Orange Business Services is providing food retailer Auchan Group a real-time tracking system to monitor the complete routing of plastic crates carrying fruits and vegetables for its French hypermarkets and supermarkets. Headquartered in France, Auchan has more than 1,300 hypermarkets and supermarkets in 12 nations.
Using plastic crates with RFID chips, Auchan will track its produce throughout the distribution chain—from the truck farm to the logistics platform, in stores and through the washing station. The platform application developed by Orange enables 24-hour-a-day access in a cloud mode (Software as a Service) through an ergonomic and secure web interface. Using this application, both the Auchan produce distribution chain manager and plastic crate renter can see in real time the entire route of the containers and can anticipate their immobilization or loss.
The Orange application retrieves RFID data—portals for bulk reading in warehouses or PDAs (personal digital assistants) for producers—detected by chip-reading systems from partner IER. This closed-loop supply chain means the distribution cycle repeats once the crates are cleaned after use.
Besides optimizing the logistics chain by increasing container rotation and monitoring the crates, this system enables Auchan to reap these benefits:
•Greater security for warehouse employees by reducing accident risk connected with handling wooden crates.
•Reduction in crate loss thanks to geolocalization.
•Quick win in sustainable development by saving more than 150 tons of waste by reusing plastic RFID containers, representing a 30% decrease in carbon emissions.
•More consistent presentation of products in stores.
•System fully complies with European regulations for fresh produce food hygiene.
For more information, visit www.groupe-auchan.com or www.orange-business.com.
