Maximizing Security with IoT: A Guide to Minimizing Supply Chain Pilferages
A recent report by Business Wire quoted that globally, the
asset tracking and inventory management solutions market
is expected to grow by up to 14.6% during the forecast
period from 2022 to 2030 and is expected to reach a market
value of US$ 64.55 billion by 2030. The solutions offer
various information related to the product, their
quantities, and when and where they were used or sold and
placed.
Every year, billions of dollars are lost to pilferage in
the supply chain. As per studies, pilferage loss in the
Indian retail supply chain amounts to approximately 1.5
percent of the total sales value. In any industry, be it
Consumer Electronics, Food and Beverage, Pharmaceuticals,
Building & Industrial; pilferages costs businesses
billions in lost sales and other unnecessary expenses.
This problem can be dealt with by implementing an
efficient asset tracking system, one that integrates
Internet of Things (IoT) into the logistic trail coupled
with software solutions to monitor inventory and track
pilferages. Various organisations have already turned to
IoT to keep track of their inventory and prevent it from
getting lost in the first place. With reliable asset
tracking systems, be rest assured that instances of
pilferage can be cut down by a large margin.
Methods to reduce pilferage
IoT in logistics
IoT has the potential to revolutionize the logistics
industry by improving efficiency, accuracy, and
transparency. IoT is instrumental in curating a logistics
firm’s strategy to improve safety, lower operating costs,
and expand capacity. It also helps in reducing the
environmental impact of their operations. In logistics,
IoT can be used to improve supply chain efficiency by
tracking the location in real-time, the condition of goods
in transit, monitoring the performance of logistics
equipment, and automating logistics processes. Some
examples of IoT applications in logistics include using
RFID tags to track the movement of goods, and GPS tracking
to monitor fleet vehicles.
Asset Tracking System
Asset management or asset tracking systems can be used to
track your organization’s assets in real time. These
systems provide an enhanced view into the movement of
inventory and finished products. While this means a
reduction in manual tracking, it also implies better
inventory management and ensuring that the company never
runs out of stock. Overstocking can also be avoided,
ensuring optimum use of company resources. Real-time
alerts mean heightened security in all stages of
production and delivery. An asset tracking system will
automatically ensure better customer service as order
status can be provided to customers in real-time.
Inventory management system
The risk of stockouts can be entirely avoided by
implementing an inventory management system. Such a system
will communicate the availability of finished goods, track
progress in various stages of production and hence improve
customer satisfaction. Automation of these tasks will make
it error-free and will save time in the process. The
technology will aid companies to analyse data, predict
sales and help businesses be aware of future demand,
allowing them to plan for stockouts and overstocking. An
optimized inventory will bring down the running cost of
the business to a large extent.
Remote management IoT
While the debate about going fully remote has been doing
the rounds, IoT can easily take all your controls remote.
Remote management can be used to monitor the performance
of IoT devices, including their power usage, data usage,
and overall health. This can help to identify issues early
on and prevent problems from recurring. For example, the
system can monitor fuel consumption, speed, idling time,
and other parameters of each vehicle, and use this
information to optimise routes, reduce fuel consumption,
and identify and address any maintenance issues.
This can help logistics companies to improve the
productivity of their fleet, reduce operational costs, and
enhance customer service. Additionally, these systems can
also provide real-time information on the location and
status of vehicles, which can be used to improve delivery
times and reduce the risk of lost or stolen cargo.
IoT monitoring platform
For the unaware, this remote management is run on an IoT
monitoring platform. It is a software system that allows
for the remote monitoring and management of IoT devices.
It typically includes features such as device
provisioning, monitoring, configuration, and updates, as
well as data analytics and visualization tools.
For logistics companies, an IoT monitoring platform can
provide a single, centralized location to monitor and
manage their IoT devices, making it easier to track the
status of devices, identify issues and improve the
efficiency of their operations. Additionally, it allows
monitoring and control of all devices from a single
location, automate data collection, and analyses data to
identify patterns, trends and anomalies.
IoT monitoring platforms can also be integrated with other
systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and
customer relationship management (CRM), which can provide
logistics companies with a more holistic view of their
operations and enable them to make more informed
decisions.
Today, there are IoT device management companies that
provide the above-mentioned services and more. These
services can include everything from the initial
deployment, setting up the devices in place, monitoring
device performance, providing security for IoT devices,
and data management. Such IoT device management companies
can help logistics companies to reduce costs by automating
many of the functions associated with IoT device
management, like monitoring, configuration, and updates.
While it is understood that IoT device management
companies can help to reduce costs by automating many of
the tasks associated with IoT device management, such as
monitoring, configuration, and updates, another hidden
benefit is scalability. They can help logistics businesses
to scale up their IoT deployments as their operations
grow, without needing to invest in additional
infrastructure or staff.