For some items, shipping is as simple as getting from point A to point B. There may be disruptions, but the product itself is not affected by any delays. When the goods being moved are perishable, there are other variables at play that complicate the equation. Not only are the goods at risk when delays happen, but someone waiting on the other end could face serious consequences if the product doesn’t reach them. Such is the case with the grocery and pharmaceutical supply chains.
Two major players in their industries are using data to inform the work they do to ensure perishable items reach their destinations safely and ready to be used or sold. Here’s how they’re doing it, and the role data plays in their work.
Walmart upgrades grocery operations
Walmart has spent the past couple of years increasing the amount of automation in its supply chain facilities in an effort to improve inventory flow and decision-making in its operations. By the end of the year, Walmart predicts that 65% of its stores will receive merchandise from high-tech distribution centers.
When it comes to its grocery network, the company has built five new high-tech perishable distribution centers, it is expanding four others with automation in order to increase capacity for fresh product, and it is retrofitting another center in order to integrate the newest technology. The technology allows for cases that come in from farmers and suppliers to be put in automated storage systems that stretch nearly 80 feet high in a temperature-controlled environment. The automated system builds store orders by retrieving cases from storage. The smart technology allows pallets to be built by department and layered intelligently—with eggs and fruit towards the top, for example, before they are wrapped and loaded onto a truck to be shipped.
FedEx rises to cold chain challenges
FedEx, meanwhile, has worked to ensure its cold chain logistics strategy is up to the challenge of meeting the demands of that growing market. The organization uses specially designed and validated containers to provide the reliable cold temperatures needed for products like vaccines and gene therapies for up to 120 hours. It also works to monitor shipments at all hours, and can tell if a package has been opened or moved outside predefined geofences.
FedEx has seen a shift in the industry that it is well-equipped to handle, where instead of delivering pharmaceuticals to doctors’ offices and hospitals, it is delivering directly to patients. The company already has the data from its e-commerce deliveries to address this shift. It just needs to balance that work with the sensitive conditions prescription goods might need as it fulfills its deliveries.
The role of data
FedEx is tracking all kinds of data as it monitors every step of the product’s journey. It uses that information to inform decisions about its services on specific routes and delivery areas. It also has an eye on issues like compliance and sustainability. The data it collects allows it to be transparent in terms of meeting strict rules and regulations about the products it is shipping. When it comes to sustainability, it has used data to inform the decisions it has made, such as offering reusable packaging, or electric vehicles for the final deliveries in urban areas.
For Walmart, the data takes a number of forms. In addition to figuring out the cost savings that derive from its use of automation, where data is further used to assess what the speed and accuracy of that automation is saving the company, Walmart is working to keep its employees happy. Rather than allowing the automation to replace its workers, Walmart is transitioning workers into new roles of operating automation control centers, or jobs as automation technicians or area managers. The company surveys workers to find out if they are finding satisfaction in their new work.
Any company can do the work to collect data like this in any form. What sets companies apart when it comes to using the data is a reliable analytics solution that can produce the kinds of reports that allow an organization to see where they need to take action to address inefficiencies or take advantage of opportunities. The more flexible the solution, the more able it is to grow with the company, where if an organization feels like it has a handle on certain data, it can move on to addressing other areas with different data but using the same solution.
Whether it’s a sensitive item that needs to be moved quickly in certain temperatures or an item that can sit on a shelf for a long time, every product is important to the person on the receiving end. The more transparent an organization can be as it moves that product through the supply chain, the happier the customer will be in the end. Data and analytics are an integral part of making sure that process is meeting everyone’s high demands.
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