The logistics market is dynamic and competitive. Over the past year, it has been reformatted not only due to the situation in the world but also because the Internet of Things (IoT) has entered further into the logistics niche. According to KPMG reports, market challenges are forcing participants to find new growth points for their business and rebuild existing supply chains, like rail transit in the Asia-Europe direction. A high empty mileage reduces the efficiency of cargo transportation and creates congestion on key routes. Let’s take a look at modern IoT logistics solutions, and the ways they affect international logistics and transport.
What Is IoT in Logistics?
IoT is a stylish smart refrigerator door that orders the delivery of your favorite pepperoni pizza, or an understanding kettle that boils water in one click from a smartphone. These are smart sensors in agricultural fields and drones with powerful cameras, which enable us to monitor the state of the soil. In a couple more years, the world around us will become a total Internet of Things. But when we talk about IoT, the first association arises with smart devices and tools that can be physically touched. However, IoT goes far beyond this, especially in the world of global logistics.
IoT Logistics Examples
As technology costs decrease, so does the size of IoT devices. It turns out that the market is growing while the instruments are getting smaller. Such a dissonance. Smaller sensors collect a larger amount of data through creative and non-destructive placement. Let’s consider exactly what modern developments have prepared for us, apart from the sensors:
Warehouse & Inventory Management
IoT sensors track inventory and provide data that can be used in trend analysis to predict future inventory requirements. Goods are automatically moved with the help of stacker cranes, production time and labor costs are reduced, and the human factor is leveled off because the robot doesn’t “stop to yawn”. This will help avoid under-stock and over-stock situations.
Tracking Goods From Purchase To Delivery
Traditional monitoring lies in scanning an order between points of delivery. RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification, are special tags that simplify the tracking process by connecting to the cloud and sending location data more often than scanning. This might remind you of QR codes or Data Matrix here. Yes, they can also be used by analogy, but unlike RFID, optical codes have to be scanned for each item separately, which takes time.
RFID tags reduce unnecessary costs. On average, the accuracy of inventory levels is about 65 percent. Using RFID increases it up to 95 percent. BigData monitoring under RFID will make it possible to identify the most effective couriers and truckers, determine the most efficient delivery routes, and more. If delivery staff show poor results, they can be sent for additional corrections.
Drone Delivery
Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles and droids that can increase the speed and efficiency of various logistics infrastructures. This is no longer a trend or novelty, as today’s developments are increasing the precision and speed of their movement. According to a CompTIA poll, drones are used by enterprises of different sizes and niches. They allow for the automation of business processes and enable intelligent inventory tracking, fast product transportation, and instant delivery from stores.
Future Insights of IoT in Logistics
The development of IoT in the international logistics market amounted to $34,504.8 million in 2019. Prescient Strategic intelligence predicts a stable CAGR of 13.2 percent until 2030. Currently, the priority tasks of logistics companies are the following:
- Ensure just-in-time delivery.
- Provide transparency in the supply chain.
- Guarantee the transparency of the transportation cycle and quality of services
The success of any logistics company lies in the effective management of stocks and warehousing, automation of internal business processes, fast delivery, and ensuring the safe storage of goods. Data becomes valuable as it goes through this cycle. Information exchange in logistics processes is provided by wireless networks, such as GSM, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and so on.
IoT finds application in all sectors where transport is involved. That is, its influence isn’t limited solely to logistics and transport. Instead, it is coming to manufacturing, retail trade (including E-Commerce), construction, and other niches. This allows for transparency of processes in the supply chain, better and more consistent work of transport and employees, and saving company resources. IoT is taking businesses in logistics to the next level through the development of effective solutions aimed at working with Big Data, accelerating logistics supply chains, and more. This is facilitated by other modern trends such as the proliferation of 5G Internet, the rapid development of mobile applications, and cloud services.
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