Modex: In the Rear View Mirror

Last week Intelleflex was at the Modex 2012 exhibition in Atlanta.  Modex is focused on supply chain and materials handling.  We had a modest booth in the technology section of the massive Atlanta World Congress Convention Center. As this was the inaugural Modex event, we didn’t know what to expect.

We were very pleasantly surprised.

We were very busy!

Our theme was Actionable Data and focused on three key benefits:

• Monitoring product temperature and condition for proactive decision making
• Optimizing inventory management ( FEFO +)
• Avoiding waste and shrink for rapid ROI

I was amazed with how many people from retail grocers, third party logistics providers, end user customers and integrators stopped by.  The theme resonated. People need to better understand the condition and status of their products and assets as they move through the supply chain.  The conversations were interesting as booth visitors described their challenges and asked how Intelleflex could help.

Intelleflex at Modex 2012

Going into the show, I wasn’t sure if it would be one we would pursue again but, not only will we be back at Modex 2014, we’ll be at ProMat 2013.  (The shows rotate.)

I also want to give a shout out to AIM who invited our CEO, Peter Mehring, to speak to an audience about the benefits of pallet-level temperature monitoring and present our blackberry case study.

Peter Mehring Speaks at Modex

If you’d like more information about how Intelleflex can help you address challenges with your supply chain or asset tracking application, please click here or email me.

Kevin Payne

Senior Director of Marketing

Get Your Actionable Data Here

Modex is a huge supply chain and logistics event being held in Atlanta from February 6-9.  You’ll find most everything you could imagine relating to a supply chain at this exhibition from automated forklifts to packaging machinery and software and hardware solutions. Intelleflex has a small booth on the show floor and we’re meeting with quite a few companies that have need for temperature monitoring and track and trace solutions.

Get Actionable Data at Modex booth 204

It’s always interesting to hear the different problems people are trying to solve. Many had previously thought that in-transit temperature monitoring wasn’t feasible or cost-effective but they’re pleasantly surprised when the come by and see Intelleflex XC3 Technology-powered solutions in action. If you’re in Atlanta for the show, please stop by and say hello.  Or, if you just want to know more about the benefits of Actionable Data, click here.

Kevin Payne

Senior Director of Marketing

Trucking Industry Deals with the Food Safety Modernization Act

There’s a great article in Fleet Owner Magazine that describes the looming impact of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) on the trucking industry.  While the details of the law are still being hammered out, the law does require the secretary of the US Health and Human Services (HHS) department to “promulgate regulations onsanitary transportation practices for the transportationof food.” Further it requires HHS to “improve tracking and tracing of processed foods and fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities in the event of a food-borne illness outbreak; and establish standards for the type of information, format, and time frame for persons to submit records to aid the secretary in such tracking and tracing.”

The FSMA Will Impact the Trucking Industry

Carriers are being urged to utilize technology to help assure the integrity and safety of their goods and, in the case of temperature-controlled food for instance, also help to reduce spoilage and loss. According to Dr. John Ryan, president of Ryan Systems, it is the shippers’ customers’ that are the ones holding the whip handle. According to Ryan, food spoilage in transit is also “a huge issue.” The article states that approximately 5 to 7% of food is lost in transit. But using technology to monitor temperature and to optimize cargo loading and routing can be a big help.

“Mostly, the suppliers’ customers are the ones who want to know the data about the perishables they are paying for,” says Ryan. “They are driving this because they are the ones on the front line facing the customer, the end user. Their message [to carriers] is plain: You are responsible for what you are shipping to me.”

Ryan then discusses sensor-based technologies and how RFID can help. “You can use sensors to get temperature readings at the pallet level and you can use GPS to track the load and cellular technology to transmit the temperature data in real time.

RFID-based sensors can also enable dynamic routing to improve the delivery and freshness of produce.“Produce with the shortest shelf life should be delivered first and through the shortest route,” Ryan notes, “in order to give that retailer the most shelf life possible. Technology makes that doable.”

Intelleflex data confirms this to be true.  There’s a lot of temperature variability – at the pallet level – in the trailers. You can read our case study on the impacts of temperature on blackberries here.

Kevin Payne

Senior Director of Marketing

Read the Case Study

 

US Grocery Store Shelves Stocked with Imports

Which of these statements is true?

• Half of the fresh fruit we eat in the USA comes from outside of the country.
• 86% of the shrimp, salmon, tilapia and other fish we consume comes from outside of the USA.
• About 25% of our orange juice is imported into the USA.

The answer is “all of the above”.  According to a recent article by Christina Rexrode of the Associated Press, America’s desire for food produced overseas is growing.  The USDA states that 16.8% of the food in the USA is imported, up from 11.3% two decades ago.

Half of the Fresh Fruit in the USA is Imported

Why? Several reasons are cited including improved communications and transportation systems but, in many cases, it’s simply cheaper to produce food abroad where wages are often lower and there are fewer environmental regulations. There’s also a shift in America’s food preferences due to increasing immigration. Add to that the fact that Americans want their favorite foods all year around meaning that berries, spinach and other produce have to be imported during the winter months.

