According to a market report, the global Internet of Things (IoT) in the logistics market is projected to reach US$ 63,728.6 Mn by 2026 driven by an exponential rise in IoT applications in logistics. In today’s fast paced, ever evolving world, we’ve become more dependent than before on digital services and the need to be connected. Combined with increasing customer expectations, a rise in the need to improve and refine operational efficiencies and the requirement to automate processes, the Transport and Logistics industry is being driven by technology innovations. Innovations such as the implementation of IoT.
But what role does IoT have to play and how can it help improve efficiencies and more importantly, how can organisations use the data provided by IoT to enhance service delivery? In our latest blog, we take a look at how IoT is a key enabler to streamlining processes within the Transport and Logistics sector and the impact this data can have.
How IoT is used in the Transport and Logistics Industry
In recent years, IoT has been revolutionising the Transport and Logistics industry and shaping the future of the sector. Whether it’s for asset tracking, traffic management, route optimisation or proactive maintenance, the use of sensors are able to provide organisations with intelligent information to make more informed decisions and react accordingly.
Some examples of how IoT is used throughout the Transport and Logistics industry include:
Proactive maintenance and asset management:
IoT supports and enhances greater sharing of real time information, allowing organisations to become proactive and react more effectively. IoT allows the ability to monitor equipment and assets that are required to complete jobs or keep a service running smoothly. For example, monitoring facilities within a train station such as whether a lift, escalator or platform ramp is working or detecting the footfall and occupancy to avoid overcrowding. With IoT sensors in place, assets and equipment will send a notification when it detects a change, the issues can be addressed before it escalates into a serious incident. It reduces downtime for essential services and utilises the workforce’s time more effectively.
Additionally, sensors can detect issues such as temperature, lighting or energy consumption before they arise, reducing costs associated with break-fix maintenance before any damage or dangerous safety issues arise.
Freight transportation, fleet management and delivery of goods:
Nowadays, logistics organisations are under pressure to deliver items on time, provide safe storage of items and efficient inventory management. IoT technology can be used to monitor and improve logistics management, including tracking drivers’ whereabouts, vehicle location and delivery status.
GPS tracking can be used to monitor the progress, collection and delivery of goods safely as well as using sensors to track goods while in transit ensuring the delivery to the right place at the right time. Combining this with optimised route planning and scheduling staff, organisations can save on fuel costs and increase staff capacity.
Within the transport sector, IoT is utilised to monitor automotive imports improving communications on the arrival into port terminals as well as to track freight, keeping staff updated on its condition throughout its journey.
Benefits:
Capacity – IoT enables automatic job allocation by setting certain conditions in sensors and triggering a response task. It eliminates the manual process and reduces time spent manually assigning work, with this additional time saved more jobs can be completed or more time can be spent on proactive tasks.
Cost – IoT presents the opportunity for organisation’s to be more proactive rather than reactive. Materials and equipment can be monitored continuously for wear or use, once it reaches a certain level, a maintenance task can be automatically assigned. This proactive approach means that parts and materials can be fixed before they break, saving time and money in the long run.
Compliance – IoT ensures that data is monitored and recorded to a consistent standard automatically, reducing human error. Historical information is also available from sensors which enables a clearer picture of issues, the steps taken to resolve them and ultimately help to resolves issues efficiently.
Consistency – IoT enables automated processes through sensors and devices which drive consistency in service delivery for the both the customer and the mobile worker. Notifications allow service levels to remain consistent with automated messages alerting customers to each stage of the process.
What impact can data have?
Within field service management, IoT and the data generated from sensors are each essential components. It is of course what organisations do with that data that is key to help identify trends and make informed business decisions to better optimise services and react in a more efficient and smart manner.
Furthermore, by harnessing and analysing data from ongoing or historic service delivery, organisations will be able to drive meaningful insights on optimising their workforce, vehicles, assets and operations to enhance predictions and inform future decisions. This will inevitably help drive automation and provide an enhanced customer experience as well as deploying your field-based workforce more efficiently from the data insights discovered.
As IoT continues to be adopted and the workforce gains access to more data and analytics, staff will feel more in control of their own roles and able to be proactive for customers and service users rather than, the more stressful, reactiveness. IoT reduces the need for staff to complete unnecessary tasks and instead redeploys them into more critical areas.
Conclusion:
It’s evident that technology, IoT and the data it generates has a significant role to play in shaping the future and improving operational efficiencies in the Transport and Logistics industry. Organisations need to evaluate the information they are provided with in order to best benefit their decisions going forward. As a result, organisations within this sector will be able to automate and optimise processes, react smarter and more efficiently, enabling them to deliver a compliant, consistent service delivery.
How Totalmobile can help
Sense from Totalmobile makes use of IoT technologies that enable the creation of work to be automated and assigned to mobile workers, without the need for human intervention. Information is then analysed, and rules engines and AI are utilised to determine if action, such as the creation of an item of work, is required. Work created can then be assigned to staff via their mobile device, streamlining the delivery of work and empowering them to provide a responsive service.
At Totalmobile, we offer an end to end field service management solution to meet the needs of your requirements as well as stand-alone options. If you’d like further information on how Totalmobile can help you improve operational efficiencies, contact us today on info@totalmobile.co.uk
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