{"id":290482,"date":"2019-11-19T05:04:55","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T13:04:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=wherenext&p=290482"},"modified":"2025-12-12T08:59:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T16:59:45","slug":"food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain","status":"publish","type":"wherenext","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain","title":{"rendered":"NextTech: Geoblockchain and the Challenge of Food Spoilage"},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[369822,378582,411722],"tags":[297722,297712,281,483792,1331],"department":[488812],"wherenext-category":[],"industry":[],"class_list":["post-290482","wherenext","type-wherenext","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-digital-supply-chain","category-iot","category-nexttech-features","tag-blockchain","tag-geoblockchain","tag-location-intelligence","tag-nexttech","tag-supply-chain","department-emerging-technologies"],"acf":{"short_description":"An innovative approach to location intelligence could help reduce the massive amount of food lost before it reaches shelves.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"A full 14 percent of the world\u2019s food goes to waste between harvest and store delivery, according to a United Nations Food and Agriculture Report. As Bloomberg Businessweek<\/a><\/em> recently reported, the economic value of that loss is $400 billion, larger than the GDP of most nations. At a time when 820 million people go hungry every day, this loss has a social cost, too."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Left","content":"Article snapshot:<\/strong> Each year, the world loses $400 billion worth of food to spoilage and other factors. New techniques for supply chain management\u2014including the use of geoblockchain\u2014could stem a global problem.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Against that backdrop, an emerging technology called geoblockchain offers companies a way to locate and fix deficiencies in the food supply chain.\r\n\r\nThe causes of food waste are varied and intertwined, including spoilage, inadequate storage, inefficient routing, and an unwillingness to sell food that doesn\u2019t look \u201cperfect\u201d but is otherwise intact. As the UN report notes, much of the food lost is the perishable type\u2014fruits, vegetables, and grains\u2014that people depend on for a healthy diet.\r\n\r\nThe problem spans the globe. Europe and North America account for nearly 16 percent of the losses, second only to central and south Asia\u2019s 20 percent. While world leaders<\/a> and private corporations<\/a> have pledged to halve the amount of food wasted at the retail and consumption levels by 2030, the problem of pre-retail loss remains largely unaddressed.\r\n

Cold New World<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nThough the UN report stresses that more research on supply chains is needed, it does suggest a way forward, emphasizing the importance of reliable physical infrastructure, efficient logistics, and analytics for tracking waste. It also highlights the need for reliable cold storage conditions.\r\n\r\nWhile the ultimate solution will likely involve these and other remedies, it is safe to say that improving companies\u2019 ability to monitor supply chains<\/a> is a good place to start. If food producers could monitor their products\u2019 condition at every step of the journey, they could understand where and how the system breaks down.\r\n\r\nKevin Bolger, a practice lead for artificial intelligence<\/a> and machine learning at Esri, recently demonstrated a system of location intelligence for supply chains. He outlined how a geographic information system (GIS) could incorporate a geoblockchain to provide a constant overview of cold storage conditions during shipping."},{"acf_fc_layout":"youtube","youtube_video_url":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/MVq_TqjYMqY"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" \r\n

Connecting the Dots<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nThe supply chain monitoring app in this demonstration is powered by GIS technology, fed by IoT-based temperature sensors, and governed by blockchain technology.\r\n\r\nThe inner workings of blockchain are complex, but the underlying concept is simple: Imagine a transaction between two parties that is recorded in a ledger. (In the food supply chain, that might mean transferring cargo from an international shipper to a local distributor, for example.) Blockchain logs those transactions in multiple digital locations\u2014across a distributed ledger. Anyone attempting to alter the ledger would have to change every copy.\r\n\r\nA series of such transactions becomes part of a \u201cchain\u201d of all transactions that establishes the provenance and condition of the goods. For supply chain monitoring, the transactions occur at various locations where products are observed or change hands. In the cold storage example, every temperature reading is recorded as a transaction."},{"acf_fc_layout":"form","form_type":"aside","form_position":"Right","form_title":"SIGN UP FOR THE ESRI BRIEF","form_desc":"A biweekly email connecting senior executives and business leaders with thought-provoking articles on location intelligence and critical technology trends.","form_button_label":"Sign up now","form_content":"https:\/\/go.pardot.com\/l\/82202\/2017-10-12\/jw1bmb","form_tag":"low-commitment-form\/sign-up-form"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Location intelligence is at the heart of this supply chain analysis and provides important context. With a location-specific view on a GIS map, a supply chain manager can see exactly where food spoilage problems arise. The geoblockchain<\/a> provides an immutable record of temperature readings and where each occurred on the chain.\r\n

