Introduction
Food quality significantly impacts one’s satisfaction with the brand, and a customer’s behavioral intentions play a vital part in an organization's survival. The food industry is changing and it's changing fast. As the standards of living have been on a steady rise, the newer, younger generation is dominating the industry, demanding for higher quality goods. Specifically in the food industry, the standard of the food items acts as the main cause in attracting customers. As food borne illnesses are an increasing cause of illnesses within the society, for a business to maintain its existing demand, or in creating new demands for its products, the business should value its product quality immensely. Quality control methods within the supply chain can act as a pedestal for a brand in reaching the consumers set expectations. Bringing home a spoiled milk container, or consuming an expired egg can lead to decreased brand loyalty and many potential lawsuits. Organizations should hold its products’ high quality responsible until the item is picked up by the customer. This not only increases sales by attracting more customers, but also safe guards one’s brand image.
Business Case
An unclear supply chain can cause disruptions within the flow. Specifically in the food industry, quality is an aspect that should be implemented throughout the whole food supply chain. A cold dessert production brand, who specializes in yogurt based goodies supplies its products to various supermarkets. Lately, complaints in regards to shortened life span of the refrigerated goods have been increasing by the retailer. As the desserts turn blue earlier than the expiry dates mentioned on the packaging, it has caused the company great loss. Sales have decreased tremendously, and the business has observed a diminishing trend in their customer loyalty. As the supply network within the food industry is complicated at most times, and is intertwined with many businesses, ensuring quality at all stops is crucial for the product’s life line. When issues do arise, it is unclear who the cause of the problem is when there is a lack of technology involved within the system. Moreover, industries have been striving to decrease human errors in order to protect their brand names from supplying low quality products, through the use of technology.
Solution
To diminish this issue from arising once again, and to ensure high standard goods, it is crucial for the supplier and the supermarket to trace the freezer's inside environment in real time. By shadowing the freezer’s conditions at all times through a device, it paves the path in analyzing the point of cold dessert spoilage.
Action Taken
SenzMate's Polar system ensures the highest quality for each of your products, as it secures the frozen goods to be kept at a particular temperature. Incase of any power outs, or any sort of human errors that might occur resulting in the refrigerating turning off, Polar is able to actively monitor and provide the related parties with real time alerts. As the technology notifies the management of any sort of temperature fluctuations that do occur, the business is able to act fast to minimize spoilage. The technology was implanted safely into the refrigerator with no destruction to the machine itself, and the products within it. Adding on, the weekly, monthly, yearly reports of the freezer's interior environment, guarantees the management transparency all throughout the supply chain, thus increasing sales and customer loyalty.
Results
This solution has increased shelf life by a mile for the business, as now the causes of spoilages will be detected at an early time. The company is able to act actively to save the produce from expiring at an earlier time, increasing quality and satisfaction for the buyers. Moreover, Polar is now able to identify the party responsible for the issue, and provide the supply chain with alternatives in fixing the problem in hand straight away. Finally, this efficient technology has left a big smile on not only the customers, but also the company, as now they are at ease.