Smart Cold Chain IoT Solution

1. Status Quo and Industry Demands

Cold Chain Logistics is also called low-temperature logistics, which is a special sub-division of logistics. It is a systems engineering, thru which cooled and frozen foods have been kept within the specified range of low temperatures from its production, storage, transportation, sales, until its consumption, to ensure food quality and to reduce food loss during the entire process. In a narrow sense, cold chain is the low-temperature logistics of agricultural products; broadly speaking, cold-chain involves not just agricultural products, but also pharmaceuticals, chemicals and other items which have special temperature requirements.  

Various analysis reports from relevant departments show that China is the world's largest agricultural production and consumption country with annual output of vegetables, fruits and meats, poultries and aquatic products accounting for 59%, 46% and 35% of those in the world, respectively. In sharp contrast with the output and consumption, the cold chain logistics in China is at a very low level. The data shows that the facilities of railway refrigerated transportation in China are out of date with mechanical frozen wagons in the majority, which are short of fresh refrigerated transport compartments meeting normal insulation standards. The volume of refrigerated transported foods only accounts for 1% of the total volume of transported foods. In the highway transport, the perishable foods of refrigerated transportation only accounts for 20% of the total, and the remaining 80% are transported by non-refrigerated trucks.

However, in developed countries, pre-cooling to keep perishable foods fresh covers 80% to 100% of cold chain logistics, and refrigerated transportation of perishable foods account for 80% to 90% of the total. This means that there is a huge growth potential before our country catches up with developed countries regarding cold chain logistics development. 

ZKS cold chain logistics solution presents a wireless temperature and humidity monitoring system, which provides real-time monitoring for the entire cold chain. In the monitoring system, the temperature, humidity and location information is collected by sensors, and then it is transmitted to the cloud servers; Warning mechanism is built within the system, alarms are sent to minimize risk when temperature or humidity level falls out of the specified range.   

ZKS cold chain solution also monitors the truck during the entire process, featuring valuables-loss-prevention, substitution prevention and anti-counterfeiting etc. In the cold chain transportation, the pasted electronic tags on the box of valuables or on the package of bundled valuables prevent dis-assembly. The tag collects the data (coding, dis-assembly prevention etc) and transmits it to the tag reader real time. Then the data is sent to the backend control center via GPRS. In the case when the tag is removed or the tagged goods are moved out of the truck, pop-up window displays in the control center, and alarms are sent in the system. At the same time, users are able to monitor the goods in the truck via smart phone or PC Internet access, enjoy the convenience to monitor the goods during transportation from anywhere, to safeguard cold chain security and to prevent loss.

2. System Features

2.1 Hardware Features

ZKS interBow is the patented LPWAN wireless communication technology, reaching up to 1,000 meters in Internet-of-Things solutions, which offers four advanced features. 

Ultra low power consumption: 2 years battery life with a coin battery, 1/20 of WiFi power consumption

Extra long distance: up to 1,000 meters, 20 X Bluetooth

Multi-connection: up to 1024 sensors, 6 X Zigbee

Strong wireless pass-thru: 50 meters out of refrigerators, 100 meters thru 3 walls

2.2 Software Features

The software part of ZKS cold chain solution is based on the Cold Cloud monitoring system, which is a proprietary system developed by ZKS. In the system, goods temperature and humidity data is collected by the accurate TH sensor probes, and it is transmitted to the cloud servers via gateways. Users have various access options like PC, smart phone and weChat to view monitored-goods data and manage the system via secure login. Specifically, it has these competitive advantages:

1.Wireless transmission, easy deployment and installation.

2.Remote real-time monitoring from anywhere, via PC or smart phone.

3.Suitable for both fixed storage monitoring and transportation monitoring

3.System Hardware Introduction

ZKSmart TH Sensor Datalogger-S1

ZKSmart Sensor S1 is a smart wireless temperature and humidity datalogger, which has local storage capacity and enables data storage in the cloud via system integration. ZKS patented IoT technology interBow is implemented for ZKSmart Sensor S1 to communicate wirelessly with the cloud servers in real time. Sensor data remains reliable and secure in both transmission and storage. ZKSmart Sensor S1 is small and thin by design, which enables various convenient implementation options: to be hung, pasted, sucked to surface, etc. It is widely used in pharmaceutical cold chain, food cold chain, cold storage, cold chain logistics, refrigerated truck, and cold warehouse etc. 

Main Features

Protection level：IP68

Frequency：433MHz

Power Source：CR2450 coin battery

Battery Life：2 years

Temperature Range：-25℃～65℃

Temperature Tolerance：±0.5℃

Humidity Range：0～100%

Humidity Tolerance：±5%

ZKSmart T Sensor Datalogger-S2

ZKSmart Sensor-S2 is a smart wireless temperature datalogger for ultra low temperature monitoring, and can work in temperature environment as low as -200℃. Secure data transmission between S2 and cloud servers has been achieved while interBow communication technology, ZKS-patented and proprietary, is utilized during the real time communication. Ultra-low-temperature-monitoring datalogger S2 employs external temperature probe with a working temperature range of -200℃ to +65℃, and S2 is especially applicable in these temperature-monitoring environment such as liquid nitrogen tanks and certain pharmaceutical refrigeration, both in storage and during transportation.

Main Features

Protection level：IP54

Frequency：433MHz

Power Source：18650 Lithium Battery（Rechargeable）

Temperature Range：-200℃～65℃

Temperature Tolerance：±0.5℃

Temp Display Accuracy：0.1℃

Reading Distance：Up to 150 meters

ZKSmart Black Box-B2

ZKSmart Black Box-2G is a smart mobile gateway, which is implemented in the wireless sensor network (WSN). ZKSmart Black Box-2G is capable of communicating simultaneously with up to 1024 sensors while utilizing interBow wireless technology, and in real time, it receives sensor data and transmits the data to the cloud servers via the 2G cellular network. With its convenient small size and strong protection against water ( IP54 ), it is widely used in pharmaceutical cold chain, food cold chain, cold storage, cold chain logistics, refrigerated truck, and cold warehouse etc. 

