Storing, transporting and looking after delicate products is a business fraught with challenges. We’ve talked to many customers from Food and Beverage (F&B) industry, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector, and logistics industry. And they all have one thing in common. Many of the goods they are involved with are highly sensitive to temperature and humidity, and any problems in this regard can result in spoilage that can be extremely costly, and even lead to them being sued for negligence.

For example, one of our customers from the logistics industry had a large amount of valuable wine to look after, and we worked out an IoT solution for them to counteract the risk of spoilage.

// Industry challenges

The storage conditions in any warehouse are critical. Without constant monitoring and a data log, the warehousing company cannot assure customers that their goods will be stored in the desired environment.

Although the air-conditioning system may have automatic temperature controls, the units may be in the ceiling, so the monitored temperatures may be different from the actual temperature on the floor where the goods are physically stored.

Even if the physical environment is monitored regularly by staff, they may detect a problem too late for it to be corrected, or the company may simply not have sufficient resources to provide the level of physical monitoring required for particularly sensitive products.

// Using IoT technology to enhance facilities

To address out client’s concerns, we placed all-in-one IoT sensors to monitor temperature and humidity in close proximity to where the stored goods were actually located. Since the warehouse was large, and the customer required constant surveillance, we used sensors with a low level of power consumption to accommodate frequent data transmissions. We selected a LoRA system out of multiple IoT connectivity for this case, with linked communications from the sensors to a single data-monitoring platform.

// Improved operational efficiency and reduced risk

With this level of IoT deployment, we were able to monitor the wine constantly and more accurately, thus reducing the risk of spoilage and any financial or reputational loss to the logistics company.