The Client

Avery Dennison is an innovative packaging company. Their adhesive technologies, display graphics and packaging materials make products more engaging and brands more compelling. They bring greater clarity to surroundings, more insights to inventories, and added value to the information consumers and businesses demand. From apparel branding to consumer packaged goods; from vinyl graphics to RFID tags, Avery Dennison’s innovative functional materials play powerful roles in everyday lives.

With operations in more than 50 countries and more than 25,000 employees worldwide, Avery Dennison serves customers in the consumer packaging, graphical display, logistics, apparel, industrial and healthcare industries. Headquartered in Glendale, California, the company reported sales of $6.1 billion in 2016.

The Challenge

A study shows that roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally (based on the data from the FAO statistical yearbook).

This issue is becoming more and more sensitive not only for food & beverage producers, but also for sectors like pharmaceuticals, floral or any temperature-sensitive goods that need to invest to ensure the quality of their products, and identify supply chain issues that may lead to compromised products.

In parallel, legal constraints are being tightened to ensure better traceability throughout the production, storage and distribution phases. Companies are made accountable for legal compliance and public opinion is a powerful tool to ensure they comply. Consumers are key in driving new quality standards and demanding better visibility on conservation issues such as waste reduction and more sustainable processes.

The Solution

To address these challenges, Avery Dennison offers the TT Sensor Plus™ 2 – a cost-effective, smart packaging solution that logs time and temperature, along with multiple services such as a cloud environment and application programming interface to manage the collected data and individual calibration capabilities.

An integrated chip records the temperatures an item is exposed to, throughout its supply chain journey. It can indicate if the item is suitable for its intended use. The data is stored in a NFC microchip and can be uploaded to a Famoco device or computer at anytime, anywhere throughout the supply chain.

The technology incorporates sensor functionality and temperature data logging capabilities in a cost effective packaging solution. When fixed to a product or container, the small, thin solution can be programmed by the user to record the temperature history of goods at defined intervals during shipment. Once a shipment reaches its destination, the temperature data can be uploaded to the Famoco NFC reading device, checked and/or sent to the cloud.

The Android-based devices are attack proof and dedicated, to prevent fraud or misuse. As they are easy-to-use and remotely managed, deployment is quick and controlled, and teams on the field can take-over devices rapidly and without specific training.

In a few words :

• TT Sensor Plus™ 2; An NFC intelligent label records any temperature variation throughout production, transportation and storage.
• High security measures are taken to ensure the the product data cannot be manipulated and the tag cannot be reprogrammed.
• A Famoco dedicated device reads the information during key checkpoints and reports any problem linked to environmental changes.
• Cold-chain quality is thus certified for the complete product life cycle, securing resellers with a quality standard from their suppliers.
• Application fields : food & beverage supplies, Pharmaceuticals, Floriculture, Chemicals & Polymers, other temperature sensitive goods…

The Results

The more obvious results impact is reduced waste and related losses.

Companies that optimize their conservation processes can use it as a strong differentiation signal to conquer market share in a more durable way :

The British retailers Tesco and Sainsbury’s started to give a 7-day vase life guarantee for their flowers. Because of the guarantee, they were able to increase their market share from 18% to 60% in 15 years.
The company Barlean’s managed to achieve an increase in turnover of their organic oils of 40% by identifying ‘freshness’ as the key competitive differentiator : positioned on a pressed on-demand product with express delivery, they were able to offer higher freshness levels (for a lower shelf-life of about 4 months) when their competitors’ distribution processes would take up to five months, forcing them to adopt other conservation methods.

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