Food processing in India has huge potential to elevate the agricultural economy, which is critical towards ensuring food security for the rising India population. The industry is estimated to be around US$67 billion and employs 48 million people. [1] The Indian food industry continues to be poised for huge growth, increasing its contribution in world food trade every year. Furthermore, the allocation of Rs 2,000 crore (US$319.98 million) for the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) fund for food processing industries during the Union Budget 2014–15 is set to provide a bigger boost to this sector. [2]
India’s total population will reach 1.45 billion by 2028, and 1.7 billion by 2050. This means that the agriculture community will not only have to meet the stresses of feeding the additional population, but to also meet with the demands of Indians’ evolving and demanding lifestyle. [3] Modern day consumer demands are compelling Indian food producers to increase productivity as well as the quality of their produce while maintaining cost-competitiveness.
The year 2015 is poised to herald an era of smarter opportunities for this industry. The pure amount of information that connected devices can collect and transfer into useful business information is amazing. A global Internet of Things(IoT) study by Forrester Consulting in 2014 revealed that senior IT decision-makers inside key industries like food manufacturing believe that the IoT is transformational, with more than 85% of APAC industries, companies and teams ready to make changes required for an IoT reality. In short, APAC enterprises believe that IoT will change the way their businesses are managed, empowering their enterprises with the needed visibility into their internal operations so they can improve business processes and better serve customers.
Exploring Real-Time and Location Tracking
Enterprises today recognise the need for full, real-time visibility of their products as they move through the supply chain, from procurement to purchase. One of the best ways to address the need for visibility in the supply chain is through the implementation of IoT technologies such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Real Time Location Services (RTLS) that can provide enterprises greater visibility over the entire supply chain, and better manage their assets.
Benefits of Adopting IoT Technologies
One of the biggest implications of adopting IoT technologies is that firms will be able to gain visibility over their entire supply chain, improve maintenance operations and streamline efficiency.
1. Improved Food Traceability and Warehouse Management
Having an overview of the supply chain will allow enterprises to correctly identify areas of the supply chain that are causing delays and ensure that even perishables get on time and in the freshest state possible. With RFID and RTLS technologies, enterprises will be able to better track their assets and find out where exactly they are, and what condition they are in from the harvesting of raw constituents, to food preservation, packaging and transportation.
2. Accelerate Recall
and Simplify Returns Management
Distributors need to have plans and processes in place to execute recalls quickly and efficiently. The degree of traceability suppliers and distributors have over their products is what determines the size, scope and expense of a recall. Having clear visibility over the entire supply chain allows for product recalls to be completed in a more expeditious manner as the source of the problem in the manufacturing process can be detected almost instantaneously.
3. Tighten Container Management and Fulfilment of Shipping Orders
An IoT-enabled system can generate information and provide useful insights that can help enterprises make better decisions on how to drive their businesses forward. The amount of time saved from decreased manual labour can allow employees to engage in more meaningful tasks, and focus on providing quality service to their customers. For example, a timely view of inventory can increase load yields for shipments, and essentially reduce the need for expensive less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments to customers to fulfil orders, and contribute to cost savings.
As it becomes imperative for companies to reduce the instances of disruption to their businesses, they will start to appreciate the premise behind IoT technology to gain real-time visibility into assets, people and transactions, and drive more effective and timely business decisions or to improve customer interactions.
Looking to the Future
These top three technology trends are expected to develop over the next year and drive enterprise asset intelligence, innovation and influence decision-making around IT investments in the food manufacturing industry:
Trend # 1: The Internet of Things (IoT)
The intelligent enterprise will make IoT accessible and scalable for operations of various sizes, and seek to provide integrated visibility and connectivity solutions for their industries. Research firm Gartner stated that 4.9 billion connected “things” will be in use and is up 30% from 2014 and by 2020 there will be more than 20 billion connected devices in use. The year 2015 will see an uptake in this trend in response or anticipation to rising pressure to incorporate more intelligent functionality into devices, to enhance relationships, empower processes, optimise costs and mitigate risks in the enterprise.
