IoT innovation

IoT is a revolutionary technology for major industries such as supply chain management, retail, and transportation.

 The Internet of Things shows its potential for full automatization in Supply Chain and Logistics processes like inventory planning and monitoring. Applications for management, forecasting, and oversight can assist Logistics managers to increase operational effectiveness and decision-making transparency.

All complex processes of supply chain management can become more efficient with the Internet of Things. In this article, we will review the impact of IoT on Supply Chain Management and learn what solutions Unilog can provide in this area.

How Unilog and IoT Technology can help you make the most out of your supply chain?

Monitoring conditions in real-time

Every year up to 40% of food is lost in North American supply systems, allowing new technology that can monitor conditions like temperature, humidity, and more can help reduce this number. Different sensors can monitor each of these conditions, provide alerts when the cargo is considered to be at risk, and at times also fix the issues on hand.

The constant flow of data is one of the main benefits of IoT solutions for transporting temperature- and time-sensitive cargo. IoT devices may send out continuous updates and help guarantee essential conditions are met. This is applicable for both warehouse storage and goods in transit.

Integrated Fleet Management

Another crucial role of supply chain management is making sure your vehicles operate as expected. Your company can profit from the following advantages in the transportation sector by implementing IoT-based solutions:

– Automated Activity Monitoring

You can simply track your vehicles and receive real-time information regarding accidents or delays due to the connectivity of GPS and other sensors inside an IoT network. This information can be used by your supply chain management software to improve routes, decrease fuel costs, and raise client satisfaction.

– Increased maintenance effectiveness

Motor fleet managers struggle every day with monitoring the condition of their fleet making sure all of their operating vehicles are intact and managing their proper maintenance procedures. Multiple parameters can be collected and reported by online IoT devices, enabling proactive planning of maintenance inspections.

Vehicle connectivity generally makes fleet management “smarter” by providing data-driven decision-making, various cost-saving opportunities, and improved delivery process control.

Solutions for tracking assets

Another benefit of integrating IoT in logistics is improved inventory control. Warehouses can now utilize both active and passive RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags for internal logistics in addition to barcodes. Wireless supply chain tracking technology makes it quicker and easier to identify incoming orders, handle returns, and take inventory while transferring all the information into your ERP system.

Unilog provides solutions to overcome significant supply chain challenges with IoT

Increase supply chain transparency and visibility 

One of the challenges that modern logistics organizations have, as they expand, is a lack of end-to-end visibility. Managers need to put together the big picture by following different pieces of information. Where is the shipment right now? When will the items arrive exactly? Are they being appropriately stored?

Extremely important data is continually accessible in an IoT supply chain model, giving you an opportunity to control the product’s entire journey. You are able to keep track of storage conditions on the go, product location, and transportation cost. IoT can notify you immediately if any of the conditions of your order suffer a disruption so you can react as soon as possible. 

Improve your ability to adjust to changes in supply or demand

The endpoints of every supply chain are customers. You may learn a lot about the sales and consumption of various products by using software and IoT sensors that have been installed on different products and customer sites. Correct inventory planning can be generated by effectively forecasting demand using this data.

Smart supply chain management systems can immediately identify shipment delays and notify procurement or planning departments to place more orders. In this way, your business is able to anticipate stock shortages and avoid them.

Space at a warehouse is also, not cheap or free. IoT-enabled supply chain management systems can help you analyze and avoid overstocking and overpaying for storage.

Take control of your data by implementing AI, Big Data, and IoT

Big Data solutions for supply chain management are growing more popular every day. Using cutting-edge data analysis technology is essential for any business, whether it offers full production to sales services or focuses on logistics.

Big Data solutions are the best option for storing and converting the tons of data that your IoT devices can produce into useful insights. Artificial intelligence (AI) can be the ideal partner for this, supporting the automation and optimization of the decision-making process.

The Internet of Things has a wide range of applications in supply chain management, and the industry is open for business. Unilog can help you improve your supply chain in various ways, offering an exception-based management solution, risk analysis, and accountability. IoT-enabled workflows will definitely give your company a competitive advantage in the current market.