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IOT-ENABLED PALLETS FOR TRACKING PERISHABLE GOODS

To support ensure quality transportation of temperature-sensitive goods in the food and beverage industry, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) introduced requirements for refrigerated trucking operators to supply proof of temperature compliance, when requested, on a load-by-load basis. Unfortunately, this creates a burden on carriers and receiving warehouses to validate these shipments. These data needs can be measured with devices on trucks or on freight. However, the haphazard way in which the data is collected on logged devices makes it diffi cult to operationalize at scale. Additionally, the need to manually locate and recover data logging devices adds labor, delays and additional failure points into compliance efforts.

The industry has long recognized that automatically logging and reporting temperature, location and other environmental conditions at the pallet level would be an ideal solution and provide the most accurate readings of product temperature at all locations within a trailer. Unfortunately, providing this capability in a scalable, reliable, cost-effective and easy-to-use way has proven elusive. Even with recent spikes in hardwood pricing and the downstream effects of increased prices, reusable wooden pallets remain the best obtainable priceper-shipment for producers. However, current major pool providers do not provide cost-effective, reliable, fully instrumented pallets, and the recycled wooden pallet market is unlikely to offer a standardized instrumented pallet. One possible solution is affi xing Internet of Things (IoT) devices to pallets prior to shipment. Devices typically come already connected to a platform to log and report data, but adds signifi cant costs and requires multiple steps to provide shipment visibility. But, if a customer manually attaches the device to a pallet, pairs that device with a shipment, associates that shipment with their customer account, most will continue to do without IoT tracking at the pallet level. When measurement is conducted across a shipper’s entire supply chain, not only are logis-

ADVERTISER INDEX

ADVERTISER ......................................................................................................PAGE

BM2 Freight Services .......................................................................................................11 CJ Logistics ........................................................................................................................5 Controlant .........................................................................................................................29 DSW Distribution ..............................................................................................................26 Great Dane Trailers Inc. ....................................................................................................46 H&M Bay Inc.....................................................................................................................40 IFDA ..................................................................................................................................33 Isuzu Truck .......................................................................................................................17 Liberty Cold ......................................................................................................................26 Lily Transportation ............................................................................................................39 Mack Truck Corporation ...................................................................................................45 MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company ...........................................................................2 PSSI ..................................................................................................................................43 Q Products and Services....................................................................................................7 Red Classic ........................................................................................................................9 RLS LOGISTICS ...............................................................................................................23 Romark Logistics ..............................................................................................................25 Syfan Logistics .................................................................................................................31 Thermo King .....................................................................................................................13 Transervice Logistics, Inc. ................................................................................................39 Utility Trailers ....................................................................................................................19 Witron ...............................................................................................................................27 Affixing IoT devices to pallets prior to ship-

ment is one way carriers can track temperature of products along the way.

tics managers able to monitor individual shipments, but executives also receive the high-level aggregations and KPIs needed to optimize large operations. With temperatures measured and automatically validated on a per-truckload basis, consignees know before a truck arrives at a dock that the temperature has been maintained, dramatically reducing the work of arrival-time verifi cations.

Any solution that is deployed must be simple, cost-effective and scalable. It must also be capable of integrating with a wide range of shippers’ and suppliers’ enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. IoT-enabled pallets bring together the latest in sustainable plastic pallets and IoT to provide a scalable, easy-to-use means to achieve budgetary, timing and environmental constraints across their supply chain. Go to foodl.me/56wcp9 to read the remainder of this expert column.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MIKE JONES

principal,

Pallet Alliance

HOW TRANSIT PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY AND MATERIALS ENSURE FOOD INDUSTRY SAFETY

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic dramatically impacted all industries. In the last nine months of 2020, some online grocery retailers saw order volumes surge 500%, according to CNBC. Digitalcommerce360.com reports that in the United States, “68% of consumers ordered groceries online for home delivery between March and late August 2020.” McKinsey & Company projects that 45% of consumers intend to continue ordering online post-pandemic.

This dramatic growth of online grocery shopping combined with a short-term increase in people stocking up on food has increased pressure to keep pace with demand, minimize waste and uphold the highest quality and safety standards.

Consumer food products

Once raw ingredients have traveled safely to the store shelves or food processor, things get more complicated. For instance, consider dairy products, for example, and their distinct transportation safety demands driven by differing shelf-life requirements and manufacturing environments.

Dairy must keep up with high demands as millions of gallons of milk are sold daily in the United States alone. The difference is these products have much tighter timeframes in terms of processing, packaging and shipping to preserve shelf life. Speed and reliability are a top concern in this environment. Any machine downtime in the palletizing zone can cause a myriad of problems upstream and greatly affect product shelf life. Having a strapping or stretch that can withstand the cold and challenging conditions of a dairy processing plant is critical to maintain shelf life.

Produce

Produce takes a different journey. Corrugated boxes typically used for packaging produce are often stored outside in the fields where produce is picked. If these boxes get wet due to exposure outdoors or otherwise, moisture can spread to the produce.

Using a stretch film with multi-layer technology effectively manages sunlight to reduce condensation and creates an impermeable barrier to liquids, while still providing barcode readability. However,

Signode

 Innovation and optimization of end-of-line packaging and logistics operations provides a

critical opportunity to benefit the whole supply chain.

sealing with strech film can cause moisture to build up on the pallet. To create necessary airflow, many growers will apply edge protection to the stacked pallet and secure the load with plastic strapping. This enables the produce to stay well secured and ventilated during transport.

Automation and shelf life

Automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) are available to prioritize product picking by expiration date. Finding a solution suited for cold storage that automatically tracks and stores items based on shelf life and expiration is necessary to ensure food products are stored and transported safely.

Beyond COVID-19

Transit packaging solutions can help to improve operations and increase profit by helping to reduce spoilage, breakage and potential for mold growth.

Ensuring safety and minimizing food loss work in tandem. A USDA report estimates that the total value of wasted food— in-transit, in-store and in-home—is more than $160 billion annually. It comprises 133 billion pounds (31%) of the 430 billion pounds of food produced in the United States each year.

Innovation and optimization of end-ofline packaging and logistics operations provides a critical opportunity to benefit the whole supply chain. Go to foodl.me/hz2mx8 to read the remainder of this expert column.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TIM GARDNER

load containment solutions segment manager, Signode