Food industry uses automation improvements to add value and new ways to upskill line workers. This includes standardising metrics across all locations, standardising reporting and delivery mechanisms such as our remote access capabilities and visual factory solutions. IoT will enable a real-time understanding of conditions, events and material movements in the physical world. IoT has the potential to make food safer from the farm all the way to the customer’s dinner plate. The Internet of Things can help food and transportation companies in monitoring specialised temperature monitors in storage compartments to better measure temperature levels during the entire duration of the trip.
Trend # 2: The Connected Mobile Workforce
Mobile technology and smartphone apps will continue to have a positive impact on our professional and personal lives. As an increasing number of workers become less confined to a physical work space, enterprises will adopt tools to allow them to use cloud-based applications fed with real-time information about assets in their environment.
India faces massive loss of farm products post-harvest due to a lack of suitable infrastructure such as cold chain, packaging centres, value added centres, etc. [4] The visibility provided to manufacturers and consumers alike, through mobile technology like mobile computers and barcode scanners, effectively improves critical business processes. For example, manufacturers working with perishable food items like meat or dairy products can control and access information in real-time about their products, ensuring that produce stays fresh.
Mobile Workforce Management solutions for the food industry is a good way to cut the fixed cost. In an increasingly global, competitive demand-led market it is vital to remain competitive and deliver excellent customer service. Since food industry is all about delivery, remotely connected workforce will be a good option.
Following are some of the top benefits of mobile solutions in the food and beverage environment:
1. Flexible operations: Quick and efficient processing of orders as orders can be taken at the customer’s side and submitted from where they are initiated through their handheld device. This also ensures freedom from the restrictions of fixed terminal point-of-sale systems.
2. Fast turnaround: Mobile technology allows waiters to place orders in seconds which help reduce time-consuming trip to kitchen or bar. Also it helps chefs and bartenders to receive one order at a time ensuring a smoother service pace and a faster turnaround time.
3. Enriched guest experience: It enables orders to be placed and delivered quickly which helps to provide customers with enriched experience with the extra attention from waiters.
4. Increased revenue: The technology helps waiters to spend more time with customers where they can focus their efforts on selling appetisers, drinks and desserts.
Trend # 3: The Adoption of Cloud Technology
The evolution of cloud technology is another major trend that has permeated the market over the last couple of years, impacting every aspect of IT and how users access applications, information and business services. With the growth of smart phone-based cloud applications especially, the demand for rugged-connected devices will continue to expand. The use of cloud technology provides accessibility that allows enterprises in the food industry to oversee the entire process, from the grower, through the distributor, to the retailer. Not only does it implement whole-chain traceability, it also helps end chain supply wastage which is essential to improve profitability in the high cost-low margin food industry.
Of firms surveyed globally by Forrester, 83% identify Wi-Fi infrastructure and real-time location tracking technologies as important or very important building blocks of IoT solutions. As the adoption everyday objects connected to the Internet becomes ubiquitous, and workers’ demand for real-time intelligence about all of their critical assets increases, enterprises will turn to cloud-based platform software that provides integrated visibility and connectivity solutions to make their processes more efficient, and work more effective.
Firms have identified the top five benefits of deploying IoT solutions in the enterprise to be improved customer satisfaction, supply chain optimisation, visibility, loss prevention and cost efficiencies. Tighter traceability does not have to burden business. Companies in the food industry can take advantage of proven traceability tools and techniques to improve food safety and tighten their own operations by driving out excess inventory, storage, and handling costs. All of the benefits described above can result from improved identification, which is accomplished most efficiently through the use of Internet of Things-enabled tools and systems.
Today’s food processors and manufacturers gain a competitive advantage by implementing a robust ERP system, that enables strong plant floor management and provides comprehensive capabilities for food processing and production. A good cloud technology includes process instructions, recipe management, traceability and product genealogy, production scheduling, real-time ingredient control, production tracking, loT control, labour tracking, and more, streamlining processes so food manufacturers can focus on their core business.
