The supply chain is among the most essential operations of any business performance. A better supply chain results in quicker business growth and allows all the stakeholders to be fast-paced. A simple addon of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology in supply chains can transform your business. In this article, we will discuss various smart supply chain solutions and their benefits.
Manage your supply chain smarter with IoT solutions
Supply chain management using Internet technologies can overcome many of the traditional challenges and allow businesses to get an edge over the competition. Here’s a glimpse of popularly existing IoT in supply chain examples:
- Real-time tracking and monitoring:
The most common, useful, and widely implemented application of supply chain IoT is tracking the location and activities of products and assets. Such indoor or outdoor tracking can help businesses easily supervise and optimize supply chain performance. Some brands already widely use radio-frequency identification-based (RFID) indoor asset tracking. - Predictive maintenance:
Predictive maintenance is a popular merge of Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things for smart supply chains where different sets of vibration and ambient sensors can collect data about machines’ behaviors and predict if there are any chances of downtime or failures in upcoming uses. This can help mitigate any supply chain stoppage and eliminate potential losses. - Inventory & warehouse management:
Just like key machines, inventory and stock of raw materials are vital for supply chains to keep functioning. IoT sensors or solutions such as RFID (Radio-frequency identification) and printed codes can help track inventory and automatically procure raw materials when needed, lessening the risk of stockouts or overstocking. - Quality control:
IoT sensors and monitoring devices can help ensure that the quality of the device is perfect even after the transit process. This quality control is performed with the help of different sensors that can look after all the essential parameters to keep the transit secure and safe. - Supply chain documentation:
Documentation during each stage of the supply chain can help record the system’s performance to find any gaps, delays, or inadequate behavior. IoT can help optimize the entire supply chain process, from procurement to logistics to delivery.
While these are just the five IoT solutions for the supply chain industries, there are many more solutions for automation, collaboration, and monitoring the supply chain process.
How can IoT improve supply chains?
Overall, implementing IoT solutions and applications in the supply chain can help improve the supply chain process’s visibility, efficiency, and traceability.
Asset tracking, workforce management, predictive analytics, and inventory management are ways supply chain operations can be improved significantly. Even better, with the latest breakthroughs in blockchain technology, businesses can allow secure and transparent tracking of products and materials. IoT devices and platforms can also help provide a more collaborative approach among vendors, partners, and stakeholders in the supply chain process.
With the help of IoT devices & M2M SIM-connected supply chain management, companies can gain real-time insights into their operations. As a result, it can predict and prevent equipment failures, ensure optimal storage and stocking, improve transportation of their products, and ultimately improve overall performance, efficiency, and customer experience.
Best IoT Connectivity for Supply Chain Management
IoT has become essential for companies to stay competitive in today’s fast-paced business environment. Freeeway offers a suite of solutions that can help your adoption of IoT devices in supply chain management and benefit through better and more precise business operations.
