According to the National Resource Defense Council, around 40 percent of America's food is wasted between the farm through the point when it hits the plates. To put it in simpler terms: It's similar to purchasing seven bags of groceries and leaving three in your cart. It goes without saying that food waste has significant implications around financials, social issues, and the environment.
Imagine how many more could be fed if our food producers could cut down on waste. Think about it, 40 percent is the equivalent of billions of dollars of losses for the food industry. Before we get any further, there is a role where technology can offer a solution to the problem. Keep reading to learn more.
1. Determine the root cause of the waste
Much food waste is the result of an inefficient supply chain. A study conducted by McKinsey and Company, with the World Economic Forum, found that around one-third of global food production is wasted. As a result, consumers must pay more for the products as distributors need to make up for the losses. In addition, there are many variables resulting in food waste from error on the farmers' end to something going wrong at the cold chain stage.
Here is the line in the sand: It's difficult to tell where the problems start without having access to data. Even inadequate temperature at harvest can lead to premature spoilage. All produce has a shelf-life. As a result, it is critical to monitor every single stage of the supply chain process with real-time monitoring. It's vital to the industry to know if equipment isn't working properly in real-time to take immediate action.
Set up alerts when there is a power outage, or if a freezer has broken down, or perhaps a transport truck missed its delivery deadline. The important thing is you know exactly what it going on - in real-time, at all times.
2. Cut back on manual processes
Another contributor to commercial food waste are the many manual processes involved that are highly prone to human error and inefficiencies. Instead of having an individual walk each floor, checking on the equipment, it makes much more sense to automate this entire process. You will then end up with less user error and much more efficient reporting. Furthermore, your staff will have more time to work on your organization's core vision.
3. Employ proactive maintenance
It is often the case that food producers spend much of their day "putting out fires," or fixing broken equipment. But, what if you could maintain your equipment well enough so that they almost never break down? This is the beauty of technology, and IoT. Instead of reacting, your organization can start to be proactive. Get alerts that will let you know what to fix and how much time you have to repair it before it stops working altogether.
This is about purposeful IoT working on issues contributing to food waste before we even think about them. For instance, Webee has designed a Cold-Chain monitoring solution that collects, analyzes, and transmits data throughout the supply chain on metrics such as real-time locations, temperature, and humidity.
4. Improve transparency
Again, easily deployable IoT technology provides more accurate information on your assets in real-time. So, you have increased visibility over every area of management while cutting down on redundant manual labor. Combined with analytics, easy-to-deploy sensors can improve food preservation at every step along the way. This is how to sincerely optimize the decision-making process. With increased visibility, you can address hidden issues in real time to truly reduce food waste while enhancing food safety.
5. Optimize profits
Spoilage losses are already absorbed as part of the cost of doing business. In fact, grocers and eateries often purchase buffer stock. Since they consider food waste as something to contend with, little has been done to alleviate the issue - until now. This is where technology can help to increase profits by better preserving produce. With an IoT sensor, food producers receive real-time visibility into how the products are handled.
Moreover, the data can be analyzed to determine how much shelf-life a product has - whether it might be 12 days or eight days. If the shelf-life is shorter than expected, the supplier can change routing to ship it locally instead of cross-country. When you are proactive about food management, across the supply chain, you can optimize profits while ensuring delivery of high-quality products.
In the past, food waste and spoilage was considered unsolvable. Today, IoT sensors can attack every potential area which used to contribute to food waste. So, food producers can deliver pallets of food that are sufficiently fresh and reduce food waste on a continuous basis. Not to mention, IoT sensors are scalable and cost-effective. Like what you've read so far? Ready for what's next? Learn more about Webee's easy-to-deploy solution today.