TempTRIP LLC offers all of those involved in the cold chain "harvest to store" distribution channel, a cost effective way to monitor time/temperature data. The TempTRIP system provides companies with game-changing information that will enable them to make decisions which will positively impact shelf life, food waste, expenses and brand equity.
The cost-effective TempTRIP system targets a broad range of perishable foods (dairy, juices, produce, ready-to eat meals, and other fresh or processed foods). The end result is simple-to-access online information which provides a complete cold chain record of a product throughout the lifecycle of the pallet load, regardless of how many trucking firms, distributors, wholesalers or retailers have handled it."Although temperature monitoring has been around for a while, up until now, there wasn't a system that allowed data to be collected, and easily correlated to other logistical data, throughout multiple chain segments. Even when there is a change in ëownership'ósuch as when a shipment moves from the processor's control to the distributor,î said Phaedra Culjak, chief operations officer, TempTRIP.
"We can now graph your product's journey on a mapóliterally from harvest to storeóand be able to tell when it has been subjected to off-spec temperatures. For the first time, users have access to a system which provides an affordable, yet sophisticated, overview of the health of their entire cold chain.
The TempTRIP monitoring process typically begins at the pallet staging step, follows the load through its transit, continues monitoring at the distribution center and warehouse until it arrives at the individual retail store.
The system incorporates three basic componentsóRFID smart cards, RFID reader with optional integrated barcode scanner, and the Internet. The first step is helping users to set up an on-line profile which includes shipping, storage and receiving-point data plus temperature configurations, and which parties get to see the results. An RFID smart card is placed on the pallet (or other designated location such as an individual case or in certain locations within a trailer load, depending on the level of detail desired).
To start the time and temperature monitoring process, the reader scans the pallet's bar code and writes it, wirelessly, to the smart card's memory. Temperature is recorded continuously, at whatever time intervals the company has specified. When the TempTRIP-tagged pallets arrive at distribution center they are "readî to determine what temperature fluctuations have occurred. Results are sent, via USB or cellular transmission, to a dedicated page on the Internet, with optional email and text alerts sent to the chain partners. (Similar to the Netflix model, users also have the option of mailing the smart card back to TempTRIP and results are available online within 24 hours.)
However, the process doesn't necessarily stop there. The tags can be read and restarted at any time to record new segments with new starting and ending times. For example, as pallets are received, tags continue to record time and temperature in the truck, on the dock and in the warehouse. Tags can even receive new "ownershipî and new time and temperature parameters as they move from grower/processor to distributor to retailer. They can also be cleared and reused for the next product cycle.
"The TempTRIP approach enables the data to be shared transparently with all of the channel partners including growers, food processors, distributors, wholesalers and retailers. This is powerful information that can be used to fine tune everything from which coolers, trucks or transportation partners perform better to which products should be rotated out of the warehouse first,î said Culjak.
TempTRIP's capabilities have been put to the test over the past year by early adopters from food producers and processors to pharmaceutical and healthcare distributors who have already harnessed its data capture capabilities to make more precise cold chain decisions. With a successful soft launch under its belt, TempTRIP is now ready to fully unveil the product to North American and European companies.
TempTRIP is a joint venture between Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE: SEE), a Fortune 500 company and Results Oriented, Inc., a software, hardware and web development company with expertise in product tracking and radio frequency identification (RFID) dating back to 1989.
TempTRIP
www.temptrip.com
