Design of Perishable Goods Distribution System Based
on Internet of Thing (IoT)
Achmad Mujib#1, Taufik Djatna#2
#
Departement of Agroindustrial Technology, Bogor Agricultural University
Dramaga, Bogor, Indonesia. 16680
1achmadmujib@apps.ipb.ac.id
2taufikdjatna@apps.ipb.ac.id
Abstract— In perishable goods logistic, such as
agricultural products, distribution is the stage in which
decay often occurs. To deal with that, special attention is
required as it should consider the deterioration of material
increasing countinously over time, and the ambient
fluctuating during transportation. In this paper, a
distribution system is purposed utilizing the adventage of
internet of thing (IoT). The quality level of materials would
be determined by the temperature, humidity, and CO 2 rate
are collected by sensors in real time. Decision tree algorithm
was used to deal with this. To determine the distribution
assignment was used Density Based Spatial Clustering
Algorithm with Noise (DBSCAN). The results showed that
the quality level of materials could be predicted by data
ambient sonsors with 70% precision Based on the results
of distribution assignments with DBSCAN, all consumer
demands could be fulfilled based by desiring quantity and
quality level, as well as the minimum quality level variations
in one load.
Keywords— Perishable goods, IoT, distribution system.
I. INTRODUCTION
Inappropriate distribution of fresh agricultural products
can cause in loss both goods and finances. According to
FAO [1] more than 40% of fresh product losses occur in
the post-harvest phase, in which includes the distribution
process. Determination of the amount of goods that must
be distributed with acceptable quality level is an
important consideration in the distribution perishable
goods[2]. Proper planning taking into account
temperature and storage time [3], monitoring and
scheduling in the distribution network in real time [4] able
to reduce losses due to deterioration of goods. In addition,
selecting the best route of vehicle can increase the
freshness of products which was shipped an average of
74.14% [5]. Based on studies abovementioned imply that
the right distribution can reduce losses due to product
decay, but in practice some uncertain things, such as
ambient fluctuations in shipping and storage, need to be
taken into account in determining distribution
assignments, because these factors can directly affect the
quality of goods when shipped. Evolving information and
communication technology in the industrial 4.0 era makes
it possible to create a distribution system that is more
adaptive with physical conditions in real time to maintain
the freshness of goods, one of which is by utilizing the
Internet of Things (IoT).
In the case of perishable goods, there are specifically
several sensors to capture the degradation of goods such
as CO2 sensors, FoodScan, and Salmonella Sensing
System [6]. Real time communication and information
sharing from sensors integrated in IoT can be deployed to
maintain product freshness during the distribution
process [7]. Not only to monitor the material and
distribution environment, but the deployment of IoT also
enables to predict the shelf life of fresh agricultural
products. According to Wang et al [8] and De Venuto et
al [9] the use of wireless sensor networks (WSN) can
capture the environmental conditions of fresh products
storage and predict their shelf life. However, until now
there has been little research that specifically integrates
the role of IoT to create intelligent distribution in the
logistics transportation of perishable goods.
In this study, the authors first considered the condition
of the material and the distribution ambient, namely
temperature, humidity, and CO2 levels, in real time
through several sensors deployed. Information from these
sensors was processed using a decision tree algorithm to
predict material quality levels. Next Density Based
Spatial Clustering Algorithm with Noise (DBSCAN) is
used to determine distribution assignments based on
consumer addresses, order quantity and quality level.
II. REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS
A. Business Process Analysis
Business process in this proposed system was
modeled with BPMN 2.0. The making of BPMN began
by determining a simple flow diagram, subsequently,
describing data or information flow to each stakeholder,
so that it could be analyzed and concluded [10]. Analysis
of the system has been done by decomposing the system
into small components making it easier to observe the
behavior between components and their environment.
Based on the analysis of business processes in this system,
there were three stakeholders who play a role in the
distribution system of perishable materials, as shown in
figure 1 follows.
Figure 1 General BPMN in this system
B. Data acquisition
Ambient parameters at the distribution which will be
observed are temperature, humidity, and CO2 rate using
sensors. The DHT11 sensor was used to capture
temperature and humidity, and the mq135 gas sensor was
deployed for recording CO2 rate. Both of these sensors
would capture and transmit data to the cloud in real-time.
Analog data from physical world, such as temperature,
humidity, and CO2 rate, was previously converted to
digital using an ESP32 type of microprocessor. A web-
based opensource cloud service was used to display, store
and process data from sensors. The monitoring results of
the data processing would be sent to the personal
computer.
Figure 2 data acqisitions
C. Processing
1. Determining quality levels.
A decision tree algorithm is used to predict the quality
level of goods based on the surrounding ambient data.
There are three numerical attributes for determining
quality levels, namely temperature, humidity, and CO2
rate. The quality levels are labeled 1,2,3, and 4,
respectively according to the maturity degree of goods.
The decision tree C4.5 algorithm is an ID3
development which is too sensitive to features with a
large number of values, moreover to deal features with
continuous data. Decision tree C4.5 algorithm selects one
of the most effective data attributes, then divides its
sample set to become a set of enriched parts in one class
or another. The criterion is normalized information gain
(difference in entropy) resulting from the selection of
attributes to separate data. The attribute with the highest
information gain value was chosen to make a decision. To
get the information gain value, first determine the
SplitInfo value in the way as follows :
P '(j / p) is the proportion of elements present in p position,
taking the j-th test value. Note that, unlike entropy, ID3
does not depend on the distribution of instances in
different classes.
F is the number of samples in the database with a known
value for the total in one attribute data set.
2. Distribution
Distribution of perishable goods from the hub to
consumers according to the rules of the vehicle routing
problem (VRP). Each customer puts the order of a
number of goods that do not exceed the capacity of the
transport truck. The truck departs from a hub and visits
the specified customer, then returns to the same hub once
at most. The assignment and determination of the number
of trucks depends on the consumer cluster determined by
the Density Based Spatial Clustering Algorithm with
Noise (DBSCAN) algorithm.
The basic principle of the DBSCAN algorithm is to
determine clusters with minimum points (minPts) within
a certain radius (ε). The distance between points, in this
paper depicting consumers, is calculated by the Euclidean
distance formula.
Where p and q are the values of each attribute, and n is
the data dimension. In this paper the data dimension
consists of the number of orders, goods quality levels,
longitude, and latitude in 19 cities in West Java.
III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
A. Business Process
 On the customer side, this process begins by entering
the order data. afterwards, order data is matched with the
database of goods owned by the company by the system.
The process will going on if the order was convenient
with the database, if the order does not match, there would
be sent a feedback to the customer to adjust the order or
not. This process is illustrated in Figure 3.
On the company side, the process starts when the
postharvest goods comes from the farmer. Goods, before
stored in warehouse, are checked their quality, matched
with the standard and determined the level of quality at
the entry. This quality level would be used later to
monitor and predict the shelf life of goods during storage,
or before distribution.

