after they arrive. Once the shipment reaches its destination, workers can plug in the device and analyze the data to ensure that conditions during the trip were as they should be. This retroactive data can be valuable. “The data may tell us a product needs to go into the trash if it would be damaging to a consumer,” Daigle says. By contrast, real-time item- level visibility technology records information—temperature, humidity, shocks or light—in real time and the data is sent into the cloud. Recipients of the data can make decisions or adjustments based on that information. For instance, if a refrigerated unit has an incorrect setting, the truck driver can be noti ed to make adjustments before products are ruined. “The difference is learning something after it’s too late versus saving a shipment with real-time information,” Daigle says. While tracking assets such as trucks, trains, containers, vessels, and aircraft is effective, issues can arise. For instance, drivers may be non-compliant, or mix-ups can occur, leading to items ending up on different vessels. “Having a device that is connected to the item itself cuts out all the noise and provides the single source of truth that shippers can rely upon to know what’s happening with the location and condition of that speci c item,” Daigle says. “Item-level visibility from an IoT tracker gives shippers that redundancy.” BOOST RESILIENCE, COMBAT FRAUD Among the most pressing priorities in the supply chain today are increasing resilience and combating rising fraud and theft. Item-level visibility can help build improvements in both areas. “Track-and-trace work ows can be applied to item-level visibility solutions so the status of an item can be tracked in real time through the supply chain along with its attributes—lot code, expiration date, serial number—and also dispositions such as good, bad, returned, damaged, or recalled, ” Krishna says. “This makes the supply chain more resilient and helps combat fraud.”
Ambient IoT tags, like these from Wiliot, o er item-level real-time tracking and data collection that help satisfy consumer demand for faster shipping and supply chain transparency.
“This is critical especially due to global manufacturing and distribution,” says Shyam Krishna, vice president of healthcare solutions for Softeon, a provider of supply chain execution and planning systems. “Consumers like to know that even if they buy a generic brand laptop or cell phone, they can be assured that the motherboard or components can be tracked and traced for authenticity and reliability,” he says. Consumers also want the ability to track assets and receive real-time alerts on factors such as a product’s shelf life or expiration, or its wear and tear, among other elements. The widespread emphasis on supply chain resilience and the ability for retailers to quickly adapt to disruptions also have been factors driving demand for visibility. So has a shift toward omnichannel retailing and the need for precise inventory tracking across multiple channels. In addition, sustainability’s increasing importance plays a role as brands better prioritize reducing waste and improving resource utilization. Industries including food and pharmaceuticals, which have regulations requiring temperature monitoring to verify product conditions, are currently the most frequent users of IoT devices. “Those industries are at the cutting edge of real-time item-level visibility, because they have to be regulated,” Daigle says. “We also see adoption within high-value freight.” Key tech tools for item-level visibility include ambient IoT tags, which offer
real-time tracking and data collection; advanced analytics and AI, which provide predictive insights and decision- making; and cloud-based platforms, which allow for scalable and exible data management. “Advancements in IoT and sensor technologies make real-time data collection more feasible and affordable,” notes Statler. “Supply chains also have seen an increased focus on AI, data- driven decision-making, and predictive analytics. With item-level visibility, these decisions can be made with signi cantly Statler says that there’s a misconception that item-level visibility solutions are costly or complex to implement. He argues that these tools offer “signi cant” return on investment, effective scalability, and can be used for many applications across the supply chain. Technologies such as IoT can be used to track packages, and can monitor item attributes, temperatures, and other conditions while shipments are in transit. They also integrate well with other tools. “A warehouse management system integrated with a smart print-and- apply system can apply RFID labels in a high-volume shipping environment, thus making item-level visibility easily achievable,” Krishna says. “Essential attributes of the product are encoded easily into these smart tags.” Devices placed on items before they ship record conditions as the shipment more data and legitimacy.” WHEN VISIBILITY IS ‘REAL-TIME’ travels through the supply chain— yielding intelligence that can be used
176 Inbound Logistics • July 2024
Powered by FlippingBook