AWS and Carrier Join Hands to Develop Lynx, Empower Cold Chain Logistics

Sonam Sharma

3 months ago

Amazon Web Services has announced a multi-year collaboration with Carrier Global Corporation to co-develop Carrier’s new Lynx digital platform. Carrier, the leading air conditioning and refrigeration solutions provider, has partnered with AWS to build its analytics platform for tackling supply chain issues that lead to food wastage. The proposed Lynx platform aims to help Carrier customers improve their cold chain operations for temperature-sensitive cargo, which is responsible for transporting perishable goods.

The Lynx platform will use AWS’s IoT, analytics, and Machine Learning (ML) features in conjunction with Carrier’s refrigeration and monitoring solutions for managing the supply chain. Users will get real-time updates, end-to-end tracking, and predictive analytics to efficiently deliver the temperature-controlled cargo. The platform aims to reduce the cost of cold chain operations, spoilage of food items, and optimize resources.

Carrier will leverage AWS’s IoT services to gather data from Carrier-made refrigeration units, along with other data such as traffic and weather reports. The Lynx platform will provide cargo location, temperature conditions, and other external issues that could impact cold chain operations. All of this information will then be fed into a data lake built on Amazon S3, where AWS’ ML services will help identify potential problems with cargo and predict outcomes based on analytics. This will lead the supply chain operators to track their cargo’s location in real-time, along with its temperature conditions and related issues.

“The Lynx platform will help our customers make faster, data-driven decisions to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of their supply chains. This digital solution will enhance connectivity across the cold chain, decreasing delays for cargo that is critical to global health and well-being, while reducing cargo damage, loss, and unanticipated costs.” said David Appel, President, Carrier Refrigeration.

“Carrier and AWS are tackling the complexity and fragmentation of the cold chain to give supply chain customers the transparency, flexibility, and insights they require to reduce risk and deliver food, medicine, and vaccines when and where they’re needed,” said Sarah Cooper, General Manager, IoT Solutions at Amazon Web Services, Inc.

The International Institute of Refrigeration mentioned in a recent survey that 475 million tons of lost food may be saved annually with proper refrigeration. This is the idea behind Lynx — curbing wastage by utilizing technology and enhancing supply chain operations. Not just food, but refrigeration is vital for timely and efficient delivery of medicines and vaccines as well, especially in the current scenario. The data from the platform could also predict “more efficient routes, enabling transportation companies to take high-quality food farther, potentially to regions that lack access,” Cooper stated.