Abstract
In the current world of business, technology plays a crucial role in every organization’s performance. Every enterprise is struggling to find solutions to its operation setbacks. Food4all business is not exceptional; therefore, it will have to launch a technology such as the internet of things (IoT) or smart sensors for it to compete in the business environment. This technology will enable the management team and employees to control and monitor possible changes that are happening along the line of production and distribution to reduce the inefficiencies caused by the uncertainties that they cannot see and prevent easily. The technology will help improve customer relations, avoid wastage of food, and increase food safety and reliability in the market. This report analyses how Food4all can integrate IoT and smart sensor technology in the preparation, storage, packaging, and delivery of food parcels to ensure the safety and quality of their products.
The smart sensor system refers to numerous physical gadgets that share internet connections, all transmitting and processing data. Internet of Things (IoT) or smart sensor systems include four key components: connectivity, sensors, user interface, and data processing (Junaid et al., 2017). The words ‘smart sensor’ and ‘IoT’ will be used interchangeably in this paper to describe a system with the aforementioned components. The smart sensor technology will help Food4all to improve its food safety, logistics and supply chain transparency, and packaging.
Food4all prepares and packages meals using otherwise wasted food and such a process requires extreme precaution to guarantee safety to the end consumers. Transparency of the food details and sources will enhance customer trust in Food4all’s products (Sagar, 2021). Therefore, the organisation needs a technology that can ensure high food safety levels and provide proper packaging to relay substantial food information to the consumers.
IoT technology will enable Food4all to tackle potential setbacks that may arise through the business operation. The IoT can be incorporated into the food preparation process, storage facilities, packaging, and delivery. During food preparation, sensors will detect critical signs such as temperature and send alerts to prevent overcooking (Sagar, 2021). Sensing devices will also monitor the cleanliness of the food preparation area and transmit the data to user interfaces where actions can be taken.
Proper storage facilities are critical to maintain food safety, which is important considering that one of Food4all’s main customer targets are the elderly members of society. These consumers require higher caution levels as slight food poisoning can be highly detrimental to their health. When the organisation sources leftover food from other companies, it should store it under appropriate conditions, with the proper moisture, temperature and place (Boyer & McKinney, 2018). Some food types, such as bread, require a dry environment and could be spoilt under high humidity content. Food4all will put sensors into food compartments to monitor the settings and conditions and report any discrepancies observed.
Meals can also be tampered with and ruined during packaging as workers put them into the designated parcels. IoT has been incorporated into food packaging in a technology known as the Internet of Packaging (IoP). Sensors offer feedback on the food’s indicators, including odour, freshness, taste, and toxicity, to quickly determine whether it is suitable for human consumption and predict how long the food will stay fresh without refrigeration. Additionally, IoP will generate food labels to give consumers complete information about their meals (Lydekaityte & Tambo, 2019). Food4all can choose what data will be used on these labels depending on the transparency level they aspire to achieve, including nutritional value and food sources.
IoT Operation
The self-monitoring, analysing, and reporting technology majorly follows high technical procedures using a group of connected computing devices. IoT describes a system of devices that communicate over the Internet, which might be physically or wirelessly connected. These components require protocols that facilitate the gathering, transmission, processing, and displaying of data (Sisinni et al., 2018). The main enabling protocols and technologies of the smart sensor system are low energy radio protocols (LER), radio frequency identification (RFID), low energy Bluetooth (LEB), near field communication (NFC), low energy wireless (LEW), and radio frequency identification (RFID) (Junaid et al., 2017). The engineering technologies coupled with the high technicalities of computing devices boost communication.
Wireless technology is suitable because of its low energy consumption compared to other smart gadgets, enabling functional systems to operate for longer time than those requiring much power. Technologies such as LER, LEB, and LEW ensure minimal power consumption as IoT components must run and communicate continuously (Bhoyar et al., 2019). These protocols ensure that Food4all can afford a smart sensing system at lower power costs to limit expenditure.
