Smart packaging--gaining traction in the marketplace

The promise of smart packaging has always been impressive. Now, at last, some pretty intriguing commercial applications are starting to surface.

Pw 8006 Smart Package Pointing

Guess what. Packaging is already performing such functions, and based on the success that has been achieved thus far, the number of applications is sure to multiply.

Welcome to the world of smart packaging. It’s a concept that can be defined in a number of ways, though one useful way comes from Paul Butler, a principal in the U.K. consultancy service known as Packaging Materials and Technologies (www.smartpackaging.co.uk). Says Butler: “Forget about all those numerous definitions—active, diagnostic, intelligent, smart, functional—to describe smart packaging. It’s all one big continuum of functionality.”

Butler figures a “smart package” is a package made smart by functional attributes that add benefits either to a participant in the supply chain or to the consumer. A perfect example of this enhanced functionality is seen in the temperature-monitoring labels now used on all inbound produce, fresh meat, and seafood shipments to the distribution centers of the Albertson’s chain of supermarkets. The monitoring label of choice, says Albertson’s, is the PakSense TXi™ Smart label from PakSense Inc. (www.paksense.com). It tracks the temperature of a perishable product’s environment during distribution and enables quality-assurance personnel to make better quality and safety decisions.

“We’ve always monitored the temperatures of our perishable products during shipping,” explains Dave Dean, group vice president of procurement for Albertson’s. “But we found that the traditional temperature-monitoring devices were bulky and expensive. A quick return-on-investment analysis on the PakSense Label convinced me that making the switch would save us a substantial amount of money-and provide better quality assurance for our customers.”

What an improvement

To really appreciate how significant an improvement these smart labels are, it’s important to understand that the “traditional temperature-monitoring device” that they replace is a brick-sized device that is a reusable asset. Because it’s a reusable asset, a number of logistical inconveniences are inherent in its use. Not only does it have to be kept track of, cared for, and reused, but it also has to be sent back periodically to its manufacturer so that it can be recalibrated.

All of these logistical complications disappear when the temperature-monitoring device is designed with one-way use in mind. Now the meat or fish or poultry supplier shipping to Albertson’s simply snaps off the corner of a label and applies it to the side of a pallet. When a shipment reaches its destination, as long as the product has not been exposed to temperatures outside of preprogrammed parameters, the green LED on the label will be blinking. If temperatures have ranged too high or too low, the green LED will stop blinking, and instead, the up arrow or down arrow will begin to blink. So personnel on the receiving end know at a glance if the contents of a shipment are suspect or not.

Making all of this possible is a little thing called miniaturization. Contained in the PakSense label is a 1.6-g lithium manganese battery, the three LEDs, and a microchip-operated temperature-sensing device. Also on board: 4 kb of memory. Finally, near the top of the label are five contact pads—more on these in a minute.

PakSense programs the three LEDs to trigger at whatever temperatures the user specifies. The labels are then shipped to customers in boxes of 25. When the produce grower snaps off the corner of the label, it breaks a circuit and, in effect, “wakes up” the label. Anywhere from one to five labels may be placed in a given shipment. Albertson’s recommends three per shipment of meat and only one for fresh produce.

Conveying Innovations Report
Editors report on distinguishing characteristics that define each new product and collected video demonstrating the equipment or materials as displayed at the show. This topical report, winnowed from nearly 300 PACK EXPO collective booth visits, represents a categorized, organized account of individual items that were selected based on whether they were deemed to be both new, and truly innovative, based on decades of combined editorial experience in experiencing and evaluating PACK EXPO products.
Take me there
Conveying Innovations Report
Is your palletizing solution leaving money on the floor?
Discover which palletizing technology—robotic, conventional, or hybrid—will maximize your packaging line efficiency while minimizing long-term costs in this comprehensive analysis.
Read More
Is your palletizing solution leaving money on the floor?