Role of Technologies for a Booming Food Supply Chain

In Industry 4.0, manufacturing enterprises over the globe are increasingly adopting automation and implementing new technologies, including IoT, cyber-physical systems, AI, cloud computing, ML, and many more.

The fourth industrial revolution has begun. Digital technologies offer tools for enhancing trust and traceability and shaping food supply chains. Food companies and manufacturers invest in technological innovations emphasizing food safety, processing, and packaging to differentiate themselves in an immensely competitive market.

Drone technology

In the modern era, drones are used in agriculture to upgrade numerous different farming practices. Air-based and surface-based drones in agriculture include crop health assessment, irrigation, crop screening, crop spraying, planting, and analysis of the field or soil.

Some of the incredible benefits of drones are ease of use, crop health imaging, incorporated GIS mapping, the potential to increase yields, and save time. With the support of planning and strategy based on existing data allocation and processing, drone technology provides a high-tech makeover to the farming sector.

Farmers utilize drones to monitor weather patterns, capture crop growth data, and control energy and water usage. Also, they use predictive analytics to comprehend soil and air quality and equipment and labor costs to make more informed decisions.

Blockchain Technology

Blockchain technology creates strong trust in the food supply chain. In foodborne illness outbreaks, blockchain track-and-trace helps the grocery stores or restaurants track the affected items to their origins and locate the problem quickly to eliminate the contaminated items from the shelves, menus, and supply chain. Besides, better record-keeping makes it much simpler to track or trace contaminated products straight to the source, which is fast enough to prevent the diseases from spreading. 

Check Out This: Top Food Safety Services Companies.

Augmented Reality (AR)

Now, enterprises can print AR labels in several verticals, thus providing a better user experience. Besides, augmented reality packaging offers consumers a platform to interact with the product.

It enables the food companies to improve the effectiveness of their targeting efforts. AR helps the companies better cater to the audience segment and offer a more personalized user experience.

Besides, AR gives a lot of information to the shoppers about the product, like nutrition information, country of origin, and even more technical details, such as test results and certificates. Few best AR brands also display pictures of the farm or factory.

Robotic Technology

Robotic technology allows users to restock particular products on the shelves, access real-time sales data, and answer specific customers' queries. The technology also helps the workers minimize the burden of inventory management and moves them from the backroom to the sales floor. The autonomous mobile robots work safely around individuals during regular store hours, empowering workers to concentrate on consumer service and restocking products.

3D Printing Technology

In the 3D printing industry, several innovators have developed food printers that enable consumers to eat more healthy and nutritious food regularly.

Here are some of the effects that 3D printing has on the food and beverage industry.

• Raw materials portray a considerable fraction of the price for a food manufacturer. 3D printed food allows them to reduce the expenses allowing for affordable and more sustainable food.

• Inventory management has become much easier and more cost-effective for the food manufacturers as they can manufacture food based on demand.

• 3D food printing modifies food production practices and ensures better management of resources while minimizing food product wastage.

 New technological innovations can help growers optimize yields and reduce waste, further benefiting the future supply chain.