The Search for a Connected Supply Chain

Produce is a category that’s ripe for IoT. While the technology has been used to monitor irrigation, fertilizer, and weeds for some time, it hasn’t been used post-harvest until recently. Today, IoT allows growers, carriers, and retailers to better track produce shelf life from the moment it’s picked. For example, Zest Labs provides technology that helps reduce up to 40 percent of food waste annually at the retail and consumer level. “Many variables in agriculture—the temperature in the field when produce is picked, how long and in what temperature pallets sit while they’re being loaded—have an impact on shelf life,” says Kevin Payne, Zest Lab’s vice president of marketing.