Food Logistics 4.0: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

Food Logistics 4.0 is a term derived from Industry 4.0 focusing on all the aspects of food logistics management based on cyber-physical systems. It states that real-time information and the interconnectivity of things, supplemented with novel technologies will revolutionise and improve the way food logistics is carried out. It has tremendous potential in terms of bringing transparency, swift delivery of food at reduced cost, flexibility, and capability to deliver the right quality product at the right place and at the right time. This paper discusses the vital technologies within Food Logistics 4.0 and the opportunities and challenges in this regard. It focuses primarily on food logistics, including resource planning, warehouse management, transportation management, predictive maintenance, and data security. Internet of Things, Blockchain, Robotics and Automation and artificial intelligence are some of the technologies discussed.

Adoption of ICTs in Agri-Food Logistics: Potential and Limitations for Supply Chain Sustainability

“…Once the organization of the supply chain has been set, it is difficult to upset the order, and even to introduce new tools to replace old ones. The business margins are tiny [74], so the players do not have time nor money to undertake adventurous experiments. On many occasions, actors introduced innovations that seemed to be relevant at first (like sensors in containers .…”

“…More generally, ref. [74] suggests that the IoT (internet of things) is prone to serve as capacity-sensing, planning and reporting of delivery, route optimization, energy management, and fault detection and resolution. In collaboration with the IoT, improved Blockchain could provide "trustworthy public listing of services and information" [75].…”

“…[76] depicts the tasks that would benefit from automation in logistics: material handling upon arrival, primary processing (sorting), quality monitoring, packaging and palletizing. In warehouse logistics, [74] recommends the use of automated guided vehicles and robots. For logistics systems as a whole, modeling and simulation would allow testing of new configurations and would predict system performance without any risk [74].…”

“…In warehouse logistics, [74] recommends the use of automated guided vehicles and robots. For logistics systems as a whole, modeling and simulation would allow testing of new configurations and would predict system performance without any risk [74]. They also discuss the interest for the food supply chain of system integration (process of connecting various subsystems into one cooperating system) and of increased adoption of IoT.…”

An Internet of Things Approach for Water Efficiency: A Case Study of the Beverage Factory

“…Although the concept of intelligent or smart factories has been around for the last few years, and various industries have readily embraced it, the food manufacturing sector is still lagging. This is partly due to low-profit margins, frequently changing market scenarios, consumer demands, lack of investment, and skills shortages [13,14]. In this context, the Internet of Things (IoT) is currently considered one of the most disruptive technologies [15] for monitoring manufacturing operations digitally, bringing transparency and visibility, sharing information and data to execute plans, and decision-making.…”