Radio protocols create small private networks where IoT devices share data and information. NFC and RFID provide the mechanisms and rules of communication, with the former allowing mobile and standard devices to interact while the latter identifies and stores object tags in the network (Bhoyar et al., 2019). These elements are less complicated in their work as they require low energy consumption to perform different roles, such as recognizing and accessing tokens and easy loading of programs into the system. RFID devices use radio transmitters and receivers to detect the associated components located within the system (Bhoyar et al., 2019). NFC utilizes the established series of electronic equipment to enhance communication between handsets and other high-quality devices. WiFi Direct is another IoT technology that supports peer-to-peer device connection to replace an access point (Bhoyar et al., 2019). The technology lowers the costs required for establishing a smart sensor system, making it affordable to the smallest businesses.
The IoT system process begins with data collection by sensors placed at strategic areas in the company’s premises. The sensors transmit data over the Internet to specific software for processing and interpretation (Sisinni et al., 2018). Depending on the outcome, the application decides whether to alert the end users or adjust network devices to restore normalcy (Sisinni et al., 2018). The system also accepts input from individuals through the user interface, processes it, and acts on the system accordingly.
Sensors and data processing are some of the vital components of an IoT system. The sensors interact with the external world and perceive changes in given conditions. Once changes are perceived, they collect enough information and convert it into electrical signals for transmission to the processing unit (Urbina et al., 2019). The microprocessor can decode and encode electric signals to inform its outcome and determine the case (Urbina et al., 2019). The processing speed and accuracy create a difference between a highly and less effective smart sensing system. Slower and inaccurate data processors will lead to delayed decisions and misleading actionable output (Sisinni et al., 2018). Therefore, Food4all must invest in quality systems or buy services from well-known vendors who can guarantee both of these qualities.
Companies Using the IoT Technology
Maersk
Maersk is a transportation company that uses IoT to allow customers to track their cargo and monitor the environment inside containers remotely through sensors. The business’ use of smart sensors is relevant because it involves storage facilities incorporating refrigerators, which are similar to food storage compartments required at Food4all. Maersk is one of the well-established organisations in the world of commerce, specifically in the transportation sector, serving individual and organisational clients (Lehmacher, 2021). It deals with the transportation of containers and manages large numbers of equipment and machines. Its vast area of operation prompted the management to find a possible solution to meet the market wants and exceed customers’ expectations on quality and transparency.
Maersk is currently using smart technology to manage its containers and let customers take charge of their cargo. Using smart sensors enabled refrigerators called reefers and Microsoft online tools, Maersk clients track their shipments and regulate atmospheric factors inside the containers (Lehmacher, 2021). With the sensing system in use, consumers are able to follow the movement of their cargoes (Lehmacher, 2021). Clients are also in a position to set the typical conditions for their products without having to wait for the workers to make the necessary adjustments (Lehmacher, 2021). Maersk customers, with the support of information and data they can access through the IoT system, appropriately change the settings for different containers and freights (Lehmacher, 2021). Such an ability has made traders limit the risks associated with delays in picking products by the clients, thus reducing perishable products’ wastage. Food4all’s staff can use similar system to monitor food conditions during the delivery process, ensuring that the food given to customers is safe.
Amazon
Another relevant company that uses smart sensor technology is the global retailer Amazon. Being one of the world’s most recognized brands, Amazon’s supply chain logistics are significant (Jain & Sharma, 2017). Amazon is a well-established organisation handling orders from its vast customer base, thus the company deals with large numbers of commodities that require specific attention from the workers to satisfy consumers’ desires (Jain & Sharma, 2017). The company adopted IoT technology to enable seamless flow of operations within the premises and make distribution cheaper and more reliable (Jain & Sharma, 2017). The management decided to introduce robots into the system to supplement the tasks that human employees would take more time to complete. Amazon provides an example of using smart sensors in food packaging and parcel delivery, which are part of Food4all’s core business processes.
