It’s impossible to overstate the extent to which technology is changing the way companies operate. On the one hand, new tools have made business environments more resilient and dynamic, while on the other, they’ve simplified many processes across industries.
Logistics might not be the first place one would think of when examining technological impact. However, advances in cold chain temperature control and condition monitoring tech have left a deep impact on a wide range of industries that need these solutions.
Along with other types of novel tech such as thermocouples by Pyrosales, these solutions have increased logistical efficiency, reduced shipping costs, and yielded impressive ROI.
Here are three industries that are benefitting immensely from such solutions.
Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals
Healthcare is a critical industry. Whether it’s developing vaccines to secure the world against disease or conducting research into new treatments, healthcare utilizes a range of logistical solutions to aid its processes. The most common use of technology in healthcare logistics occurs when transporting vaccines and medicines.
These products must be stored at precise temperature ranges, or else they’re rendered unusable. For instance, the COVID vaccines must be stored at sub-zero temperatures to be useful. Cold chain temperature monitoring technology helps manufacturers ensure their products are safe.
Thanks to high visibility throughout the supply chain, stakeholders such as shippers and retail pharmacists can also collaborate and track the delivery of these goods. Real-time temperature violation alerts empower stakeholders to intervene as needed, and cloud data backup ensures that sensitive information is always secure yet accessible.
Establishing audit trails is also simple with such electronic solutions. Thus, improving processes is simple since the data will uncover weak points. Analytics platforms can crunch these temperature-related datasets to uncover trends impacting bottom lines. For instance, a previously trusted vendor might be delivering products at temperatures dangerously close to thresholds.
Investigating the cause of this trend will help stakeholders mitigate risks before they turn into huge issues. In addition to medicines and drugs, healthcare workers use a range of sensitive electronic equipment to analyze patient samples and run tests. These machines are temperature sensitive and must be used in controlled environments.
IoT-enabled temperature tracking sensors help stakeholders ensure these machines are stored safely and optimally.
Food and Beverage
The food industry places a premium on the freshness of its products. Aside from brand image, consumer health is also at stake. Incorrectly stored or expired food is unsafe to consume and can even cause fatalities.
These days, consumers demand food from all corners of the globe. They’re accustomed to seeing products from the other side of the world on supermarket shelves and don’t think twice about the logistical gymnastics that occur to ensure the product arrives safely. In this sense, storing and transporting food safely is largely a challenge due to consumer trends. On another level, however, it’s a timeless issue, since even locally sourced ingredients like meat and dairy have strict freshness and refrigeration requirements.
Temperature monitoring tech begins playing a role from the moment food processing begins. Sensors ensure that food is stored in safe conditions, with temperature threshold alerts notifying relevant employees of breaches. Data from past shipments is used to design optimal routes.
For instance, if one route is yielding more threshold alerts than another, manufacturers can account for them when designing routes. In logistics, teams must take regulatory, geopolitical, and weather-related factors into account when shipping products. In the food industry, all of these factors exist, with food freshness windows often making for accelerated delivery requirements.
In addition to route mapping, food manufacturers use temperature-related data to instill trust amongst consumers. Thanks to the increasing demand for sustainably and ethically sourced food, manufacturers can provide consumers with data that verifies the source and production method of the products they buy.
As with healthcare, temperature tracking also helps food manufacturers and other supply chain stakeholders locate inefficiencies and sources of waste in their processes. The result is a cost-effective supply chain that delivers safe products repeatedly.
Chemicals
While the shipping industry is a hidden hero powering the world, the industrial chemical industry gives it a close run for its money. Whether for household consumable goods or industrial manufacturing, chemicals are present in nearly everything we consume.
Most chemicals are highly temperature sensitive, with their chemistry changing at different temperature ranges. For instance, the chemical raw material used to manufacture popular over-the-counter drugs such as Panadol and Advil is temperature-sensitive. These chemicals must be stored between 20-25 degrees Celsius at all times. Other chemicals used as raw material for chemotherapy and cancer treatment must be stored at 15 degrees Celsius, or they’re ineffective.
Aside from pharmaceutical chemicals, industries rely on chemicals such as methanol, ethyl acetate, and cyclohexane to produce goods. These chemicals are highly temperature-sensitive, with incorrect storage leading to potentially disastrous consequences.
Temperature sensors within controlled storage units make sure thresholds are never violated, and that these chemicals retain their usefulness.
In addition, many temperature sensors also monitor light exposure, a critical aspect of chemical storage. Light produces heat, and excessive light can render temperature controls useless. Thus, IoT-powered temperature sensors protect their goods in more ways than one.
Ideal Temperatures, Ideal Products
Temperatures play a central role in ensuring products are safe for consumption. Sensors and other IoT-powered technology is ensuring that temperature thresholds are never violated. They also reveal weaknesses in the supply chain that can create losses and render products unusable.
Thanks to these advances, the world can enjoy goods in these three sectors without safety concerns.
