A lot of value loss occurs due to poor control of conditions during transport of fresh produce. In fruit transport alone, 5 to 8 per cent of the cargo is lost. A consortium of parties, led by TNO and Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, is investigating how to counter this with Internet of Things (IoT).
The project, co-funded by the Top Sector Logistics, was recently launched and will run for two years. The consortium is focusing on improving the use of existing sensorics, as well as deploying new types of affordable sensors. This should lead to better insight into the ripening status of perishable products during transport.
Another exploration focuses on adapting logistics decision-making to the status of fresh produce ripening. This could include priority handling at terminals, avoiding ripening in ripening stations or speeding up hinterland transport to the retail channel.
The cooperating companies are active in fruit import (Van Oers United), fruit and vegetable packaging (Europool Systems), sensor solutions (EMS), Cloud and IoT services (Sensortransport, Internet House), refrigerated transport (Thermoking), and knowledge valorisation (SmartPort).
"The potential value of IoT in the fresh produce supply chain is widely recognised, however, the key question is which business model can remove the current barriers to adoption. This is where this research contributes significantly," said Jan-Kees Boerman, founder owner and managing director of EMS.
