Introduction: IOT or M2M is an ecosystem where all the machines are connected to the internet cloud via intelligent gateways. All the machines are connected to each other and sends the required data to the cloud which in turn gets filtered at the intelligent gateways. This reduces the load on the cloud servers. On top of this the IOT application layer which is preconfigured at the cloud / big data platform analyses this data and gives actionable insights to the customers.
The two most important parts of IOT architecture is the hardware part and the software part. The hardware mainly comprises of the smart sensors, intelligent gateways, Edge servers. On the other hand, the software market comprises of different IOT platforms, Edge analytics software, AI, ML software.
Application of IOT in supply chain: Application of IOT in the field of supply chain management is gaining momentum day by day. IOT plays the most important role in the implementation of digital supply chain. It can drastically reduce the supply chain challenges which the current supply chain companies are facing.
1) RFID technology: One of the major challenges which the modern warehouses face is the traceability of inventory or material in the supply chain. Millions of rupees are lost on account of warehouse inventory mismatches due to theft, transit loss, expiry due to non-traceability of inventory across supply chain. Modern warehouses are using Radio frequency identification technology to keep track of inventory in each stage of storage and dispatch in warehouses. With the progress of electronics, the RFID devices are becoming cheaper. As a result, major manufacturing & logistics companies are trying to double the usage of RFID devices by 2020.
Major Benefits of using RFID: Real time inventory tracking enables warehouse managers to maintain inventory accuracy levels of more than 99.9 %. Pallet, SKU, Batch level visibility in warehouse reduces the manual effort of inventory count cycle. Therefore, improving productivity of supervisors and operators.