While the perishable supply chain is not lacking data, the ability to quickly and easily make sense of that data is another story, says Rao Mandava, Inteligistics CEO and chairman.
With this in mind, Salinas, Calif.-based Inteligistics has launched InteliView, a cloud-based, flexible and customizable digital information hub that consolidates data from a variety of internet-connected and off-the-shelf scanners and sensors; certain application programming interfaces and mobile apps; and enterprise resource planning, warehouse management systems and other data sources to enable companies to make sense of their data in real-time and take action, according to a release.
“From [Food Safety Modernization Act] traceability to environmental sensors to product expiration and inventory management, companies are collecting gigabytes of data every day,” Mandava said in the release. “What’s been missing is the ability to quickly and simply use the data to reduce costs, gain efficiencies and increase revenues.”
Tracking this information is also essential for risk mitigation, food safety and regulatory compliance, including the new FSMA Rule 204, the release said. Digital technology can provide traceability and pinpoint which packages are affected by the recall and support the reporting requirements.
“This latest release of InteliView enables companies to begin collecting data at harvest — tracking at either the pallet or carton level, add data generated throughout the perishable supply chain collected by multiple companies and systems, and track product all the way to the shoppers’ shopping cart,” Inteligistics Vice President for Digital Transformation Lawrence Mallia said in the release. “InteliView can foster information sharing between growers and retailers to more effectively manage inventory distribution that will result in waste reduction, lower labor costs, yield more sellable product, enhance brand protection and promote sustainability. The result can be a major win for all parties involved including growers, retailers and consumers.”
The digital data managed by InteliView can then be leveraged to apply advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning for efficiency improvements in systems from cooling tubes to cold-storage warehouses to retailer inventory picking systems, the release said.
The InteliView user interface can be accessed by any web-enabled device.
“We have spent several years developing the most powerful, cost-effective cloud-based data engine for the perishable supply chain,” Mandava added, “but what is really game changing is the dashboard and graphics that can be easily configured by our clients themselves to manage and highlight whatever [key performance indicators] and analytics are important to a particular company.”
