Trusted Bytes – Digital food supply chain efficiency

EXCELERATE TECHNOLOGY AIDS DIGITAL FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN EFFICIENCY PROJECT: TRUSTED BYTES.

Excelerate Technology is developing a robust communications framework as part of a consortium funded by Innovate UK, to enable greater and safer communication and connectivity, and to increase efficiencies between stakeholders across borders and within the food supply chain.

The two-year, £2.8M funded project – ‘Trusted Bytes’ – will help to aid compliance and provide real-time ubiquitous digital connectivity between the supply chain and central government at a critical time where we witness Brexit-related port disruption.

The company will be providing essential end-to-end telecommunications infrastructure for the project, which will ensure ubiquitous connectivity and enable the food supply industry to benefit from secure, real-time transfer of critical data across the EU, including the safety and quality levels of produce in transit.

Additionally, Excelerate’s technology could pave the way for new capabilities, such as the automation of controlled fruit ripening technology onboard vehicles, taking the burden away from the drivers and saving time, money and potential wastage.

Bethan Evans, operations director at Excelerate Technology, said: “We are delighted to be working closely with leaders from within the food supply industry, to explore ways in which our unique skill set of developing and implementing resilient communication technology can help the sector overcome common challenges faced, and pave the way for further development such as the onboard automated ripening process.

“The impact of disruption to the food economy could have far-reaching consequences, both for businesses and the wider public. It’s essential for decision makers to be able to manage any disruption proactively and a robust communication framework will be key to achieving this.

The Trusted Bytes project will combine multiple enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, whilst also sharing data on a platform for tracking conditions and location and feed directly into a company’s own digital business procedures.