated the truck or warehouse ,”
the products being transported as well as
perishable cargo . Oversight 2 is equipped
‘ quality plus performance ’ due to the
says Sanjay Sharma , chief executive officer
the vehicles transporting them .
with the tools to manage shipments from
rise in unpredictability . You do not have
of Roambee . “ Therefore , safeguarding
“ Cold chain system resiliency has
start to finish through its new interface ,
the luxury of swiftly re-shipping materials
the cold chain of tomorrow would mean
shown to be an even more essential
speed , performance and multi-language
if a product is rejected upon arrival .
bringing IoT-enabled visibility across the
element to supply availability ,” says Ray
capabilities . Its robust automated reporting ,
Verifying the product ’ s condition data
chain of custody to focus on performance
Newman , program manager – telematics
real-time alert information and historical
was the only pre-requisite pre-covid-19 .
in additional to verifying condition trails
for Carrier Transicold , Truck / Trailer / Rail
reports give customers insight into the status
Today , there is need for live visibility plus
using data loggers . AI and analytics
Americas . “ Greater connectivity through
of their in-transit cargo .
condition data all along the chain of
coupled with first-hand sensor location
use of new digital technologies , such as
What ’ s more is , human errors such
custody to meet the evolved definition of
and condition is making it possible to score
remote monitoring of refrigerated goods in
as neglecting to pre-cool a trailer ,
cold chain integrity .”
CLA
COLD LINK AFRICA • March / April 2021 www . coldlinkafrica . co . za

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