In this age of technological possibilities, with transparency around the origin and composition of products, we expect tracking and tracing to the source and information on demand. Whether such information concerns food safety, allergens, ingredients or availability of products.

The fruit and vegetable sector is progressively digitising its business processes. For the Netherlands as a trading country, international product flows are of vital importance. Digitisation helps to make the sector more sustainable and to optimise logistics. In this way, the sector contributes to sustainable production and trade. Fresh Produce Centre is working with its members on developments that will promote further digitisation in the supply chain.

We stand on the eve of a fourth industrial revolution thanks to the combination of the internet with new technologies such as robots, drones, big data, data analytics, etc. The Fresh Information Management Centre set up by Fresh Produce Centre supports sectoral projects and advises businesses at the interface between digitisation, information management and the agrifood sector.

The fruit and vegetable sector has its own supply chain database: the Frug I Connector. The Frug I Connector comprises a business database and a product database linking product information to businesses. A market database provides access to data from all sources from which Fresh Produce Centre purchases and processes information. 

Electronic data exchange

Digitisation allows consumers to be quickly provided with accurate information. This results in a faster, more efficient fruit and vegetable supply chain where mistakes are minimised.

Fresh Produce Centre has centralised its digitisation and standardisation activities in a foundation called Frug I Com.

Frug I Com promotes electronic data exchange between links in the supply chain by means of standard messages. These standards enable fruit and vegetable businesses to make optimum use of supply chain information for purposes such as order processing, product tracking, logistics optimisation and quality improvement.