On March 24, NYK affiliate Symphony Creative Solutions Pte. Ltd. ("SCS"), an IT solutions developer for shipping and logistics, started a demonstration experiment in collaboration with SOMPO Japan Insurance Inc. (President: Koji Ishikawa; Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; “SOMPO Japan”) and SOMPO Risk Management (President: Yoji Nakajima; Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; “SOMPO Risk”) to develop a service that contributes to reducing food loss.

For the experiment, SCS will provide its IT solution tool CargoNote, which supports on-site work standardization and workflow compliance. CargoNote will be used during operations that require accuracy, such as packing food into containers, to reduce food loss during container transportation.

Food loss has become a major global problem. According to Food Waste Indicators Report 2024 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), 1.05 billion tons of food (about 19% of the total) is estimated to have been wasted worldwide in 2022.* Furthermore, the incineration of wasted food leads to increased carbon dioxide emissions.

According to a survey by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan's food loss in fiscal 2022 decreased by 510,000 tons from the previous year but still amounted to approximately 4.72 million tons per year (estimate).** By sector, household food loss, such as leftovers, and business food loss, which is generated in the manufacturing, distribution, and cooking processes, amounted to 2.36 million tons each.

Food loss in container transportation during the distribution process is caused by various factors, including hardware factors such as inadequate containers and software factors such as mistakes made during loading operations. SOMPO Japan and SOMPO Risk believe that damage and quality problems during transportation that lead to food loss can be prevented by thoroughly standardizing container-operation procedures such as container-damage checks and loading checks.

SCS was established in Singapore in 2016 by four Japanese companies to provide IT solutions for the shipping and logistics industry. CargoNote, fully released in November 2023, is an SCS tool that enables communication logistics sites to have smooth, standardized, streamlined operations. Specifically, it provides the following functions:

• Communication functions: Chat and notification functions are provided for smooth information-sharing at logistics sites.
• Task management: Real-time monitoring of the progress of each task supports efficient execution of work.
• Data Analysis: Business data is collected and analyzed to provide insights for business improvement.

Regarded as an effective tool for standardizing cargo-handling operations and facilitating communication, CargoNote is being adopted by major logistics companies and other distribution sites.

In this experiment, SOMPO Risk will set up an optimal workflow for loading and unloading containers on CargoNote based on past insurance claim payment data to reduce accidents. Manufacturers, as shippers, can prevent food loss that could lead to large-scale damage or waste by loading and unloading based on the workflow, thereby improving the efficiency and safety of their logistics operations. This will allow SOMPO Japan to timely share the status of accident reduction and assist in improving operations. At the same time, shippers will be able to utilize the photo reports on CargoNote to identify the causes of food loss during transportation and facilitate discussions on how to prevent recurrence.

Based on the results of this demonstration experiment, SOMPO Japan and SOMPO Risk plan to roll out a loss-prevention service that contributes to reducing food loss by the end of fiscal 2025, with future plans to expand the service to other industries besides food.

Kentaro Oi, Deputy Manager, Cargo Insurance Group, Marine & Aviation Insurance Operations Department, SOMPO Japan
By combining CargoNote’s strength in standardizing and visualizing logistics operations with SOMPO's strength in analyzing and mitigating logistics risks, we aim to develop loss-prevention services that contribute to food loss reduction.

Yuji Kita, President, SCS
To address the problem of food loss, we will combine CargoNote strengths that can be used globally with the extensive knowledge of the companies, which are familiar with cargo damage and transport quality related to container transportation. Furthermore, through this experiment, we hope to make CargoNote a cornerstone for the service to grow into an even easier-to-use service for those involved in international logistics.

Symphony Creative Solutions Pte.

• Headquarters: Singapore
• Shareholders: Ocean Network Express, NYK Line, Kozo Keikaku Engineering Inc., Weathernews Inc.
• President: Kita Yuji
• Website: https://cargonote.app
• Contact: yuji.kita@scs71.com

* International Day of Zero Waste 2024, UNEP
https://www.unep.org/events/un-day/international-day-zero-waste-2024

** Amount of food loss (estimated for FY2022), published by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries https://www.maff.go.jp/j/press/shokuhin/recycle/240621.html