Last updated on February 18th, 2022
Food Logistics has named Joseph Battoe, CEO of Chicago, Illinois-based Varcode, a winner of the 2022 Rock Stars of the Supply Chain award, which recognizes influential individuals in the industry whose achievements, hard work and vision have shaped the global cold food supply chain.
Following more than five years of research and patent development, Battoe brought to market the industry’s first comprehensive temperature tracking smart data solution that captures, tracks, analyzes and reports a food product’s cumulative temperature excursion over time. This will produce a cost-effective, permanent digital record without electronics and within the product’s current environment.
“Behind every great company is an even greater leader. And the supply chain leaders receiving this award are no exception,” said Marina Mayer, editor-in-chief of Food Logistics and Supply and Demand Chain Executive. “Within the last 18 months or so, the cold food chain has seen a lot of rock stars rise to the occasion. These rock stars developed platforms, integrated automation and led teams through disruption after disruption.
“The dramatic growth of online grocery shopping and meal kit deliveries over the past two years has forced these companies to address and, in many cases, create entirely new operational standards for food product assembly and packaging, and last-mile delivery. Their ongoing growth will place even greater importance on these operational factors. The unprecedented new levels of data our technology provides helps Varcode customers bypass ‘statistical noise’ and focus intently on actionable data they can use to quickly improve the efficiency and overall quality of their operations,” Battoe said.
Varcode’s customizable, dynamic Smart Tag, mobile app and cloud-based, blockchain-enabled management system provide online grocers and meal kit companies with actionable data to pinpoint challenges linked to packaging engineering, global and seasonal climate variations, shipping methods and other factors.
Varcode customers can utilize this data to make operational changes that significantly reduce product waste, decrease the need for re-shipping and reduce packaging costs, thereby increasing revenues. Varcode’s technology also enables easy, direct, two-way customer communication, creating unprecedented opportunities for customer engagement, building loyalty and directly addressing the critical, industry-wide challenge of customer retention.
Battoe and the rest of this year’s award winners are profiled in the January/February print issue of Food Logistics, as well as online at foodlogistics.com.
Symphony RetailAI VP Prothero has also been announced as a recipient of this award. To read the story from The Shelby Report, click here.
