The Internet of Things (IoT) revolution will bring a myriad of improvements to all industrial sectors, but two areas already seeing the advantages of IoT are transport and logistics.
In the past ten years, companies have lowered the amount of available resources for transport and logistics, while forcing the teams in charge of transporting goods to customers to be more efficient.
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It has been a difficult task for companies, but the Internet of Things will ease that struggle. Offering a real-time visualization of the entire transport fleet and operations, alongside actionable insight and analysis, IoT will make critical decision much easier.
An end-to-end cloud network that is capable of communicating with all devices will reduce labor costs and improve order time, as humans are not a necessary part of the operation. Once an order comes in, the IoT system is capable of obtaining the stock, packaging, labelling, and sending it; much quicker than a human workforce.
Asset management and tracking is another underrated feature of IoT, which will allow businesses to ensure products are moved in a timely fashion and no stock goes to waste.
Transport sector improvements start with fleet management
Fleet management might be the most important part of transport and logistics, especially for businesses that have a large amount of vehicles on the road delivering goods. Knowing where each vehicle is, how long it took to deliver a package, and the routes taken by drivers could give businesses a lot more data to fix some of the supply cost issues.
“By leveraging connected, mobile devices, enterprises can capture, share and manage data around their moving assets across the enterprise,” said SupplyChain247. “Connectivity also enables enterprises to communicate with their technicians (drivers) anytime, anywhere, allowing them to be proactive with in-field repairs, maintenance, etc. With real-time updates on certain conditions such as bad weather or traffic, fleet technicians can better respond and/or prepare.”
It isn’t just about the vehicles arriving on time however, businesses can also add sensors inside the vehicle to ensure the package is at the right temperature, not damaged, and secure. It can also add sensors to third-party devices, like fuel pumps, to ensure that the customer is getting all they require from the supplier.