Main Features:

 ZKS wireless gateway, interBow tech built-in, strong protection, large Flash memory, long battery life;

 IoT WSN tech implemented; 

 Supporting GPRS, such as 2G network via China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom;

 IoT SIM card, plug and play;

 Supporting data transmission to multiple servers at the same time;

 Data transmission at set intervals; Transmission intervals configurable;

 Memory capacity ≥ 100,000 data entries, expandable.   

ZKSmart Alarm

ZKSmart Alarm is the alarm and display device in the smart monitoring system, featuring acoustic and optical siren alarm, real-time data display, and page-by-page data review, etc. The alarm device data can be received from the cloud servers or from the interBow sensors. A single ZKSmart Alarm can be configured to work with multiple sensors, and also a single sensor can be configured to work with multiple alarm devices.

Main Features

 Supporting GPRS and WiFi, such as 2G network via China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom etc;

 Every alarm has its unique ID code for easy identification and reference; 

 Screen：3.5in LCD, optional 12in or 15in touch screen;

 Display content：temperature and humidity, alarms of temperature and humidity, time of alarms;

 Display modes：rotational display, display of a specified sensor, real-time display of alarms;

 Review of multiple alarms: page-by-page view of history alarms; alarm is handled by default when pressing the confirm button;

 Acoustic alarm mode: siren alarm is triggered in abnormal situation, and sound can be turned off individually;

 Optical alarm mode: alarm light flashes at the screen bottom, or alarm indicator bell flashes. 

4.  Cold Cloud Monitoring System

4.1 System Introduction 

ZKS cold cloud monitoring system is the industry-leading end-to-end smart cold chain platform, which enables wireless monitoring of all processes, including temperature, humidity, location, and status from shipping goods to receiving goods. The platform is based on core IoT communication technology, cloud computing and big data which is easy to deploy and install at the client side, and the monitoring solution is proven reliable and accurate thru lots of implemented use cases. After the smart sensor collects data regarding temperature, humidity, GPS, etc, the data is to be uploaded via mobile network from the transmission gateway to platform servers in the cloud.  Users are empowered to access and download the relevant temperature and location data and reports via APP, WeChat or PC. In order to take preventative actions, in abnormal circumstances, the platform sends out alarm through SMS, voice, email, sound and light alarm, etc.. It's been widely implemented in cold chain trucks, logistics, etc. It is also used in fixed storage environment. The solution makes uninterrupted cold chain monitoring a reality during the entire process.

4.2 Interfaces in the Cold Cloud

4.2.1 Login interface

4.2.2 Home page

4.2.3 My Devices

(1) Many functions are listed under My Device page.

(2) Add new sensors 

（3）Alarm settings

（4）Data graph view 

（5）Add alarm device 

（6）Add alarm action 

(7) Alarm history

4.2.4 Data Export

（1）  The primary feature of data export is for users to query and export history data from the system for reporting and analysis. It support Excel and PDF formats. It can also be used for inter-system integration.

（2） The daily report is a pre-configured simplified report for users’ convenience, and it support Excel and PDF export.

4.2.5 Account Setting 

4.2.6 System Management

4.3 Real-time Locating

The system software is able to monitor the refrigerated truck’s location, status and other events real time, can also play back the history track. A variety of features and functions are realized in the system: rights configuration, location monitoring, daily log, stat analysis, temperature and humidity alarms, and other system configurations. Middleware software is used to communicate with the system’s temperature and humidity datalogger, retrieves the tag data. Middleware used together with pre-defined business rules, a variety of events and reports can be created.

5. Success Cases

SF Express expands to offer one-stop supply chain solution to various clients in e-commerce, foods, medicine, auto parts and electronics industries, etc., while focusing on client needs, strengthening its existing Express Delivery business and providing new and better services. 

Available data shows that, at the end of 2015, SF Express owns 15,000 delivery vehicles and 13,000 branch business offices. Additionally, it has 30 cargo airplanes, and has built the national air delivery network with 2 centers being Shenzhen and Hangzhou. At the same time, SF Express is actively expanding its delivery service outside of China. Now it offers delivery service to USA, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Russia and Mongolia etc.

JD.com has been the largest self-owned e-commerce business in China. Founded in 2004, JD.com has been sticking to the genuine product rule: zero tolerance for fakes. It practices strict QA measures to ensure genuine products,  gets supplies from big-brand businesses and prevent fakes from its supply chain sources. JD.com owns the largest logistics infrastructure among China’s e-commerce businesses. Thru strategic planning, JD.com has become the one and only e-commerce company, which owns the logistics infrastructure of full storage-distribution integration for small, medium and large regular packages, and also for cooled and frozen goods. Until June 30, 2016, JD.com owns 7 national logistics centers, operates 234 large warehouses, owns 6,756 distribution locations / self-pickup locations. Its services cover 2,639 districts/counties in China, and its storage areas reach around 5.2 million square meters.

In the above cold chain solutions, some problems or potential risks remain: outdated equipment, unacceptable cooling results, unstable temperature, etc. Also, many existing solutions use wired equipment, resulting in complex wiring installation and challenging maintenance demands due to wired equipment status quo. ZKS cold chain logistics solutions are wireless ones, they have been widely implemented for years, and they have been proven to have various competitive advantages: lower initial investment, easy deployment & installation and low maintenance due to the wireless nature, high-accuracy temperature monitoring and reliable operation. ZKS solutions have brought substantial benefits to many cold chain logistics businesses.