Supply chain management is undergoing rapid transformation with IoT technology. The use of IoT technology is bringing the digital and the physical worlds together. The mapping of physical objects in the digital space is possible with IoT technology; it is also transforming the way supply chain management solutions are developed and work.

The IoT technology makes use of sensors that are capable of bidirectional remote communication. This essentially means that assets or devices can communicate with centralised systems and update their status. These are very useful for proactive and predictive maintenance, proactive fault diagnosis and smoother operations.

As per Gartner, more than half of new business processes and systems will incorporate some element of IoT by 2020. The worldwide IoT spending will grow from $698.6 billion in 2015 to $1.3 trillion in 2019, according to IDC.

Today the IoT sensors are advanced; the devices can be controlled remotely. IoT allows the supply chain management systems to control operations remotely and execute actions based on certain parameters. Here we explore how IoT is transforming supply chain management:

1. Asset Management:

The IoT enabled sensors are helping companies to manage their fixed assets and manage their lifecycles. The fixed asset management using IoT improves tracking assets realtime. The assets like properties, plants, equipments, computer equipments, furniture etc. can be monitored using IoT enabled sensors. The automated tracking across geo locations improves asset maintenance, risk control and performance management.

2. Sales and Inventory:

A good supply chain management creates optimised products and services that improve the bottom line for the business. The IoT enabled SCM allows an organisation to map the demand of their products and services on realtime basis across locations. The manufacturing operations for the products and services are demand drive.

The operations are optimised to maximise utilisation of the inventory and procure optimally on need basis. The inventory is optimised with analytics generating from the operations on regular basis to ensure sufficient supply of products/services to the customers.

3. Improved Distribution & Warehousing:

The RFID enabled shipments from companies can be tracked using mobile devices and automated RFID scanners. The shipments can be tracked, scanned and dispatched or collected into the warehouse using smart technology. The data is then transferred to the centralised supply chain system. The process requires minimum human intervention and is highly accurate making warehousing and distribution seamless.

4. Integrated Supply Chain:

The sensor based supply chain management is able to integrate logistics, distribution, inventory, purchase, manufacturing and complete lifecycle management of data across locations and departments. The supply chain system is often integrated with finance software to keep track of ledgers, accounts payables and receivables etc. Companies can handle day to day operations using integrated supply chain systems.

The integrated supply chain is connected to a centralised system, which is a cloud based system. Organisations are able to scale production and simply manufacturing and retail operations using these systems.

5. Enhanced Customer Experience:

The supply chain management system takes care of the clients requirement processing, manufacturing the products/services and delivery to the customer. With IoT, the complete lifecycle management of the product is managed through the automated system. The product is tracked until it is delivered to the customer. The usage of clients, their key requirements and feedback is available to the planning and development teams. The IoT system ensures early quality checks to minimise product returns and timely delivery for customers.

6. Procurement & Resource utilisation:

The companies using sensor based technology can detect the utilisation of assets with greater accuracy. The system also indicates when to retire or remove assets from active use, if they are causing lot of downtime. The procurement of assets and inventory can be greatly optimised with a realtime IoT solution. The resource utilisation, usage parameters, production control etc. typically impacts the bottom line of the company.

The predictive maintenance of assets ensures minimum downtime and proper utilisation of assets. All procurement needs and purchase orders are currently mapped to existing free assets and resources.

7. Subscription based Models:

Mercedes recently launched a subscription service for its cars. Yes, you can now avail a Mercedes Benz on monthly rent in US. Mercedes is launching this service after Jeep & Porsche. Many other companies are exploring subscription based modes of distribution for their products.

The IoT platform allows the companies to operate and track all their products on a centralised system allowing them to offer subscription services. The subscription based model allows companies to reach a wider audience and scale their reach. The maintenance, insurance and all other logistics are also done using centralised IoT solutions.

Conclusion:

The IoT enabled supply chain management improves the resources utilisation, uses predictive algorithms for manufacturing to cut down on excessive production, but ensures enough stock to meet sales demand across locations. An IoT based platform achieves great efficiencies and serves the interest of the entire supply chain to maximise profitability and growth for a company.

