Smart Industry 2/2018

Smart Communications IoT & Supply Chain
that came up with the “50 bn devices
by 2020” estimate. By that time, what
we call “computers” – PCs, tablets, and
smartphones – will represent just 17
percent of all connected devices; the
other 83 percent will be other “Ts” in
the IoT, including asset-tracking devices
and wearables and smart-building
devices like you’d find inside a warehouse
or a vehicle.
IoT technologies are vital building
blocks of certain types of connections,
which, when taken together, make up
IoT. So, too, are other enabling technologies:
cloud services, big data,
mobility (including location-based
services), and cybersecurity. Together,
they create the opportunity for unprecedented
innovation and organizational
transformation.
A series of recent in-depth studies
have concluded that IoT, by itself,
could generate several trillion dollars
of new worldwide revenues over the
next decade.
Opportunity awaits
Cloud services, big
data, mobility, location-based
services,
and cybersecurity
create the opportunity
for unprecedented
innovation in logistics.
Perfect conditions
The right products, at
the right time, place,
quantity, condition
and at the right cost:
the goal is transparency
and integrity
control along the entire
supply chain.
Where the money is
Realizing enormous value from data
will come from five primary drivers:
innovation and revenue, asset utilization,
supply chain and logistics, employee
productivity improvements,
and enhanced customer and citizen
experience.
Supply chain and logistics alone are
estimated by Cisco to provide $1.9 tn
in value, which is a promising indication
of the untapped potential and
profits to gain from utilizing IoT in this
industry.
Experts see optimal conditions for
IoT to take off in the supply chain
industry. The rise of mobile computing,
consumerization of IT and sensor
technologies, 5G networks, and big
data analytics are “pushing” IoT adoption.
Logistics providers and their
customers are also “pulling” adoption
by increasingly demanding IoT-based
solutions such as:
• Optimization of efficiency and network
utilization
• Transparency and integrity control
(right products, at the right time,
place, quantity, condition and at
the right cost) along the supply
chain
• Detailed shipment tracking to have
transparency in real time.
IoT in the logistics industry ultimately
comes down to two important capabilities:
“sensing” and “sense-making.”
“Sensing” refers to the monitoring of
different assets within a supply chain
through different technologies and
mediums, while “sense-making” is the
handling of vast amounts of data sets
that are generated as a result, and
then turning this data into insights
that drive new solutions.
Looking at best practices
As with most technology transitions,
it is helpful to look at IoT in a broader
context, and to consider some of the
best practices from other industries.
This can inform and inspire the use of
IoT in logistics.
Optimizing asset utilization to derive
greater operational efficiency is at
the very heart of IoT’s value proposition
in the supply chain. Vehicles are
among the assets most ripe for improved
efficiency, especially in terms
of traffic and fleet management.
In-vehicle telematics and vehicleinfrastructure
integration have been
vanguard applications in the use of
sensor data.
And automotive manufacturers and
transportation operators have invested
substantially in connected vehicles,
including “recovery” systems,
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