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The Data Daily

How Will IoT Transform Logistics Industry?

How Will IoT Transform Logistics Industry?

The world has experienced many technologies and innovations in the last one decade ranging from the World Wide Web, the internet to mobile technologies, and now the internet of things (IoT). 

Though a popular innovation in the domestic environment such as smart home appliances, smart speakers and personal digital doctors, IoT is rapidly gaining popularity in various commercial industries including agriculture, healthcare, real estate and security, and the future seems even brighter for the logistics application development.

In a recent GT Nexus and Campegini combined research published on Business Insider, approximately 70 percent of retail logistics companies have already started application of the new technology to enhance decision making and increase performance to maximise returns. With the evolution of other technologies like GPS positioning, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchains and other automation, more of IoT application development is expected to disrupt the logistics and supply chain.

IoT (Internet of Things) is a large network of man-made and natural physical objects (human, computer devices, digital machines, animals, mechanical machines and plants among others) that are connected using sensors and application programming interfaces (APIs) to share data over the internet. IoT application development depends on other technologies like Big Data management, AI, cloud computing, RFID, predictive analytics. It can be said to be the bridge between operational and information technology, as it enables analysis of unstructured data from the real world for insights that guide decision making to improve efficiency and performance.

Most people feel that IoT is a potential threat to their jobs; this is not the truth. Although the technology will reduce the manpower required to perform a certain task, it should be seen as a tool to ensure smooth flow of operations and to reduce underutilization of resources to maximise profits. The new concept will help the modern logistics company in:

A recent report by Cisco shows that deployment of IoT solutions in supply chain and logistics has grown by three folds in the last few years, and more is expected in the few coming years. The report estimates nearly $2 trillion to have been generated from IoT deployments in the logistics industry. There are two major forces that are driving the companies to embrace the new technology:

Internet of things can be used in many ways depending on the nature of the business and your overall goals. Here are some of the main applications that can be used to take your business to a whole new level:

IoT data can be used to optimise route scheduling and rescheduling, fuel consumption management and reduce emission to increase the company’s green operations scores. Other applications are fault detection to schedule maintenance, increase road safety and to ensure legal compliance.

The above are just a few examples of how IoT can be used to transform supply chain and logistics operations. There is much more than the new technology can do to solve many retailers, consumer and freight companies’ challenges. These opportunities comprise of vehicle to vehicle communication, self-driven vehicles, vehicle tracking in case of theft and worker safety to name just a few. The transformation has already hit the ground, but more is expected in the next 2 to 3 years. 

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