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The computing world is changing with IoT faster than most people realise. The new wave of computing is smart sensors, equipments & devices that can talk to each other without manual interactions. These devices are intelligent enough to take proactive actions & enable human beings with capabilities never seen before. Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and devices are expected to exceed mobile phones as the largest category of connected devices in 2018, growing at a 23% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2015 to 2021 as per 2016 Ericcson Mobility Report. This wave of computing is now one of the top contested spaces that companies don’t want to miss. Internet of things is changing enterprise asset management and how people work with machines.

Are you an enterprise that is wondering how IoT can enable and empower you? The Enterprise Asset Management may be a great opportunity for your organisation to unleash incredible value from this emerging trend. A look at how enterprise asset management can leverage Internet of things for unleashing true value from assets, improve their value & ensure optimum ROI:

1. Value wise break-up of Assets according to locations:

With RFID tagging the assets of an organisation can be tracked with realtime device signals sent to a centralised system. This helps an organisation to map assets with respect to geographic locations. The current value of assets in particular geographic locations can be highlighted with Maps. The data from these assets is collected with RFID tags to get the realtime locations. The current values of assets are calculated after depreciations & other applicable deductions like impairment etc. The asset break-up represents the complete picture of different locations.

2. Retirement & Disposal of Assets:

Disposable assets are those assets that need to be discarded from the active inventory. These assets could be past their economic useful life, impaired or damaged etc. Often times, it becomes hard to know which assets need to be replaced when. But with IoT based sensors, these devices automatically send signals to the system when they no longer serve useful purpose. The maintenance cost of assets which are not discarded on time is very high. The RFID mapping of assets with key event alerts for economic useful life can help an organisation to effectively replace them.

3. Verification of assets:

The data capturing process of verification of assets is extremely tedious & requires tremendous efforts. With RFID readers, thousands of assets can be verified in a minutes. The data is also sent to the centralised system for analysis. Tracking the assets has never been easier. The IoT enables all employees to take ownership for their assets. The assets can be verified with a mobile app. This app can be used to verify the asset and also track the condition of the asset.

4. Cost of Ownership for assets:

Organisations spend a huge amount of money not only for procurement of assets, but also for maintenance, deployment, verifications, downtime & discarding them. IoT enables realtime supply chain management for optimised procurement. It makes informed decisions with realtime inventory knowledge. The assets are also equipped with sensors for proactive health monitoring, which reduces downtime. Overall, the improvement in efficiency for lifecycle management of assets reduces the Cost of Ownership for companies.

5. Contracts & License Management:

An organisation with different types of fixed assets needs to track its contracts very efficiently. The maintenance & License contracts from vendors can be mapped with an IoT enabled Asset Management System. The vendors for each & every device can be tracked with the detailed contract terms. Any breakdown can be tracked and marked against these vendors. The vendors can also be notified proactively from the system for key events like due maintenance for large plants & machinery according to the contractual terms. These vendors can also be integrated for supply chain management. The vendor performance, delivery terms, contracts & licenses improve transparency for asset management.

6. Consumption Trends for Current Assets:

The consumption trends of current assets can be uncovered with IoT enabled enterprise asset management system. The fastest consuming items, idle stock, user requests, outstanding purchase orders can all be analysed with this. The most valuable consumable items, their usage, expenses etc can be automated. The total quantity of consumed assets, analysis of fast consuming assets, departments with highest requirements etc can be analysed. The consumption trends for current assets can help to reduce wastage and idle stock.

7. Operational Intelligence:

The data that is gathered from the devices enables the machine to machine communication. This m2m communication is used for learning, and optimises how operations are managed. The manufacturing processes, floor work, and operations can be optimised with IoT. The realtime alerts for key events from these devices across the factory can result in better operational efficiency and execution. These devices are often connected with active tags; Wifi equipments etc and communicate to a centralised system.

The internet of things can enable organisations to drive true value from their assets. The automatic collection of data from devices results in improved process efficiency, optimising the existing resources and correlating them with business events for best outcomes. The assets are now talking to each other and centralised systems to steer us in the world ruled by machines.

Kreyon Systems is an enterprise software company for asset management solutions. We have deep expertise in building and architecting software products & solutions for asset management. Our expertise in asset management is leveraged by public and government for fixed assets lifecycle management. Please get in touch with us for any queries or assistance.

