• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » How Industrial IoT Impacts Today’s Supply Chains

How Industrial IoT Impacts Today’s Supply Chains

Industrial IoT
February 7, 2019
Alan Griffiths, SCB Contributor

The industrial IoT will play an important part in the evolution of supply chains from linear “point to point” models to network or circular models. Business efficiency, sustainability and regulatory pressures are causing many companies to investigate these new approaches, but IoT and blockchain actually make it feasible to adopt the new business models. 

There is nothing new about IoT; companies have been using sensors to obtain and act on information from product and devices for years. What’s changing is that it’s becoming possible to deploy IoT technology cost-effectively and to integrate it with existing systems and processes. 

To optimize component selection, designers can — using IoT sensors and cloud analytics — obtain information about reliability and performance in the field so that the most suitable part (and its supplier) can be selected. For example, TSM realized that the plastics industry didn’t have good visibility of their material usage and that providing this to their customers in a useable format enabled them to streamline their processes and become leaner. TSM uses PTC’s ThingWorx and Kepware software to connect their devices and provide information to the customers. Howden, a major supplier to the mining industry, is increasing its market share by providing sophisticated simulation tools — to allow its ventilation systems to be designed-in to the mines, and control tools — to allow them to be monitored and controlled after installation. Howden works with OSIsoft, Microsoft and PTC to deliver its solutions.

Designing products to include IoT technology can support circular supply chains. Products can be tracked through their lifecycle — including through the supply chain — and re-used (or recycled) at the end of the loop. IoT technology will also support regulatory compliance, where it is necessary to know the source of all components, who has handled them and the conditions they have been held in. 

Blockchain technology will increasingly be used to ensure the supply chains are secure and that products are produced, transported and stored in proper conditions. For example, Viant has a collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline, Microsoft and others to develop blockchain-based supply chain tracking solutions using Viant’s Ethereum-based blockchain supply chain platform with distributed ledger technology to track intellectual property licenses. This will ensure that products are produced, transported, and stored in proper conditions, prevent mislabeling and help combat counterfeit medications.

Complex, expensive products demand just-in-time delivery from suppliers. Sensors on products can provide visibility of the exact location and information about a part as it moves through the supply chain so that it can be made more efficient and mistakes can be avoided. For example, Caterpillar is using its “Live Factory” initiative to optimize its material flow and supplier network.

“Servitization” will also have an impact as the supplier doesn’t sell the product, but provides it as a service. Sensors and advanced analytics bring down the cost of service, which makes this business model viable. This approach has been used for many years by aero engine manufacturers, and — as the technology becomes more affordable — is being taken by many other suppliers from bicycle makers to air compressors. 

The Outlook

Suppliers will improve their success if their products are designed with IoT capability to comply with advanced supply chains’ procurement and transportation models. This facilitates working with OEM design teams as well as procurement and service management. Blockchain technology will increasingly be used to ensure that supply chains are secure and fully traceable to show where products are produced, where they are transported, and how they are stored at all stages. 

Alan Griffiths is a principal industry analyst of industrial IoT and digital transformation at Cambashi.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain) Technology Industrial Manufacturing
KEYWORDS Big Data/IOT Industrial Manufacturing Supply Chain Analysis & Consulting Technology
  • Related Articles

    How Industrial IoT is Disrupting Supply Chains

    How Industrial IoT Is Transforming Supply Chains

Alan Griffiths, SCB Contributor

More from this author

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • A MAN IN A SUIT SHAKES HANDS WITH A WOMAN IN A HARD HAT, NEXT TO A STACK OF CONTAINERS

    Three Procurement Technology Evolutions for 2023

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • DOCUMENTS BEARING THE INSIGNIA OF US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION LIE ON A TABLE

    New CBP Regs Call for Greater Diligence by Brokers in Reporting Security Breaches

    Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
  • The blank stare of a child's eye who is standing behind what appears to be a wooden frame

    The Alarming Continued Rise of Modern Slavery in Supply Chains: How Procurement Can Help Reverse the Trend

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • A WORKER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPERIMPOSED WITH GRAPHICS SHOWING SUPPLY NETWORK

    Enabling Intelligent Visibility With Supply Chain Analytics

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • A GROUP OF WORKERS RANGED IN AN OFFICE, OF DIVERSE RACE, GENDER, AGE AND PHYSICAL ABILITY

    Podcast | The Supply Chain Workforce of the Future Is Already Here

    HR & Labor Management

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing