Hire Alcohol Software Developers in Basingstoke. 

Automation and internet of things technologies are helping food and drinks manufacturers attain the benefits of the so-called ‘fourth industrial revolution’. These include greater efficiency, reduced production costs, and enhanced safety to staff due to increasing automation through robotics and smart technologies.

Smart sensors introduced on packaging lines can make it easier to fill beverage packs in a range of sizes and switch formats on the fly. They also collect data that enables beverage producers to monitor their supplies, as well as track the condition of filling equipment to facilitate predictive maintenance.

IOT-enabled solutions can also monitor transportation conditions for drinks in transit and provide more accurate and detailed record-keeping, ensuring products remain in compliance with safety regulations.

Big data can be a major driver for the beverage industry when it comes to improving insights across the supply chain. The development of enterprise resource planning software, such as retail specialist Sanderson’s UnityF8 system, provides companies with an online platform that compiles real-time information and helps them identify the best ways to optimise production of soft drinks, smoothies, alcohol and other beverages.

Encompassing more than 500 brands and over 700,000 employees worldwide, Coca-Cola is unsurprisingly no stranger to data analytics. The company leverages an algorithm known as the Black Book model to ensure its orange juice has the same taste and quality the entire year round, even outside orange growing seasons. It does this by combining weather data, crop yields, acidity and sweetness ratings, and satellite images, before identifying the best combination of factors to optimise juice production for consumers worldwide.

AI allows computers to receive data and make actionable decisions, creating a major boon for the drinks industry supply chain. However, AI-powered technology is also being explored in a number of ‘out there’ ways.

In 2017, IBM and Cornell University teamed up to explore whether it was possible to create new AI models that could help identify food hazards in dairy products – specifically milk – before they can cause an outbreak. This involved sequencing and analysing the DNA of microbes in milk to create new AI-driven tools that could detect hazardous anomalies.

However, AI can also give drinks a new lease of life from a consumer and hospitality perspective. Launched last year, Robolab’s Yanu is said to be the first portable, fully autonomous bartending unit, using technology to take orders and payment, as well as mix and serve cocktails.