An IoT Smart System for Cold Supply Chain Storage and Transportation Μanagement

Abstract

Cold supply chains are becoming more and more attractive due to the high demand induced by increased consumption. To fulfill standards and customers’ requirements regarding the conditions under which cold supply chain products (mainly foods and pharmaceuticals) are stored (in warehouses) and transported to the end-users, tracking those conditions is a necessity. To ensure a high level of visibility, fostering emerging technologies can improve the quality of service in supply chains in terms of delivery time, cost, and quality. In this paper, a global framework for monitoring the conditions of storage and transportation of cold products across the whole supply chain is designed and implemented practically. The proposed solution is built around low-cost and low-energy consumption devices such as sensors and microcontrollers which are connected to cloud storage to allow a high level of visibility in the supply chain allowing all parties, including the end-consumers, to follow the products during their transfer, providing a conceptual framework that monitors the performance on a real-time basis and enhances decision making. A prototype using an embedded temperature/humidity sensor, a tiny microcontroller equipped with a Wi-Fi connectivity device, and a mobile 4G/5G network is designed and implemented. The proposed system is connected to a cloud-storage platform continuously accessible by the main parties of the cold supply chain including the provider, the transporter, and the end-consumer. The proposed framework may be handled as a smart contract during which any party can assume its responsibility for the assurance of the best conditions of the supply chain operation. A small-scale real-life scenario conducted in Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia is introduced to show the feasibility of the proposed framework.