How Mobile Technology Powers the Food Supply Chain
Food Supply Chain Management Trends
The food service distribution industry plays a vital role in the U.S. economy. With annual sales of $280 billion in 2017, it operates 153,000 total vehicles and employs 131,000 drivers. In fact, the industry’s total employment impact is more than 1 million jobs nationwide, more than the number of people who live in the state of Delaware, according to Refrigerated & Frozen Foods.
As the food service distribution industry has expanded, the companies operating in it have faced a growing number of challenges. From shifting consumer demands to increasingly stringent food safety regulations to new competitors that are leveraging disruptive technologies, food wholesalers and distributors are operating in a “new normal” that demands responsive, flexible technology tools.
Rugged Mobile Solutions For The Food Supply Chain
Rugged mobile solutions help companies achieve their goals and solve their pain points in several ways. Here are just three examples:
1. These tools reliably collect critical inventory data opening a window into the food supply chain that helps food service distributors reduce risks, cut costs, and inform employees and customers.
2. Using today’s pervasive wireless networks, rugged mobile solutions serve as essential enablers for food service distributors that want to improve their competitive positions. For example, mobile solutions create an indispensable “smart edge” that generates accurate, detailed data in near real-time.
3. By deploying multi-use, agile rugged mobile devices, businesses can then share real-time data across the organization, combine this data with existing enterprise system applications and other emerging technologies (e.g., predictive analytics, sensor networks, the Internet of Things and more) to improve efficiencies, automate processes, optimize routes, and eliminate costs across the food supply chain.
This is just a brief look at the value rugged mobile solutions bring to food wholesalers and distributors and the entire supply chain. To learn more about how Panasonic is helping food wholesalers and distributors solve some of their most pressing business problems, download the white paper here.
Panasonic along with our ecosystem of partners designs and deploys TOUGHBOOK rugged mobile solutions for a wide range of warehouse, distribution center and front- and back-of-store operations. You can find more information about TOUGHBOOK rugged mobile solutions here.
