IoT-driven vehicles to improve agility and visibility in the supply chain industry

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been revolutionary to several industries such as retail, finance, and healthcare. The inclination of major supply chain industry players toward automation and adoption of IoT has shown fullest potential of improving workflow in supply chain. Robust expansion of supply chain industry owing to globalization of trades, flourishing e-commerce industry, and growth of retail industry across the globe are fueling adoption of advanced technologies in supply chain industry. Earlier, adoption of IoT in supply chain was limited to tracking and monitoring; however, the technological evolution in connected vehicles and its proven benefits are luring the major players in supply chain industry to adopt the connectivity in supply chain vehicles. 

Commercial vehicles are the important link that carries smooth functioning of the supply chain industry. Thus, automation or connectivity between carrier vehicles plays a key role in its success. IoT-connected vehicles are transport vehicles equipped with a facility for sharing Internet access with other vehicles and devices. These vehicles save time effectively by not only efficient dynamic route planning but by opening garage doors when in their range. Through this, the vehicle's safety and maintenance are achieved with effective tracking and theft prevention features. With connectivity, status of vehicles, longitude/latitude, software updates and patches, battery life, and other vehicle details can be shared with maintenance unit as well as with customers whenever necessary. Such benefits help to maintain transparency between service providers and customers.

Keeping a fleet moving is a most important logistical task, which can be easily solved by automation and adoption of automated as well as connected vehicles. Connected vehicles could have an impact on logistics industry by lowering overall functional costs and limiting delays in delivery. A survey shows that the IoT-connected vehicles in supply chain reflect an elevation in productivity by 10-15%.