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The banking industry is poised for disruptions. Technology is changing banking like never before. The evolution of mobile payment systems, online purchasing, peer to peer lending platforms and several other Financial Tech start-ups are creating a revolution in the banking industry. The banks are under immense pressure from technology companies, global financial crisis and looking at ways to bolster their performance. Consumers are on the lookout for more convenient ways for transactions with mobile banking and digitalisation. Banks have to proactively seize the opportunities before it is too late for them.

The digital world is changing things & making lot of industries obsolete. Uber is now the world’s largest taxi company, but doesn’t own any vehicles. Airbnb provides accommodation without owning any hotels, ecommerce companies like Amazon, Alibaba are now among the world’s most valuable retailers, they don’t own any inventory. These companies have evolved with technology. They provide platforms which connect them to users. The banking industry is also seeing a rise of these platforms. For e.g. Lending management software are created for facilitating loans to people electronically. These platforms don’t own bank branches and other costs which a traditional set-up incurs. Yet, they are directly interfaced with customers & make money.

These disruptions are creating whole new industries & platforms. Whether it is simplifying an existing process or creating a new product or service for the consumers, banking industry is at the threshold of these innovations. Internet of things for banking is one such platform, which integrates its different components and makes them more efficient, consumer friendly, and creates a digital delivery system. A look at how the banking industry can benefit from Internet of things:

1. Mobile banking Platform:

Internet of things is an interconnected ecosystem of people, processes and technology. It facilitates mobile banking and connects all the consumers to a centrally connected interface. The consumers can be tracked from the centralised system. It also makes all processes like loan repayments, mobile payment transfer and other transactions easy. Banking industry software innovations have made users mobile device their bank.

2. Collateral Verification:

Banks all over the world suffer from bad loans. To minimise the losses, the collaterals act as a security measure for these banks. The process for collateral verification can be automated with GPS enabled IoT. These locations of the collaterals can be marked against the loans. If the collaterals cannot be located or verified, then the alerts can be sent to concerned authorities.

3. Loan Tracking:

The vehicles, properties and other types of loans can be marked on the GPS enabled IoT maps. The centralised system can be used to depict the bad loans according to locations, the outstanding amount, the loan repayment revenue etc.

4. Integrated information:

With a centralised system all information related to borrower’s location, collateral details, documentation & personal details can be viewed in the system. The IoT also enables key alerts and triggers for repayments of loans, documentation updates and other events.

5. Valuation System:

The valuation of a collateral property can be done with IoT enabled valuation system. The property to be valued is marked on the map. The maps also have indices for calculation of the real value of the property according to land area, location, and other conditions. A automated valuation system correctly determines the true value of property. This valuation system is integrated to the loan management process. GPS enabled maps with realtime indices and calculation systems are used for calculating the valuation of the properties and other types of assets.

6. Consumer Connectivity:

When a consumer is connected to the centralised system, he receives detailed information on loan repayments, effective interest rates, outstanding loan amount etc. The consumer or the borrower is notified all key events in the system. The banks can also use GPS location of the borrower and other collaterals submitted for loans.

7. Outstanding Value for loans:

Banks are often at a loss when the outstanding loan amount becomes less than the value of collaterals submitted by the borrower. With Internet of things enabled system, the value of collaterals is automatically calculated based on depreciations and impairments. Whenever the outstanding loan amount is greater than the value of collaterals, a notification is issued to concerned authorities. These measures reduce the chances of bad loans.

8. Location based Analytics:

The location based analytics are used by the bank for proactive decision making. The list of all borrowers, their contact details & summarised loan summary is available to the bank. The maps display the graphical information and analytics related to loans. For e.g. total amount of loan disbursed by the bank in a particular location, loan repayments, outstanding loan amount and defaulter ratio etc can be tracked on the GPS enabled systems. This is also used for predictive assessments and evaluation of loans.

9. Improved Marketing:

Banks can leverage location based & contextual data for sending out product alerts to consumers. These marketing messages can be delivered according to the user behavioural patterns. This data is collected through apps installed on the consumer devices. The internet of things enables detailed insights into what customers want and helps organisations to tailor their marketing messages accordingly.

