How Fresh Del Monte is using data to drive sustainability

In the fresh produce supply chain, solving problems before they happen is key — with positive financial and quality implications as well as a strong sustainability upside.

With this in mind, Fresh Del Monte has embraced automation, digitization and end-to-end visibility of data for its leafy greens, Mexican avocados and more. The company has partnered with cold and supply chain digital visibility solutions provider Inteligistics to use its cloud-based technology to track and link quality data, transportation, storage conditions and shipping information from its avocado packing facility in Mexico to border storage facilities, and its distribution center in Dallas.

Fresh Del Monte's subsidiary, Mann Packing, has been using Inteligistics’ InteliCool product to optimize its cooling operations, with demonstrated reductions in cycle time, increased throughput and reduced energy consumption, says Inteligistics’ Chairman and President Rao Mandava.

“We started this project with Inteligistics on our vegetable and leafy greens operations in California,” Hans Sauter, senior vice president of research and development and chief sustainability officer for the Coral Gables, Fla.-based Fresh Del Monte, told The Packer. “The equipment is giving us the ability to cool specifically to product temperature needs rather than to a defined schedule, which has allowed us to reduce the output in cooling cycles by 30%, making equipment use more efficient and obviously also bringing reductions in power.”

In its more recent collaboration with Inteligistics, Fresh Del Monte has focused on supply chain digitization of its Mexican avocados with the help of several Inteligistics products including InteliCool, a forced air tunnel solution; InteliTemp; and InteliMonitor, a cold storage temperature and humidity monitoring solution.

The systems monitor quality parameters such as pulp temperatures, in-transit temperatures, product hardness in pounds per square inch measurements and truck locations. They also gather key performance indicators, achieved by collecting digitized data at six checkpoints to identify and rectify quality issues in real time, Mandava says.

“[With InteliCool], the cooling is done in vacuum tubes where human presence is not possible,” Sauter explained. “At the time of cooling, having equipment you can interact with and that can tell you the temperature of the product definitely goes a long way in optimizing shelf life and quality.”

Sauter says that by transforming the process from manual to electronic and incorporating real-time temperature and pressure data using an intelligent IoT monitoring solution, Inteligistics has changed the vacuum process into a climate-smart, dynamic and data-driven decision instead of one that relies on static data and operator experience.

“We provided equipment that can go right inside the vacuum tube and, through the internet, communicates temperature and PLC data in real-time every minute. Without it you’re just guessing when the product is ready,” Mandava said.

“When proper temperature and conditions are reached, the machine shuts itself off. With these control mechanisms, Fresh Del Monte has experienced a heavy energy use reduction and efficiency savings of between 15-30%. So, there's tremendous payback,” he added.

These results were revealed in a March 2022 case study at a Fresh Del Monte in Salinas, Calif., managed by Western Growers Association.

Mandava says the digitization of end-to-end real-time data also has led to a reduction in shrink and a cost savings.

He estimates the cost savings as such: $40 per carton and 40 cartons per pallet puts the cost of each pallet at $1,600. Based on their experience, 1 of every 20 pallets is at risk of not making it to market in sellable condition at the border facility due to supply chain issues. That equates to about $80,000 at risk for every 1,000 pallets, which represents approximately a month's worth of product processed.

Mandava says the Inteligistics end-to-end visibility solution is expected to result in a 10% reduction in dollar risk from customer rejections and discounting. In comparison to the cost of the solution at the border facility, a return on investment of less than five months is expected on similar volume. At the distribution center, a similar evaluation provides a predicted return of investment of less than two months.

Digitization drives avocado supply chain improvement

Inteligistics says real-time visibility of the supply chain offers data-driven opportunities to:

• Minimize discounts, discards and “at-risk” shipments by monitoring and implementing corrective actions at pain points.
• Provide clearer information to stakeholders.
• Better control conditions to provide more consistent results.
• Repurpose food that falls short of retailer standards to reduce product waste and achieve zero food to landfills.
• Improve delivered results and sustainability.
• Elevate customer satisfaction and brand reputation.

By the numbers

Other environmental advantages of Fresh Del Monte’s data digitization included a reduction of four to seven minutes in the average time it took for leafy greens and other vegetables avocados to reach an optimal product temperature of 33-34 degrees Fahrenheit.

Based on the 2022 case study, Inteligistics further reports that Fresh Del Monte’s overall efficiency improved 15% to 30%; its electric power savings estimate totaled 109,000 kilowatt hours or the equivalent of $26,000 in cost savings; and reduced carbon emissions by 77 metric tons, which is equivalent to 7,500 gallons of diesel fuel from a single vacuum tube at the Fresh Del Monte facility.

Demystifying decisions

“Digital technology is definitely here to stay,” Sauter said. “Farming involves an enormous amount of decisions that need to be made by management or supervision. And as no two crops or locations are identical, having real-time data available to make those decisions goes a long way in reducing waste, improving the outcome of those decisions, and optimizing resources.”

Fresh Del Monte uses an Inteligistics provided dashboard that tracks — at a glance — where the product is, what it's doing and how it is performing throughout the supply chain.

“The result has been incremental and significant efficiency improvements throughout the supply chain and production cycle from field to customer receiving docks, including logistics, cold chain management, transportation and warehouse management,” Mandava said.

For Fresh Del Monte, the digitalization of data is increasingly critical to increased productivity.

“We're seeing [technological innovation] not only in refrigeration, but in actual farming, where satellite imagery, drone imagery and all types of sensors are being deployed,” Sauter said. “The processing capabilities to incorporate that kind of data into decision-making will play a very important role in continuing to elevate the productivity of farms in the future.”