What are the implications for food quality and safety? Time and temperature equal freshness and proper handling and storage in transit helps to prevent spoilage and the growth of human pathogens. To help ensure quality and safety, it’s critical to monitor and document the temperature of produce every step of the way, especially if the product is spending extended time in transit aboard container ships, airplanes or trucks.  And, it’s important that a comprehensive history of the product is recorded and stored with the product in the event of a recall.

Wireless, in-transit temperature monitoring solutions address these needs in a cost effective manner.  You can learn more here.

Kevin Payne

Senior Director of Marketing

 

Why Do I shop at _______?

Why do consumers select a particular grocery store?  The answer is because of the store’s fresh produce. People are increasingly searching for healthy food options and heading for fresh fruits and vegetables.

Progressive Grocer‘s December issue features its annual Produce Operations Review which provides a snapshot of the foremost issues the average retail produce director deals with on an annual basis.  Three of the top six concerns relate to produce quality, customer satisfaction and reducing shrink.  (The other three are economic concerns to the retailer. 14 reasons were listed in the survey results.)

1. Wholesale Prices
2. Competition from Supermarkets
3. Quality of Product
4. Shrink/Spoilage
5. Profits
6. Customer Satisfaction Levels

Shoppers are increasingly scouting out the freshest, highest value produce they can find.  They don’t want to spend their precious dollars on produce that will go bad the next day.  If they buy a basket of strawberries on Friday only to find that come Saturday morning the berries are fuzzy and molding, they’ll likely consider switching to another store.  This puts the onus on the retailer to ensure adequate shelf life and quality of the produce they sell.  But visual inspection isn’t always adequate to ensure the produce will remain fresh long enough for the consumer to enjoy it.

Fresh, High Value Produce is Key to Customer Satisfaction

In-transit temperature monitoring can help.  Temperature monitoring can provide a shelf life index (or freshness factor) that tells the grocer that the produce he or she is receiving from distribution is fresh enough to sell, providing actionable data that goes well beyond visual inspection.  Interestingly, by improving the quality of produce, retailers can create competitive advantage that helps address the other three issues relating to pricing, profits and competition! You can learn more about this by reading our case study and white paper or email me.

Here’s to a healthy and fresh 2012!

Kevin Payne

Senior Director of Marketing

RFID in the Pharmaceutical Industry

A recent issue of The PDA Letter (October 2011) featured an article titled “Evaluating the Use of RFID in the Pharmaceutical Industry”. The article was great about highlighting many of the benefits and issues associated with using RFID solutions, especially related to the reduction of counterfeiting and theft and improving supply chain security. Unfortunately, the article raised some concerns about the use of RFID in pharmaceuticals that no longer apply.  Let me explain.

Examining RFID in Pharmaceuticals

Prior to joining Intelleflex, I was in charge of the anti-counterfeiting serialization program at Genzyme.  I was a big believer (and frankly still am) of using 2D barcode technology for tracking individual units of pharmaceuticals. At the case- and pallet-level however, RFID is a much more effective solution than barcodes, especially now that there are good RFID tags for storing the information related to the inference data that also features chain of custody recording capabilities.

As indicated in the article, over the past couple of years, many advances have been made towards an industry-wide adoption of RFID but few of have yet to take advantage of the additional benefits next generation RFID Class 3 Battery Assisted Passive (BAP) tags that companies like Intelleflex manufacture.  These BAP tags offer many new features and capabilities towards improving the documented proof of efficacy at delivery, actionable data for in-transit monitoring and for serialization. These tags, with their built in memory and processor, are able to log and store condition data of the product from inside the package while providing secure access.  They’re also are FAA compliant, with a much longer free air read range than traditional passive RFID tags that provides the power to penetrate the packaging without opening or tampering.

The article raises unfounded concerns surrounding what, if any, impact RFID would have on biologics and their efficacy. As reported in The RFID Journal,  the University of Southern Florida recently conducted a study on the drug/biologics efficacy impact of RFID and came up with no evidence of any such impact.

Class 3  is definitely worth a look for your pharma supply chain applications.

Peter Norton

Senior Cold Chain Consultant – Intelleflex

Feeding 9 Billion People: Increase Post-harvest Yield

The United Nations recently completed the first-ever global assessment the Earth’s land resources.  The assessment cited that a quarter of all land is highly degraded and warning the trend must be reversed – not stopped but reversed –  if the world’s growing population is to be fed.  (This article was published throughout the media, including here.)

American Public Media’s MarketPlace hosted by Kai Ryssdal is also running a series on this issue titled “Food for 9 Billion“.

Most of the World's Arable Land is Already Planted

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that farmers will have  to produce an astonishing 70 percent more food by 2050 to meet the needs of the world’s expected 9 billion-strong population…that’s 1 billion tons more wheat, rice and other cereals and 200 million more tons of beef and other livestock.

