Israel-based supermarket/superstore chain Shufersal is gaining improved real-time visibility of products along its cold chain operations. Through its implementation of SaaS provider Wiliot’s Reusable Transport Item solution, the retailer is increasing transparency throughout its farm-to-store supply chain model.
The solution allows Shufersal to monitor the plastic containers used to transport its products, in addition to the goods inside, promoting sustainability through insight into temperature and transit times, thereby extending shelf life and minimizing food waste of perishable items such as produce.
Wiliot’s IoT Pixel device, the size of a small shipping label, can be attached to the side of each crate. These devices connect to the Wiliot Cloud service, communicating information such as temperature, environment conditions, location changes and whether a crate is full, and yielding valuable data regarding crate status. Crates are monitored from the time an item is placed inside to its arrival at a Shufersal location. The technology is being implemented using 1 million RTI tracking devices, distributed among Shufersal’s approximately 250 farmers and distributors and its 300 stores.
“Being able to see in real time that produce shipments were kept at the right temperature, and knowing exactly how many days passed from when it was picked to when it arrived in stores, has been eye-opening,” said Zvika Fishheimer, EVP at Shufersal in a statement. “Shufersal is committed to offering our customers the highest quality and our ability to trace produce through our supply chain means we and our farmers can take every step necessary to deliver the freshest food in the market.”
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