Ceepackaging

Technology

Supply chain freshness monitoring system launched

The new Xsense™ Perishables Quality Monitoring Program has been developed to provide information about the quality of products pre-shipment, in-transit and post-arrival.

Special disposable low-cost tags are placed within the packaging and begin to monitor and collect temperature and relative humidity data as soon as they are activated.  A unique feature of Xsense™ is that it monitors both actual produce temperature and that of the surrounding environment. The low cost of the tags facilitates monitoring at pallet level.

During land transport, this information is transmitted in real time via proprietary technology to StePac’s Xsense™ server centre.  During sea freight, the information is logged and then downloaded upon arrival at the harbour. If there are any problems, the system immediately notifies all those concerned via email and/or text message.  If the products are in transit, their exact location can be given using GPS data.  Users can also obtain updates at any time by accessing the Xsense™ system via the Internet.  This real time flexibility means corrective action can be taken to salvage product before it is too late.

Xsense™ sensor tags also continue to monitor produce in storage on arrival, thus providing complete supply chain logistics traceability and tools for risk management.

Another important feature of Xsense™ is the system’s ability to analyse the data and draw conclusions as to product quality and safety, with unique shelf life prediction models able to calculate the residual product quality.  This enables customers to ascertain if some products have been more affected than others and, if so, implement an effective FEFO (First Expired, First Out) policy.  Similarly, if shelf life has been compromised en route, produce can be redirected to closer destinations.  Xsense ™ data analysis is also vital in helping to identify trouble spots in the supply chain.

Although primarily developed for StePac’s established customer base in the fresh produce industry, the company says Xsense™ is also suitable for other industries where cold chain management is critical such as meat, dairy, pharmaceutical and medical.

Xsense™ has just completed a series of highly successful customer trials in Israel and across Europe.  A major benefit identified by users is how the system reduces the need for the manual inputting of data and at the same time outputs only the most relevant data.  This has generated improvements to customers’ workflow procedures.

“These trials have exceeded our expectations,” says StePac CEO Israel Ben Tzur.  “Xsense™ has proved to be a technological breakthrough that also ideally complements our Xtend MA/MH technology to help the cold chain industry deliver premium quality, fresh produce to market.”