Panasonic and Hussmann New "LastMile Hub" IoT Solution Reduces Last Mile Delivery Challenges for Food Retailers

Panasonic introduces innovative smart locker technology that provides user-friendly, customizable, temperature-controlled storage

News provided by

Panasonic Corporation of North America

Jul 10, 2018, 10:03 ET

NEWARK, N.J., July 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In today's on-demand world, shoppers want their groceries to be available when and where they want them, at their own convenience. These expectations add a new set of challenges in freshness, flexibility and accessibility, pushing retailers to make significant changes for more personalized food shopping. Food retailers are looking into disruptive technology solutions to help reduce operational costs across the cold chain process, especially within the last mile. With over 100 years' experience in the grocery industry, Panasonic and Hussmann are well-positioned to guide businesses through their ecommerce initiatives.

Panasonic Corporation of North American and Hussmann are pleased to introduce the development of the "LastMile Hub" IoT solution which helps food retailers solve centralized, refrigerated grocery delivery last mile challenges. Pilot programs of the "LastMile Hub" currently in North America and around the world are successfully fulfilling customer delivery needs while lowering food retailer operations costs.

The Panasonic and Hussmann "LastMile Hub" solution offers on-demand convenience and flexibility for retrieving food and other purchases from secure refrigerated, freezer and room temperature lockers. A modular cabinet refrigeration system with Panasonic's innovative IoT technology, the "LastMile Hub" solution includes:

CABINET:

Customizable storage unit modules with separate doors, in stacked compartments (sizes 2x3, 2x5, 2x4, 2x6, up to 200 units per controller)
Each module offers a temperature setting of ambient (current environment), chill (32° to 41° F) or freeze (-0.4° to 5° F)
Indicator lights show which module holds different customer purchases
Module doors automatically close after purchase retrieval
15-inch LED touchscreen offers secure, user-friendly navigation to verify customer information and access purchases
Security camera enabled options

SOFTWARE:

Customizable UI/UX design
Web-based secure, seamless network integration including e-commerce with data encryption
Delivery tracking and operation
LAN/WiFi 3G/4G connectivity
Locker management including temperature monitoring and alarming
Built-in self-diagnostics tools and remote troubleshooting capability
Dashboard and analytics reporting

"We're very proud of our new IoT solution to help food retailers with their last mile challenges," said Mr. Dohno, Managing Officer, Panasonic, Appliance Company, Food Distribution. "This is an industry that is evolving and constantly striving to meet new customer and consumer demands. The 'LastMile Hub,' along with our complete cold chain solutions, will help make source to store to home a reality while reducing costs and concerns about food safety and freshness."

Learn more about the "LastMile Hub" at the IoT of food retail.

About Panasonic Corporation of North America
Newark, NJ-based Panasonic Corporation of North America is a leading technology partner and integrator to businesses, government agencies and consumers across the region. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corporation and leverages its strengths in Immersive Entertainment, Sustainable Energy, Automated Supply Chains and Connected Solutions to provide secure and resilient integrated solutions for B2B customers. Panasonic was highlighted in Forbes Magazine's Global 2000 ranking as one of the Top Ten Best Regarded Companies for 2017. The ranking is based on outstanding scores for trustworthiness, honesty with the public and superior performance of products and solutions. Learn more about Panasonic's ideas and innovations at Panasonic.com.

About Hussmann Corporation
Hussmann Corporation, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Panasonic, is an innovation and technology leader providing products and services that enable excellence in the food retail industry. Grounded in a history of industry-changing, innovative refrigerated merchandisers and refrigeration systems, today we provide a broad array of solutions for merchandising / shopper engagement, refrigeration, asset optimization, and supply chain management that address the critical needs of food retailers to increase sales, reduce costs, and increase shopper loyalty. We collaborate with customers across a variety of food retail segments including supermarkets, convenience stores, drug stores and dollar stores as we work towards our vision to positively impact the lives of consumers by transforming the future of food retailing. For more information about Hussmann, please visit www.hussmann.com.

SOURCE Panasonic Corporation of North America