Food Logistics

OCT 2014

Food Logistics serves the entire food supply chain industry with targeted content for manufacturers, retailers, and distributors.

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SUPPLY SCAN 10 OCTOBER 2014 • FOOD LOGISTICS www.foodlogistics.com N E W S F R O M A C R O S S T H E F O O D S U P P LY C H A I N Swire Cold Chain Logistics Opens Shanghai Facility Swire Cold Chain Logistics Co. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsid- iary of Swire Pacific Cold Storage Ltd., opened a new cold storage facility at Fengxian in Shanghai, China, according to Global Cold Chain Alliance. John Slosar, chair- man of Swire Pacific Ltd. and J. B. Rae-Smith, Swire Pacific's execu- tive director for the trading and industrial division, officiated at the opening ceremony, with Jiang Hongxia, deputy director of devel- opment zone of Fengxian District, and Xu Jianlong, director of Eco- nomic Commission of Fengxian District as guests of honor. The new facility is Swire Pacific Cold Storage's first wholly-owned cold storage facility in Mainland China, marking the company's expansion into the country's fast growing cold chain logistics industry. Driven by the increasing affluence of the middle classes, who have a growing appetite for frozen packaged foodstuffs, China is seeing a burgeoning demand for cold chain services. The growing awareness of food safety issues has also highlighted the importance of modernizing the country's food supply chain. Carrier Transicold Uses Solar Panels To Maintain Refrigeration A new accessory from Carrier Transicold harnesses the power of the sun to charge transport refrig- eration unit (TRU) batteries to maintain peak performance in an environmentally sustainable way. Developed specifically to maintain TRU battery charge, the thin-film, flexible solar panels are installed on the roofs of trailers, truck bodies and refrigerated rail cars chilled by Carrier Transicold or other sys- tems. When exposed to daylight, the panels continuously charge TRU batteries, ensuring power for system starts and helping to avoid issues and costs associated with a weak or dead battery. "Refrigerated fleet demands for value-added electrical loads have increased in recent years, tapping refrigeration system batteries to power additional electronics such as telematics devices, fuel-level sensors, interior trailer lighting and other accessories," said Jason Forman, marketing manager for truck trailers at Carrier Transicold Performance Parts Group. Solar panels can also help con- serve fuel by minimizing the need to run the TRU engine to charge the battery. Carrier Transicold solar panels provide up to 1.8 amps per hour and are compatible with 12-volt wet cell and absorbent glass mat batteries. Amorphous silicon solar cell technology performs reli- ably even in low and indirect light- ing conditions. Weighing less than 2 pounds, the panels are highly flexible and measure less than one- eighth of an inch thick. Designed to withstand the harsh transporta- tion environment, they are water- proof and puncture-resistant and have a 5-year limited warranty on power output. Woolworths Australia Posts Online Grocery Sales Boom Woolworths revealed a boom in online grocery shopping that has made Internet shopping its fastest- growing segment, according to The Sydney Morning Herald in Sydney, Australia. Woolworths spent the past year investing millions developing its online shopping offering and infra- structure – including a so-called dedi- cated Internet only dark store – for its food and alcohol businesses and in response, c ustomer orders soared. That drove revenue from online shopping up 50 percent from $0.8 billion in 2013 to $1.2 billion in total transactions this year. That translates into about 3 million items being delivered to homes every week around the country. The company focused its efforts this year on equipping existing stores to offer "click and collect," where customers can order online and pick up in person. This service is now offered at 202 of its 931 stores around the country. It also offers 17 "drive-thru" options. Kroger Tests Click And Collect Service In Cincinnati Kroger officials said they are testing a grocery pick-up service in Cincinnati, according to The Cou- rier Journal in Louisville, Ky. Modeled after Harris Teeter's "click and collect" at 150 stores in the Southeast, Kroger is now tinkering with the service at its Liberty Township store. Custom- ers order groceries via the Internet, then drive up to pick up their order. Kroger bought Harris Teeter for $2.5 bil- lion in January and has been studying the program for months with plans to expand it elsewhere. The service is not yet available to customers – Kroger is in such early testing, only associates are using it. Walmart Wades Deeper Into Online Grocery Service Walmart recently unveiled its Walmart Pickup Grocery service to registered customers in North- west Arkansas, according to news reports. Consumers who want to use the service must first register online with an email address. Wal- Mart said it will begin extending invitations to try the same-day service via email. Registered shoppers can order from the online site which con- tains roughly 10,000 grocery and consumable items including fresh meat, dairy, produce and common household products. The consumer then schedules a pickup time ranging from two hours to three weeks after the order is placed. The shop- per then drives to one of the kiosk stations at the pickup grocery site at the scheduled time and notifies the attendant who will bring their order to the car. Orders are paid for online. Wal-Mart said this test extends its everyday low prices with no hidden fee or surcharges. Second Card Fraud Hits Supervalu, Jewel-Osco Supermarkets All Jewel-Osco stores in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa were among sev- eral U.S. supermarkets affected by a second payment card fraud inci- dent, according to news reports. The latest attack appears to have occurred in late August or early September, AB Acquisition said. The attack also hit some stores operated by Jewel-Osco's former owner, Supervalu, which continues to provide IT services to Jewel-Osco and other chains it no longer owns. Jewel-Osco's parent company could not say in late September how many people were affected by the incident. The company said it believed the malware issue affected all Jewel-Osco stores. The latest attack appears to involve malware different than was used in an incident announced in mid-August. Investigations into both incidents continue, AB Acquisition said.

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