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.