Zebra Technologies' "Retail Vision Study," released this week, finds that the majority of retailers surveyed globally expect to embrace radio frequency identification and other Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, as well as use analytic data from those systems by 2021, as more shoppers move to online sales.
Analyst Insight: With companies reshoring their manufacturing facilities back to North America in today's market and in the future, leading industrial manufacturing companies are striving to enhance factory performance and improve plant productivity to maintain a competitive edge. Industrial manufacturing is in the midst of a technological renaissance that is transforming the systems and processes of the modern plant. Companies can't afford to ignore these advances or they will be left behind. – Brian Neuwirth, VP of Marketing and Sales, UNEX Manufacturing
Fluid Management Technology Pty Ltd. (FMT), a specialist in fuel tank management, has developed an RFID- and Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled solution for clients that need to accurately monitor their fuel consumption. The backbone of the system is a device that the company calls the SmartFill GEN 2, which helps prevent theft by restricting fuel dispensal only to authorized users.
Analyst Insight: The Internet of Things (IoT) was originally the concept of "things talking." In the early days we envisioned RFID tags on everything, helping to identify and locate any object in the universe. The RFID tag would uniquely identify the item, determine its location, and put a time stamp to the transaction. It was a straightforward concept. It was either there, or it was not. It was all about identity and location. – Eric Peters, executive vice president, Tompkins International
Analyst Insight: When people talk about the Internet of Things, they can mean many different things, even within one industry. For a manufacturer, there are four major areas where IoT may have an impact: the manufacturing plant, the supply chain, service and the product. – Bill McBeath, chief research officer, ChainLink Research
Analyst Insight: Variously called Industry 4.0, the Industrial Internet, or simply digitization, the emergence of machine-to-machine interactions, human-to-machine interactions, robust data and analytics capabilities, and cheaper, more ubiquitous sensors is pushing the Internet of Things (IoT) into the core operations of more and more companies. Among the business operations especially ripe for transformation by digital and IoT capabilities is the "smart" supply chain. – Eduardo Alvarez, Principal, PwC, and Rodger Howell, Principal, PwC
Analyst Insight: The number one challenge to making predictive and prescriptive analytics succeed is data cleanliness and completeness. Until that is solved, predictive analytics programs will struggle to provide value. The problem is made more acute by the amount of new data coming online each year. – Bill McBeath, Chief Research Officer, ChainLink Research
Analyst Insight: The Internet of Things (IoT) is the topic du jour. Some estimates predict that in 2020 there will be close to 50 billion connected devices. What will all these connections mean for supply chains? First and foremost, it will shine light on what was once dark in supply chains. However, the true excitement for IoT lies in the new business processes that could emerge from these newfound insights. – Guy F. Courtin, Vice President, Industry and Solutions, GT Nexus
The latest news, analysis, trends and solutions for big data, blockchain and the internet of things (IoT) and their impact on supply chain management. Big data describes the large volume of data that inundates a business on a day-to-day basis and can be analyzed for strategic business insights. IoT is the means that collects and sends data from a range of “things” — anything from watches to fridges to cars — that are connected to the internet with sensors or computer chips. Learn how companies around the world are using big data, blockchain and IoT for supply chain optimization and competitive advantage.
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