Paying the Bill<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nPreventing spoilage is not the only reason businesses in the food sector use location intelligence to monitor supply chains. One of the largest food and beverage companies in Thailand uses GIS to monitor a 2,500-truck fleet for increased efficiency<\/a> and reduced cost. Global palm oil refiner Bunge Loders Croklaan uses it<\/a> to monitor whether suppliers are engaged in sustainable practices.\r\n\r\nNew business applications of location intelligence for supply chain management\u2014including the use of geoblockchain\u2014could reduce the $400 billion waste bill. At the same time, companies can improve their own bottom line while helping create a food supply chain that better meets the world\u2019s needs."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nGeoblockchain Portends Better Supply Chain Management \u2502 Food Waste<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A United Nations report found massive waste in the food supply chain, and location intelligence technology like geoblockchain may offer recourse.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NextTech: Geoblockchain and the Challenge of Food Spoilage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A United Nations report found massive waste in the food supply chain, and location intelligence technology like geoblockchain may offer recourse.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Esri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-12T16:59:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2019\/11\/wherenext-food-spoliage-supply-chain-Card-826-x-465.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Esri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain\",\n\t \"name\": \"Geoblockchain Portends Better Supply Chain Management \u2502 Food Waste\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2019-11-19T13:04:55+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2025-12-12T16:59:45+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"A United Nations report found massive waste in the food supply chain, and location intelligence technology like geoblockchain may offer recourse.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"NextTech: Geoblockchain and the Challenge of Food Spoilage\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Esri\",\n\t \"description\": \"Esri Newsroom\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/b890389919572d29641d24fc67eaf376\",\n\t \"name\": \"Chris Chiappinelli\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Chris Chiappinelli\"\n\t },\n\t \"description\": \"Chris Chiappinelli is the editor of Esri\u2019s WhereNext magazine. Through his writing, he explores the intersection of business strategy and location intelligence\u2014and strategic challenges like sustainability, growth, and risk. Prior to joining Esri, Chris managed internal content for PTC, a pioneer in IoT technology, smart products, and augmented reality. Earlier in his career, Chris spent a decade as a journalist covering business and technology news.\",\n\t \"sameAs\": [\n\t \"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-chiappinelli-ba56814\",\n\t \"https:\/\/x.com\/chrischip\"\n\t ],\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/author\/cchiappinelli\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Geoblockchain Portends Better Supply Chain Management \u2502 Food Waste","description":"A United Nations report found massive waste in the food supply chain, and location intelligence technology like geoblockchain may offer recourse.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NextTech: Geoblockchain and the Challenge of Food Spoilage","og_description":"A United Nations report found massive waste in the food supply chain, and location intelligence technology like geoblockchain may offer recourse.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain","og_site_name":"Esri","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/","article_modified_time":"2025-12-12T16:59:45+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2019\/11\/wherenext-food-spoliage-supply-chain-Card-826-x-465.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Esri","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain","name":"Geoblockchain Portends Better Supply Chain Management \u2502 Food Waste","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-11-19T13:04:55+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-12T16:59:45+00:00","description":"A United Nations report found massive waste in the food supply chain, and location intelligence technology like geoblockchain may offer recourse.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/food-spoilage-and-geoblockchain#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NextTech: Geoblockchain and the Challenge of Food Spoilage"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/","name":"Esri","description":"Esri Newsroom","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/b890389919572d29641d24fc67eaf376","name":"Chris Chiappinelli","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg","caption":"Chris Chiappinelli"},"description":"Chris Chiappinelli is the editor of Esri\u2019s WhereNext magazine. Through his writing, he explores the intersection of business strategy and location intelligence\u2014and strategic challenges like sustainability, growth, and risk. Prior to joining Esri, Chris managed internal content for PTC, a pioneer in IoT technology, smart products, and augmented reality. Earlier in his career, Chris spent a decade as a journalist covering business and technology news.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-chiappinelli-ba56814","https:\/\/x.com\/chrischip"],"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/author\/cchiappinelli"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wherenext\/290482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wherenext"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wherenext"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wherenext\/290482\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290482"},{"taxonomy":"department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=290482"},{"taxonomy":"wherenext-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wherenext-category?post=290482"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=290482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}