Skip to main content

Site navigation

  • University of Technology Sydney home
  • Home

    Home
  • For students

  • For industry

  • Research

Explore

  • Courses
  • Events
  • News
  • Stories
  • People

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Study at UTS

    • arrow_right_alt Find a course
    • arrow_right_alt Course areas
    • arrow_right_alt Undergraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Postgraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Research Masters and PhD
    • arrow_right_alt Online study and short courses
  • Student information

    • arrow_right_alt Current students
    • arrow_right_alt New UTS students
    • arrow_right_alt Graduates (Alumni)
    • arrow_right_alt High school students
    • arrow_right_alt Indigenous students
    • arrow_right_alt International students
  • Admissions

    • arrow_right_alt How to apply
    • arrow_right_alt Entry pathways
    • arrow_right_alt Eligibility
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for students

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Apply for a coursearrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Scholarshipsarrow_right_alt
  • Featured industries

    • arrow_right_alt Agriculture and food
    • arrow_right_alt Defence and space
    • arrow_right_alt Energy and transport
    • arrow_right_alt Government and policy
    • arrow_right_alt Health and medical
    • arrow_right_alt Corporate training
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Tech Central
    • arrow_right_alt Case studies
    • arrow_right_alt Research
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for industry

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Partner with usarrow_right_alt
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Explore our research
    • arrow_right_alt Research centres and institutes
    • arrow_right_alt Graduate research
    • arrow_right_alt Research partnerships
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for research

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Research centres and institutesarrow_right_alt
  • University of Technology Sydney home
Explore the University of Technology Sydney
Category Filters:
University of Technology Sydney home University of Technology Sydney home
  1. home
  2. arrow_forward_ios ... Newsroom
  3. arrow_forward_ios ... 2018
  4. arrow_forward_ios 06
  5. arrow_forward_ios A winning solution to shipping spoilage

A winning solution to shipping spoilage

4 June 2018
bananas with data log

Data loggers measure temperature, humidity and shock.

For more than 90 years Sam Walsh’s family has been involved in the timber business, so this year’s winner of the IBISWorld 3P Innovation Competition has seen first-hand the waste and financial loss involved when goods are damaged during the shipping process. 

Fresh flowers, wine, fish and seafood, fruit, vegetables and pharmaceuticals can all be spoiled if exposed to the wrong conditions, so Walsh’s idea could save import and export businesses many millions of dollars by ensuring transport conditions are carefully monitored.

“More than 40% of the global fresh flower industry goes to waste. Many industries that sell high value perishable goods have avoidable losses but that shouldn’t be the case with the data we have available today,” Walsh told the audience at the 3P Finals Competition, held at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Business School.

Walsh’s solution is a cloud-based platform to continuously monitor the condition of perishable goods, using advanced sensors attached to shipped items that measure elements such as temperature, humidity, UV light exposure and shock. 

“In real-time from the moment you close that box to the moment it gets to the final destination you will know the temperature, light exposure, and increases in shock – you can detect many things,” he says. 

The IoTransport platform will record the data in real time on a blockchain, increasing transparency, reducing human inefficiencies and creating a secure way to ensure all parties in the supply chain adhere to the shipping contract.

The IBISWorld 3P Innovation Competition is open to all UTS students in the innovation and commercialisation space and gives them the chance to explore business ideas that consider people, planet and profit.

sam walsh

(L-R) Phil Ruthven, Sam Walsh and Richard Stewart

“Something I’ve learnt in the last few years is that it’s fun to work on ideas you love, but to work on something that has an impact on the world is far more rewarding than something that is purely for profit,” says Walsh.

“This business could have an impact on the lives of many people. It makes such a change in reducing waste, and potentially also animal cruelty, through closer monitoring. That makes this business very enticing for me.” 

Walsh is in his final year of a UTS Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation (BCII) double degree. The BCII is a new degree that encourages lateral thinking, entrepreneurship and includes consulting based projects. 

“I’m a massive sports fan, and I see start-ups as a little bit like sport,” says Walsh. “It’s a competition where you take a lot of hits every day. It’s hard and you really have to put in the effort to see any results but at the end of the day you’re the one in the ring determining your fate.”

Walsh wins $12,000 in prize money for his idea. The 3P competition has a prize pool totalling $25,000 through the sponsorship of business research company IBISWorld, whose founder, Phil Ruthven is a judge in the competition.

Ruthven says IBISWorld, which is Australia’s largest provider of industry-based research, relies on continuous innovation.

“We keep changing and getting better every year, we just run harder than everyone else,” Ruthven says. “What I love about UTS is that it is the biggest supporter of innovation across all the universities I visit."

High-level business professionals mentor the 3P entrants as they develop their business plans over the three-month span of the competition.

“The mentors have been amazing. I can’t understate the impact they have had on me, and how it has enhanced my idea," says Walsh. "I want to give a huge thanks to UTS, IBISWorld and Katt Robertson for putting on this program – it’s been transformative.”

Runners-up Kieran Holden, Ryan Blackshaw and Rhys Collins won $8000 for ‘Trashed’ – A service that matches customer waste disposal needs with the most effective and cheapest waste management providers.

Third prize of $5000 went to Laura Rojas, Emma Quoyle and Harriet Smith for ‘Wavelength’ – A service that provides the opportunity for busy young professionals to meet like-minded prospective romantic partners through weekly events. 

Other finalists in the competition included a platform that enables anyone to create, run and manage their own tours for travellers, a multi-lingual app to screen, monitor and educate users with mental health issues, and a homestay service that focuses on the Chinese International Student market.

This year's judges were Phil Ruthven of IBISWorld, Vivian Quinn from Canon, Richard Stewart from PwC, Peter Bennett from Campbell Page / UTS Council Member, Mark MacDuffie from Commonwealth Bank and Helen Spiropoulos from UTS Accounting.

Byline

Leilah Schubert
Share
Share this on Facebook Share this on Twitter Share this on LinkedIn
Back to UTS Business School News

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation and the Boorooberongal People of the Dharug Nation upon whose ancestral lands our campuses now stand. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands. 

University of Technology Sydney

City Campus

15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007

Get in touch with UTS

Follow us

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Facebook

A member of

  • Australian Technology Network
Use arrow keys to navigate within each column of links. Press Tab to move between columns.

Study

  • Find a course
  • Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate
  • How to apply
  • Scholarships and prizes
  • International students
  • Campus maps
  • Accommodation

Engage

  • Find an expert
  • Industry
  • News
  • Events
  • Experience UTS
  • Research
  • Stories
  • Alumni

About

  • Who we are
  • Faculties
  • Learning and teaching
  • Sustainability
  • Initiatives
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Campus and locations
  • Awards and rankings
  • UTS governance

Staff and students

  • Current students
  • Help and support
  • Library
  • Policies
  • StaffConnect
  • Working at UTS
  • UTS Handbook
  • Contact us
  • Copyright © 2025
  • ABN: 77 257 686 961
  • CRICOS provider number: 00099F
  • TEQSA provider number: PRV12060
  • TEQSA category: Australian University
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Accessibility