Home How Mobile Technologies Are Impacting the Supply Chain

How Mobile Technologies Are Impacting the Supply Chain

Mobile technology has been implemented in the supply chain of many businesses today – in warehouses and in retail stores, for instance. But it’s not entirely a new phenomenon, as many of these organizations have utilized mobile technologies for a number of years, via tracking through RFID, for example, or with some sort of handheld unit tracking things like onsite orders and deliveries.

Arguably then, it’s not simply the mobile hardware itself that is changing the supply chain, but it’s the ability to integrate information from these mobile devices with other aspects of business analytics – and to do so in real time.

The International Business Series is brought to you by UPS. Discover the new logistics. It levels the playing fields and lets you act locally or globally. It’s for the individual entrepreneur, the small business or the large company. Put the new logistics to work for you.


The Benefits of Mobile on the Supply Chain

In other words, rather than batch processing the data downloaded from these mobile devices at the end of the day, mobile communications – via wireless or 3G, for example – are “always on,” greatly increasing accuracy and efficiency. Mobile technologies have helped companies optimize resource location and allocation. And this, combined with real-time information, has been important not just in the retail sector, but in areas like healthcare, where the stakes to efficiently connect people and medicine are even higher.

But to date most of the efforts in combining mobile technology and the supply chain have occurred around inventory management and the delivery of goods.

“If you go back five years ago, GPS and status tracking for fleet trucks was largely done by hard-wiring devices in trucks,” says Descartes Systems Group‘s senior VP Ken Wood in an interview for World Trade Magazine. “This was expensive. Now, with the advent of inexpensive mobile devices that not only track but run sophisticated delivery and mobile worker applications, enterprises are really jumping on mobile-enabling this part of the supply chain. There is especially growing interest in driver-interactive mobile.”

It isn’t simply a matter of tracking drivers, tracking trucks, or tracking resources. The benefits of real-time information from mobile devices can also help the people along the supply chain with real-time communication. Mobile tools can provide communication and collaboration in order to solve problems that arise along the supply chain.

And as companies find ways to expand the implementation of mobile, we’ll probably see additional areas of focus beyond just delivery of goods, so that sales and service representatives can also connect to the mobile supply chain.

About ReadWrite’s Editorial Process

The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Get the biggest tech headlines of the day delivered to your inbox

    By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe anytime.

    Tech News

    Explore the latest in tech with our Tech News. We cut through the noise for concise, relevant updates, keeping you informed about the rapidly evolving tech landscape with curated content that separates signal from noise.

    In-Depth Tech Stories

    Explore tech impact in In-Depth Stories. Narrative data journalism offers comprehensive analyses, revealing stories behind data. Understand industry trends for a deeper perspective on tech's intricate relationships with society.

    Expert Reviews

    Empower decisions with Expert Reviews, merging industry expertise and insightful analysis. Delve into tech intricacies, get the best deals, and stay ahead with our trustworthy guide to navigating the ever-changing tech market.