Ways Manufacturers Can Automate Logistics With IoT

One of the biggest challenges manufacturers face in today’s competitive market is finding ways to automate their supply chain management.

Growing demand for faster orders means that manufacturers are trying to meet orders on time and deliver products at a lower cost without sacrificing quality.

To stay ahead in this game, organizations need to find ways to streamline their operations and get rid of all manual processes.

One way they can do so is by using technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things). By automating their logistics, they will reduce costs, increase operational efficiencies and enhance customer experiences with real-time data about product conditions during transit.

The Internet of Things is expanding rapidly, especially in manufacturing. The JD Edwards CNC group has recently partnered with AVEVA to implement IoT solutions for their users across the globe. JD Edwards CNC explores ways to integrate IoT into their automation systems, processes, and supply chains.

They also work with dozens of manufacturers that have implemented IoT technologies into their production lines. These manufacturers are finding new ways to automate their logistics efforts – ultimately increasing efficiency and saving money.

Here are three areas where manufacturers can use IoT devices effectively to automate the supply chain management process:

Real-time Asset Tracking and Condition Monitoring

Many manufacturers still rely on paper to record the transfer of goods from one point to another. While this doesn’t affect product quality, it does increase operational costs as the manufacturer will need to hire more people to track orders manually and promote repeat business.

With IoT devices such as sensors, organizations can now monitor machinery conditions at every step in the supply chain process, ensuring higher availability and reduced downtime for maintenance checks and repairs.

This information is then fed into a cloud-based application that creates a real-time view of asset health and notifies managers when an issue arises so they can take corrective action before things go out of hand.

Predictive Maintenance: Minimizing Risks and Maximizing Productivity

Tools that provide machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity enable manufacturers to monitor machinery conditions in real-time, with predictive analytics providing them with actionable insights.

This allows them to plan for servicing and maintenance when equipment is still performing well, which minimizes the risks of breakdowns or damage due to use.

Predictive maintenance also helps reduce product losses by reordering supplies before they are low. At the same time, it also improves operational productivity by allowing managers to eliminate unnecessary delays at every step in the supply chain process.

Supply Chain Visibility: Real-time Tracking of Orders

The visibility of your supply chain directly influences your customer satisfaction levels in today’s market, where customers want their orders delivered faster.

Many manufacturers are trying to automate supply chain processes using shipping software, which tracks orders in real-time while also providing customers with up-to-date information about product conditions during transit.

This ensures that products are received on time and intact. At the same time, it also allows companies to quickly identify potential bottlenecks or delays due to issues such as transportation or third-party service providers.

With this information readily available at their fingertips, managers can take the necessary steps to address issues quickly instead of waiting for things to blow out of proportion.

Conclusion

Connected devices create a tremendous amount of data. Turning those devices into information is where the IoT truly shines.

So it’s no surprise that manufacturing would be one of the biggest adopters of this technology: It has a vested interest in producing quality products and knowing exactly how customers use them (and what they do wrong).

The result of this proliferation of data is threefold:

Manufacturers can create a holistic view of their supply chain by integrating information from every step along the process to develop a 360-degree understanding of how effectively they’re meeting customer needs.

They can use that data to generate actionable insights into product performance and behavior in real-time.

In real-time, all that happens lets manufacturers adjust and optimize on the fly without causing disruptions or delays elsewhere in the system.

With these tools available today, organizations no longer need to rely on manual supply chain management practices.

They can make use of IoT devices to provide an efficient business process and get real-time insights about their end customers, which can help them improve product development and marketing activities to meet customer demands.