How is Smart-Trace different to other monitoring solutions?

The Smart-Trace™ Cold Chain Monitoring System is a unique solution for monitoring the freshness and quality of perishables as they travel along the cold chain.

• Unlike data loggers, Smart-Trace provides real-time data so problems are discovered as they occur
• Unlike fixed vehicle sensors, Smart-Trace attaches to a pallet load and monitors that load from start to finish
• Unlike other wireless sensors, Smart-Trace is a disposable device that requires no recovery from the retailer

How it Works

The Smart-Trace System provides prompt notification of movement and temperature events for perishable products throughout the supply chain at the pallet load level.



The steps in the process are as follows:

Step 1:
The sender of perishable goods activates and attaches a scanned, non-returnable Smart-Trace tag to the elected pallet loads and registers the consignment at dispatch. Pallets are then loaded into a refrigerated truck, trailer or container. Data on the pallet load condition starts to be sent to the central Smart-Trace server.

Step 2:
Once the trailer is in transit, the Smart-Trace tags sends continuous dynamic data signals from load to a Smart-Trace Gateway in the refrigerated truck, trailer or container via a robust, self-healing, ad-hoc wireless network. The Smart-Trace Gateway assembles the tag data and attaches the GPS position into messages that it transmits in near real time (usually every 15 minutes, but up to 2 hours for long sea journeys) via GPRS or satellite to the central Smart-Trace Server.

Step 3:
The Smart-Trace Server records the message in its database, and prepares secure, customised reports based on the unique pallet-load identity, location, and temperature data by date-time from the trip origin to destination, including cross-dockings (where goods are unloaded, reloaded into different transport and continue to their destination, subject to the new transport also having a Smart-Trace Gateway).

Step 4:
The sender of the perishable goods automatically receives or accesses the customised Smart-Trace information via the Smart-Trace web application. Current options include SMS alarm to the mobile phone, secure internet notification or exception report direct into the sender’s warehouse management system. The Smart-Trace system provides an independent audit record for evidence of regulatory compliance and a capacity to predict any shelf-life impact of time/temperature abuse on the product, similar to the report generated below.

Step 5:
After viewing Smart-Trace data, the sender of the perishable goods chooses to either notify the retailer before the goods arrive or notify the transport company en route to the retailer and hopefully resolves the problem before it worsens.