The use of RFID sensor tags for perishable products monitoring in logistics operations

Transportation of perishable products increased in volume in the last decades and imposes new challenges to today´s logistics operations. Because of the spoilage risk of the transported items, certain conditions (e.g., temperature, humidity, vibration, etc.) must be maintained during the transportation phase. Failure to maintain the required conditions may lead to product spoilage and delivery disturbances. This work considers a multi-echelon supply chain model composed of one producer and multiple customers and contrasts the performance of the logistics operations when RFID and sensing technologies are employed and when they are not. The simulation models of the two scenarios result in as much as nine different outcomes, which are presented in the form of good practice recommendations.