More than half of new business processes will incorporate some element of the internet of things (IoT) this year, Gartner predicts — with a thirty-fold increase in internet-connected physical devices, which will “significantly alter how the supply chain operates.”

This is hardly surprising, given that IoT has long been an area of focus for organizations looking to reap more value from their supply chains. Global corporations recognize the transformational role of IoT, and many deployments are focusing on identifying, locating and tracking the status of assets.

The market for global asset-tracking and inventory-management solutions will continue to climb steadily over the next five years. Data Bridge Market Research predicts that it will reach $31.9 billion by 2025, up from $11.8 billion in 2017.

What’s causing this growth? Here are some key trends that are impacting the supply-chain industry today:

• Asset tracking. More businesses are monitoring the location of inexpensive assets such as rolls or cartons, and more expensive ones such as trailers, trucks, railcars and shipping containers, so that those assets will be readily available when needed and don’t become unused, lost or stolen.
• Fleet operation. There’s a move toward the monitoring of vehicle fleets and drivers. The capability is being integrated with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to optimize capacity utilization and delivery times, and promote responsible corporate behavior in the form of regular vehicle maintenance, enforcement of driver rest periods, and limits on CO2 emissions.
• Predictive and preventive maintenance. Operators are monitoring the health (temperature, vibration, wear, etc.) of engines or other equipment used in manufacturing and supply-chain processes. As a result, equipment is more likely to have better uptime and a longer overall lifetime. By optimizing maintenance operations and spare-part costs, and reducing unattended stops in production, fleet operators can protect their investments and reduce risks.
• Theft prevention. From factory floors to store shelves, theft is the most common way for items to go missing — another reason to track items throughout the supply chain.

Notwithstanding the continued growth of asset-tracking technology, the highly technical nature of IoT can serve as a barrier to entry for many businesses. In addition to being cost-prohibitive, many solutions are impractical to implement.

The main difficulty has been linking remote sensors wirelessly to the internet across multiple sites or countries, with indoor and outdoor locations, in a seamless manner that follows all steps of the supply chain.

The ideal wireless technology should be inexpensive and secure, work over long distances, and have a substantial battery life. Emerging technology offers companies low-cost solutions that provide low bandwidth, long-range communication, and low power consumption. These types of solutions provide companies with the flexibility to deploy sensors, and leverage private and public networks in a cost-efficient manner.

Asset tracking has proven to be essential in gathering data across a variety of applications and verticals. Implementing IoT solutions has been a game changer. Some examples:

• In 2019, Smart Parks, an organization that improves conservation and park management, was able to maintain a record of zero losses to poaching as a result of IoT-based sensor technology. To effectively manage its parks around the globe, Smart Parks deployed a solution via 55 gateways across more than 16 million miles in countries from Tanzania to the Netherlands. In the process, they gained the ability to track live assets, including both park rangers and animals within the park.
• Each year, more than 100 million passengers make their way through the Istanbul Airport. The airport worked with Skysens, a company focused on industry-oriented wireless IoT solutions, to help implement an end-to-end IoT system with up to 10,000 sensors that operates on a low-power network. Geolocation sensors monitor where vehicles, personnel and luggage are across the airport. The system has reduced total operational expenses by enabling predictive maintenance, efficient and accurate asset monitoring, and a reduction in energy consumption.
• Lauak Group, a major aviation industry supplier with headquarters in the southwest of France, partnered with Ineo-sense, a developer of intelligent and autonomous sensors for IoT applications, for its smart asset-tracking solution. Ineo-sense provides a tool that’s deployed on 14,000 transport boxes throughout Lauak campuses. The technology allows production managers and engineers to remotely monitor the use, status, functionality and location of expensive manufacturing assets in real time. With the help of sensors, they’re now able to do this remotely and accurately without the risk of human error, resulting in a large drop the in cost of energy and time, as well as lower operational costs for the facility.

As companies move towards greater efficiency, supply-chain and logistics tracking technologies can provide new solutions for smarter and improved operations management. A scalable and low cost IoT network is the foundation for improving a supply chain.

Marc Pégulu is vice president of Semtech's Wireless and Sensing Product Group.