Figure 4 Business process on company side

On the other hand, the system works to bridge these

two stakeholders. Data generated by business processes
in the company are matched with customer orders. After
the order had matched, the distribution schedule would be
determined. The distribution consider the number and
Figure 3 process of customer order quality of orders and the location of customers.
Afterwards, the fleet was choosen. This process was
described as follows:
Goods which comply with the standards are then
stored. During storage, the environmental conditions and
their quality levels will be monitored by sensors. data on
the amount and quality of goods will be stored in a
database which is then used to assign the distribution.

Figure 5 Business process in the system side

B. Data Acquisition
Ambient conditions, such as temperature,
humidity and CO2 rate are analog data. analog data
should first be converted into digital data, so that it could
be read on a platform and processed further. The

Figure 7 Quality level prediction using decision tree

Figure 6 Data sensors visualization on Thingspeak Based on the results of the analysis using a decision
tree, it was concluded that the thing that most determines
embedded sensor records every condition of the storage the quality of agricultural products during distribution is
ambient, including real-time temperature and humidity. the first quality level at reception. Furthermore, quality
The recorded data was sent to ThingSpeak via the internet, will be influenced by environmental factors namely
to be stored, processed and visualized. humidity, and temperature. The severity and number of
In Figure 6 is an example of a sensor reading products that have decreased quality is greatly influenced
visualized by ThingSpeak. The data was updated once by environmental conditions such as humidity and
every 15 seconds. temperature [3] [11].
C. Quality Determination D. Distribution
Decision tree classification algorithm was used to Assignment of the distribution is determined by the
predict the quality of goods. Goods which is in the DBSCAN algorithm. The object data, the consumer, was
warehouse was collected from farmers or collective obtained from the order transaction, i.e. the number of
merchant with the provisions that meet the quality level 1 orders and the quality level of the material ordered.
and 2. The company determines four quality levels that Meanwhile, location data is taken through the Geographic
can be distributed to consumers, specifically 1, 2, 3, and Information System (GIS). In this paper it is simulated
4. Quality indicate the maturity degree of bananas that distribution is carried out in 27 districts and cities
influenced by several environmental factors during throughout West Java.
storage. Based on calculations, as many as 27 districts and
In Figure 2, we can see how the prediction of the cities in West Java are grouped into 5 distribution clusters
quality level resulting from the decision tree C4.5 with minPts 2 and eps 0.7. This value is based on the level
algorithm. Some of the factors considered to predict of order quality and the astronomical location of each city.
quality levels are temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, in besides based on location, proximity is also measured by
which all the data are streamed from sensors in the storage the similarity of the order quality level. This selection is
warehouse, as well as initial quality levels recorded when reasonable so as not to mix too many product variations
receiving postharvest goods. In the picture, the most enabling the potential order fulfillment errors. This was
important factor in determining the quality is the level of also done in order to facilitate treatment to maintain
quality at the time the item first enters, in Figure 2 is quality during shipping.
denoted as Qlevel1. This means that the initial quality
level has the highest InformationGain value among other
factors followed by CO2 levels, humidity, and length of
storage time in sequence.
 IV. CONCLUSIONS
This paper has presented the distribution system of
perishable goods based on IoT. Changes of quality
level of goods could be predicted based on the
condition of the storage environment/ambient in
which the data was acquired by several sensors. The
results were then used as a basis for determining
distribution clusters. Based on the analysis using
BPMN2.0 there are three stakeholders that play a
role in this distribution system. The results of
calculations using the decision tree algorithm
successfully predict changes in material quality with
Figure 8 Distribution cluster
an accuracy of 70%. Distribution clustering based on
The fleet used was a truck with a capacity of six tons. astronomical location and order quality level using
Based on the division of clusters abovementioned, almost DBSCAN in 27 districts / cities in West Java can be
all of them can be served with 1 mode of transportation.
divided into 4 clusters.
Except for outliers or clusters 0 will be served by two
modes. Cikarang, Cirebon and Indramayu will be served
In this paper still needs to be improved, such as
in one mode, as well as in Ngamprah, Sukabumi and increasing the accuracy of predictions with a
Pelabuhanratu areas. This has its own advantages when mathematic model taking into account
using astronomical location by considering latitude and environmental conditions toward quality. The
longitude data, where each outlier is still relatively close clustering still needs to be improved to minimize
[12]. outliers, for example by adding relevant attributes.
Apart from distance, the DBSCAN algorithm also
generated customer clusters with almost uniform quality
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