Amazon’s IoT use is relevant due to its high-level packaging and delivery technologies. The retailer uses smart parcels to easily track packages from the customers’ comfort (Jain & Sharma, 2017). Delivery is planned to be done by drones with smart sensors to locate customers’ addresses. It also issues recycling information on the packaging labels to consumers to encourage environmental conservation at the end user level (Jain & Sharma, 2017). Food4all can adopt similar or improved food packaging and delivery technologies using smart sensors. Smart parcels at Food4all should constantly monitor food quality using parameters such as humidity, odour, and temperature (Sagar, 2021). The smart parcels should communicate with the system to relay information to the people delivering food when there are safety concerns. The parcel labels will be identical to the recycling stickers used at Amazon, but Food4all’s will provide detailed information about the food inside it. Since the elderly might have strict diet guidelines, the labels are critical, and IoT will ensure that errors are minimized to prevent food poisonings or allergies.
Recommendations and Management Considerations
For the Food4all business to put in use the IoT technology, the management team must consider factors such as changes in business processes and workflow, new job designs to support the sensor system, and installation and maintenance costs (Vamsidhar et al., 2019). Additionally, new skills training will be required for employees to manage and operate the smart sensors effectively for enhanced interaction and interpretation. The organisation will have to develop a new computerized system to monitor performance and to support taking corrective measures when responding to alerts.
Technochange will be crucial at Food4all because most workers in the food industry have limited interactions with high-level technology at their workplaces. The IoT’s implementation should include the IT project and change management techniques (Markus, 2004). The process must go through invention and innovation, and finally diffuse into the whole organisation (Markus, 2004). The practicalities include streamlining information flow to ease response to alerts, training for employees to accept the system, and incorporation of the IoT as a part of daily business activities.
Development of the smart sensors system should be outsourced to reduce initial installation and maintenance costs. As a new business, Food4all should save money on every opportunity. Outsourcing will eliminate the need to buy onsite servers and reduce the number of employees in their IT department as maintenance will be done by the vendor (Lacity et al., 2009). IoT is a service that is mostly outsourced, for instance, Maersk uses Microsoft Azure for its reefers (Lehmacher, 2021). Microsoft is a potential vendor, but for a start-up, the costs might be higher than desired. The vending contract must identify each party’s obligations; Food4all should avoid accepting responsibility for maintenance (Barthélemy & Adsit, 2003). Food4all can avoid personnel and loss of control problems by retaining a fully functional IT department (Brous et al., 2020). Additionally, outsourcing frees the organisation to focus on its core business of getting food, preparing, repackaging it, and selling it to consumers.
Food4all is a start-up business and must learn step by step until it perfects its processes. When adopting new technology, the company should comprehend, adopt, implement, and then assimilate it (Swanson, 2003). Food4all is to undergo all the four processes without terminating any of them prematurely. During comprehension, the management will understand how IoT works, and its potential for the organisation, then teach that to employees. It will then choose the best time to adopt IoT and prepare people and processes for the change (Swanson, 2003). At the third step, the IoT system will be implemented and all the accompanying changes properly managed. Finally, and gradually, the smart sensors will form part of the daily tasks at Food4all (Swanson, 2003). The best time to introduce IoT is after establishing business and gaining a considerable market base.
Food4all should consider whether to become early adopters, middle, or late adopters. In this case, IoT adoption is limited in the food industry, providing limited successful case studies. Therefore, if Food4all adopts now, it will become an early adopter of IoT in the food sector and have limited know-how as the idea is not yet universally accepted (Perez & Kreinovich, 2018). Nevertheless, IoT has been successful in other industries, especially the retail and transport sectors. However, such success does not guarantee successful adoption for Food4all (White & Samuel, 2019). Following Chan and Hen’s (2019) application of the Gartner hype cycle, Food4all can calculate the time taken to reach plateau phase by gathering data from Google Trends and US Patents, Google Book Ngram, and Scopus papers. The best recommendation is to wait until existing food companies have successfully implemented the technology, then adopt it around the same time.
In conclusion, Food4all will greatly benefit from implanting an IoT or smart sensor system. The technology will help improve customer relations, avoid wastage of food, and increase food safety and reliability in the market. The IoT will be incorporated into the food preparation process, storage facilities, packaging, and delivery to detect critical signs such as temperature changes and send alerts to ensure safety in the mentioned business processes. Besides, IoT will give Food4all a competitive advantage of delivering high quality and safe food to its customers.
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