Green Scale Alchemy (GSA), a French IoT developer of for asset management in the retail and supply chain industries, has integrated Semtech’s IoT LoRa devices for liqueur maker Giffard.

The platform enables accurate pallet management to increase logistical efficiency and has been rolled out by Giffard, a French liqueur manufacturer, to manage remotely its packaging assets and tools across two of the company’s large warehouses.

“By integrating IoT devices operating the LoRaWan protocol, GSA is among the first in Europe to offer private networking capabilities and flexible devices to meet the needs of today’s supply chain managers,” said Frédéric Sammut, CEO at GSA. “Leveraging the LoRaWan protocol provides accurate inventory data over long range, enabling managers to increase the efficiency of their logistical processes to reduce associated costs and increase sustainability.”

A standard in the logistics industry, wooden pallets deliver an estimated 95 per cent of Europe’s consumer goods. GSA identified the shortcomings of legacy pallet-based shipping and developed technology to leverage LoRaWans to optimise the remote management of pallets in real time.

GSA’s platform based on the LoRaWan protocol delivers insight into the location and environmental status of the individual pallet, including geolocation capabilities to identify pallet location in a warehouse or in transit. These data let managers track assets through the supply chain from manufacturing to distribution and out for delivery. Additionally, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, smarter logistics management and geolocation in warehouses allows organisations to move assets only when necessary and keep employees safe through social distancing.

“Integrating proven IoT geolocation operating on LoRaWan enables customers to reduce logistical inefficiencies and reduce cost,” said Marc Pegulu, vice president at California-based Semtech. “By developing its solution to utilise the LoRaWan protocol, GSA created a flexible, scalable IoT platform that monitors and reports pallet status, condition and location in real time. These enhanced metrics help keep inventory safe and accounted for throughout the management cycle and deliver customers a faster RoI.”

In 2017, Giffard deployed GSA’s technology in its newest liqueur production plant, a site that manufactures up to 20,000 bottles per day. The plant consists of two 3000 square metre buildings dedicated to liqueur production and warehousing respectively. By using the IoT platform, Giffard receives and audits its production data to identify inefficiencies in its warehousing workflow and, as a result, remotely manages all its packaging assets and tools within its sites.

“GSA’s innovations based on the LoRaWan protocol enabled Giffard to transform its existing packaging and pallets into connected assets through innovative and simple retrofit,” said Pierre Jouanneau Giffard, COO at Giffard. “This allowed improved fleet management and the allocation of resources with integrated tools for more efficient production. Increased management efficiency allowed Giffard to optimise its workforce and material resources to improve profits.”

GSA was created in 2017 by experts in the fields of FMCG, retail, supply chain, IoT and circular economy. The company helps industrials and distributors digitise their supply chain through the traceability of reusable packaging, goods, cold chain monitoring and interaction with consumers. Designed to equip most handling systems, its products allow the real-time visualisation of inventory levels, logistic flows and business performance.

Founded in 1885 in Angers, France, Giffard is an independent, family-owned company specialising in liqueurs and syrups. It has built its success on quality products, including its signature Menthe-Pastille brand. Started in a small local laboratory by Emile Giffard, the brand is now present in more than 80 countries on all continents. Giffard liqueurs and syrups are distributed to professional networks such as cocktail bars, restaurants and hotels.