Atlanta, Georgia
- Marks the first blockchain-verified HerdX shipment of beef from U.S. to Japan
- UPS develops customized, integrated visibility tool for tracking and quality assurance
- Collaboration creates food quality authentication process
UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced a collaboration with HerdX, Inc., a leading U.S.-based agri-tech solutions provider, to deliver blockchain-verified traced beef from a U.S. farm to Japan. The delivery represents a significant step forward in quality assurance and traceability in the beef industry and was celebrated at an event attended by U.S. and Japanese embassy officials in Tokyo on viernes, 8 de nov de 2019.
As consumers demand to know more about the food they consume, the market for traceability and verification tools has increased. Technology companies, government agencies and academic institutions have been working to standardize the process, but no known global standard exists to date.
UPS and HerdX collaborated to develop tracking and traceability technology that improves quality assurance for beef products being shipped internationally. UPS created a customized, integrated visibility tool that plugs into HerdX’s blockchain technology, providing live updates and data points throughout the journey.
“Blockchain verification for international air freight shipments is complex and requires a great amount of expertise in customs and freight forwarding. Getting it right has implications for many industries, such as restaurants, food & beverage, and retail,” said Romaine Seguin, President of UPS Global Freight Forwarding. “We’re committed to upholding HerdX’s industry-leading quality assurance and traceability standards for all customers eyeing international growth moving forward.”
The shipment of beef left Kansas the week of November 4 wrapped in UPS Temperature True® packaging, a cold chain thermal management solution that features temperature-sensitive air freight containers. The packaging contained sensors that monitored and recorded the shipment’s temperature from origin to destination. Data sourced via UPS Temperature True monitoring devices was uploaded and integrated seamlessly within HerdX’s blockchain verification platform. The beef arrived via air freight to an urban contemporary steakhouse where invited guests were provided menu items featuring scannable QR codes containing tracking information detailing the journey of the beef they were to consume. All non-domestic HerdX products moving forward will now feature similar verification.
UPS customs brokers coordinated with health, food and safety regulators in both the U.S. and Japan to obtain all required certifications that made the delivery possible. Backed by more than 80 years of experience, UPS brokerage and transportation services promoted accurate customs compliance, timely clearance of goods and reduced risk of delays or penalties.
UPS Global Customs Brokerage processes almost 25 million import clearances each year in the U.S. alone, making it one of the world’s largest customs brokers. “It’s an exciting time to be entering the Japanese market with a much-needed, innovative solution to a pervasive industry issue,” Seguin added. “We hope our relationship with HerdX will catalyze an expansion of service offerings for our international shipping customers.”
HerdX, Inc., founded by Ron Hicks, offers an end-to-end solution called the HerdX Livestock Ecosystem. It uses tags, water and data to support livestock producers, enhance animal health and wellbeing, and deliver clean, traceable food products to retailers and consumers. “UPS Freight Forwarding and Logistics services more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. Our official international logistics partnership gives HerdX unprecedented scaling power, which in turn provides incredible expansion opportunities for the American cattle producer,” said Hicks.
For more information, visit UPS Customs Brokerage, and to learn more about HerdX and their farm-to-fork program, visit HerdX.
Acerca de UPS
UPS (NYSE: UPS) es un líder mundial en logística que ofrece una amplia gama de soluciones, incluido el transporte de paquetes y carga, la facilitación del comercio internacional y el despliegue de tecnología avanzada para administrar con mayor eficiencia el mundo de los negocios. Con sede en Atlanta, UPS presta servicio a más de 220 países y territorios de todo el mundo. UPS fue galardonada por el Mejor Servicio al Cliente de los EE. UU. para servicios de envío y entrega por la revista Newsweek; fue nombrada la marca de transporte más valiosa por la revista Forbes; y alcanzó una posición superior en la lista de responsabilidad social JUST 100, el Índice Mundial de Sostenibilidad Dow Jones y el Harris Poll Reputation Quotient, entre otras prestigiosas clasificaciones y premios. The company can be found on the web at ups.com or pressroom.ups.com and its corporate blog can be found at ups.com/longitudes The company’s sustainability eNewsletter, UPS Horizons, can be found at ups.com/sustainabilitynewsletter. Para tener acceso a las noticias de UPS, siga a @UPS_News en Twitter. Para hacer envíos con UPS, visite ups.com/ship.
About HerdX
HerdX is an agricultural technology company that uses smart tags and data to help farmers monitor animal movement, identify health anomalies and increase operational efficiencies, giving them new insights so they can know their herds even better. The HerdX Livestock Solution continues through to every part of the supply chain, including shippers, processors, and packers. Finally, the end consumer is able to see information on their mobile device that is far beyond what can be found on a label.