The ability to track and verify equipment and products at any stage—in development, in production, in shipment and at customer sites—has long been the holy grail of connected businesses. Now, it is possible not only to know where products are in the life cycle, but also to predict where they will be next and automatically take measures to ensure they’re in the hands of customers when and where needed.
This is possible thanks to the powerful union of the Internet of Things (IoT) and computer vision, along with the constellation of data analytics applications now coming into artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). This is paving the way to the factory of the future, which won’t be just manufacturing products, but will function as IoT-driven networks. With near-real-time data and visualization on the location, status and environment of assets, companies can optimize how assets are used and deployed to help maximize return on investment.
A new Forbes Insights survey of 700 executives finds enterprises are embracing IoT to improve the capabilities of their supply chains and operations. Twenty-seven percent are employing IoT to enhance their manufacturing operations, 22% are implementing IoT to provide greater transparency across their supply chains, and 16% are focusing their IoT efforts on warehousing and logistics. Additionally, 38% seek to employ IoT to enhance their operational capabilities, while 27% seek to leverage their IoT capabilities to support more intelligent logistics and routing.
The survey also found that a majority of companies are linking their IoT to cognitive and analytical applications. When asked what kinds of computing applications are influenced by their IoT-generated data or insight, 71% indicated AI and machine learning systems, and 55% pointed to integration with advanced analytical algorithms. Notably, 47% have begun implementing visual analytics on a limited scale to ingest visual data captured by IoT-enabled cameras and analyze it to enable greater insights and determine best courses of action.
This is reshaping the way enterprises manage their networks of suppliers and business partners. With sensors and smart cameras now embedded in production machines, logistics facilities, vehicles, raw materials and products themselves, companies can track and monitor conditions in real time, as well as the speed and timeliness of shipment. GPS sensors on trucks, for example, will inform systems that deliveries will arrive at a given day and time. Enterprises are able to understand where key assets and products are located and their status–regardless of whether they are within the organization itself, out in the network or at customer sites.
The advantages of IoT-enhanced intelligent supply chains include the following:
- Product origination. Supply chains can be complex, and often, raw materials and partially completed products don’t come directly from the original suppliers themselves. With the help of IoT, partners as well as customers can gain deeper insights into the makeup of products built and purchased.
- Product quality. The transparency provided through IoT into the production and assembly of products—and the data generated at all phases of the product life cycle—enables companies to spot and address potential product issues and eliminate defects. This is enabled through high-quality computer vision.
- Inventory replenishment. Many companies are adherents to the economies afforded by just-in-time and see-through inventory, and IoT-enhanced intelligent supply chains are a breakthrough development for these initiatives. With the predictive power of AI applied to video data monitored from warehouses, shipping centers and retail outlets, companies can better meet the up-and-down requirements of consumer demand for their products.
- Predictive and prescriptive maintenance. With IoT-enabled intelligent supply chains, companies will be able to predict and act on potential bottlenecks—both mechanical and process-created—in an automated fashion before they even occur.
While the advantages of an IoT-enhanced intelligent supply chain are clear, there is still work to be done. Currently, most data generated through IoT devices is not available to intelligent systems. In fact, the Forbes Insights survey finds only 15% of companies are seeing significant amounts of their IoT data employed in this manner.
An effective intelligent supply chain also requires the full participation of partners and vendors. Yet at least 23% of executives report that one of the challenges to their IoT efforts is accessing edge devices/nodes maintained by third-party firms, and 21% of executives report having difficulties in securing permissions to access remote device/node data. What’s more, 77% say that many of their partners do not have the technology/equipment to participate in IoT. Still, among partners, the willingness is strong. Eighty-four percent report that it’s relatively easy to convince partners to sign on to their IoT network.
For executives, this means working even more closely with supply chain partners and other providers to make such an intelligent supply chain a reality. With a greater number of participants and voices, innovation is more likely, but the benefits don’t end there. Overall, 25% of executives report improved control over operating environments and assets, thanks to IoT. Another 23% report more granular transparency into supply chains, and 22% have seen an end-to-end view of product life cycles and usage. The benefits are simply too good to pass up.
How is the IoT triggering business growth and transportation? See new research from Forbes Insights in partnership with Intel