The problem is that most arable land is already being farmed in ways that lead to erosion and the wasting of water – another increasingly limited resource. According to the FAO, that means that to meet the world’s future food needs, a major “sustainable intensification” of agricultural productivity on existing farmland will be necessary.

In addition to focusing on “sustainable intensification”, we can also invest in methods to increase the post-harvest yield of agricultural crops.  $35 billion in produce is lost annually in North America and Europe alone and half of that is due to poor temperature management. By improving the monitoring and management of the temperature of produce from the field to the retailer, we can bring more fresh, quality food to the table and do so without planting a single additional crop.  You can learn more about how this works by watching this on-demand webinar.  What’s more, the savings (and additional profits that result) essentially pay for the solution.  It’s a win for the producers, consumers and mother earth.

Kevin Payne

Senior Director of Marketing

Poor Temperature Management Ruins Vaccines

An article in the San Mateo (California) Daily Journal earlier this month discusses a $50,000 fine levied against a Kaiser Foundation hospital in San Francisco for improperly storing vaccines below freezing temperatures, potentially weakening the inoculations and tuberculosis skin test solutions for up to 3,921 patients. As a result, several patients became sick and one died.

Has This Been Stored Properly?

The article cites a 2009 study by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) which found that vaccines were refrigerated at temperatures as low as minus eight degrees Celsius for a 32-month span rendering the vaccination status for nearly 4,000 patients either ineffective or unknown. According to the article, the hospital subsequently replaced the vaccine stock and installed a manual temperature monitoring system, according to its response to the CDPH.

Is a manual temperature monitoring system adequate when it comes to the effectiveness of vaccines and the safety of patients?

Often vaccines and medications are stored in refrigerators at nursing stations or various locations around a hospital or clinic, making monitoring or control challenging at best. I’ve heard stories about refrigerators left open to warm up or even people storing sodas and lunches in the same refrigerator with the pharmaceuticals.

Since cost-effective, automated systems that can monitor the temperature/condition of a product and provide automatic alerts are warnings are available on the market, it seems obvious that they should be implemented to help ensure patient safety.  Relying on manual systems will likely only lead to continued health issues and unacceptable risks.

Kevin Payne

Senior Director of Marketing

Cold Chain Distribution in London

Last week’s SMi Cold Chain Distribution conference in London focused heavily on the critical importance of monitoring and managing temperature sensitive pharmaceuticals throughout the supply chain.  Topics ranged from compliance, quality and risk management to data security and in-transit temperature monitoring.

One of my favorite session titles was Why should I blow my budget on a specialist courier?

The answer to that question is because they know how to handle precious and sensitive cargo.  Not all couriers can do that with the same level of precision and guarantee.  I learned that particular lesson the hard way when some of our materials got stuck in customs.

Intelleflex at SMi in London

As manufacturers and couriers are becoming increasingly dependent on temperature sensitive products and global logistics, it’s becoming increasingly important for the couriers and 3PLs to provide state-of-the-art value added services.  Visitors at the Intelleflex exhibit were excited to learn that there’s now a solution on the market that delivers the ability to access temperature and condition data about a product in-transit through the packaging without having to open or unseal the container.  There are multiple benefits to this approach.  First, actionable data obtained in-transit can be used to correct for potential excursions before they occur, potentially saving precious cargo and reducing the risk of wasting a vaccine or medicine.  Additionally, couriers can now provide a documented proof of quality, demonstrating that they have properly managed the shipment throughout transit – something that they can’t presently do with USB data loggers.

The challenges faced in Europe are the same as those faced in America and Asia-Pac: optimizing cold chain operations to improve profitability.  Actionable data about the condition of a product as it moves through the supply chain does just that. If you’d like a copy of the presentation that Peter Mehring delivered at the conference, please email me and I’ll send you a copy.

Happy holidays!

Kevin Payne

Senior Director of Marketing

 

 

Join Our Webinar: A Case Study on Delivered Freshness

Temperature has a profound impact on the quality and delivered freshness of fresh produce and perishable foods.  But how much of an impact?  Intelleflex and ProWare Services recently published a case study that documented the impact of temperature on fresh berries being shipped from Mexico into the United States.  Between the fields and the packing house and the packing house to the distribution centers, temperature conditions varied widely, affecting shelf life and shrink.

In conjunction with Food Logistics Magazine, Intelleflex is presenting the results of this case study on a December 15 webinar.  You can register for the webinar by clicking here.

Key findings included:

• Shrink begins in the field as temperature variations and transportation times to the packing house are significant.
• Proper pre-cooling plays a huge role in relative shelf life.
• Knowing the temperature history of each pallet enables you to dynamically route based on relative shelf life.
• In-transit conditions vary significantly in trailers – by as much as 30%.
• You can cost-effectively reduce shrink and improve delivered freshness.

Register Now for the Intelleflex - Food Logistics Webinar

I hope you’ll be able to join us on December 15.  I think you’ll find the case study data invaluable and compelling.

 

Kevin Payne

Senior Director of Marketing