10. Automated Payment Systems:

The mobile payment systems with biometric, voice or facial recognition for payments are making transactions easier. These payment systems are connected to centralised system and make things seamless and efficient for the consumers.

The internet of things is the future of the banking. IoT software connects devices, people, processes and things
for the banking industry. The data is collected, stored and mined for predictive insights. Whether it is the risk assessment of a new loan or an electronic payment system, IoT systems will be at the forefront to empower consumers. Banks will be able to capitalise on IoT to improve their agility, simplify processes, and deliver true value for the consumer.

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Internet of things is the new buzz in the world of technology. Businesses are now keen to leverage this wave of technology to their advantage. The software as a service model is enabling the internet of things to develop applications that are powering businesses. The data from devices is collected, analysed and used to trigger business decisions. The smart devices, sensors, cloud networks & intelligent softwares are driving the IoT wave. IoT applications are all pervasive. Whether it is applications for personal use, business decisions, asset monitoring, public infrastructure or managing home from your mobiles, IoT makes these possible. Here is a look at some of the applications of Internet of things that can shape the future and create an impact in the world.

1. User Centric Marketing:

The data generated from mobile devices and users who buy things from different sites can be stored by companies to do an analysis of buying patterns. Location based discounts based on user behavioural patterns can be displayed for marketing commodities. The data from the mobile devices of users can be stored, analysed and used to generate the marketing offers for best outcomes.

2. Healthcare:

The growth of devices like smart warbles, it is easier to track the movement of people & their behaviours. These devices can help in collecting valuable data to analyse the activity of individuals. The patients can be monitored better using these devices, automatic actionable insights can be sent to people. For e.g. medication alerts, activity signals can be sent to patients through these automated equipments and apps.

3. Banking:

With the growing competition from various electronic & digital enterprises, banking sector is receiving several challenges. A lot of them are looking to adopt disruptive technologies to improvise their existing processes. The bad loans for banks remain a severe challenge. The banks can locate the assets against for which loans have been disbursed. They can also track impairments of assets like Motor Vehicles, agricultural and other types of assets. When the value of collateral falls below the recoverable loan amount for any customer, the alerts can be sent to banks. This can also be highlighted on the GPS maps where banks can track the loan status, defaulters, recoverable loan amounts etc.

4. Managing Assets:

The internet of things is an interconnected system which can represent the assets for an organisation. The assets can be represented on maps. The assets are tagged and can be tracked. The alerts can be issued when the assets are missing. The realtime verification and monitoring of health status of fixed assets can be done with sensor devices connected to a centralised asset management system.

5. Sales Tracking:

The sales persons of a company move about trying to cover maximum ground for making sales. The routes to potential opportunities can be maximised with location based apps connected to CRM systems. The movements of sales persons can be tracked and optimised for best returns. The GPS maps will provide realtime status and information of sales person’s whereabouts and details. The trips can be optimised based on probabilistic patterns and locations to maximise chances of closing deals.

6. Road Infrastructure:

The condition of roads for public utilities can be marked using apps. The patches of roads which are in bad condition can be highlighted with GIS information patterns. The road condition can be analysed and tracked using this GIS information. Municipalities can use these tools to evaluate the road patterns in their regions and create plans according to realtime condition of roads. The overall percentage of road networks which needs repair & maintenance etc can also be highlighted on the GIS Maps.

7. Power Supply:

Power Supply failures are detrimental to development & business activities. They are critical to address with immediate alerts and notifications. The IoT apps can be used to track power failures with remote sensors. The regions where power failure has occurred can be tracked & highlighted on the map. The downtime analysis and locations with highest downtime can be tracked from the GIS maps.

8. Smart Warehousing & Procurement:

With IoT devices, the realtime inventory status of items can be tracked. The consumption status of items can also be looked into. The procurement is driven by demand of the commodities; slow moving items are not purchased in bulk quantity. The usage patterns are generated based on realtime consumption status of entities.

9. Maintenance Operations:

The maintenance triggers of machines & equipments can be generated using sensor devices. The usage logs, condition status signals can be used to determine the predictive maintenance for machines, equipments and vehicles for an organisation. These alerts can be sent to the respective asset owners for creating a preventive maintenance schedule for assets. Scheduling maintenance and repair activities efficiently can be done with self service indicators connected to centralised systems.

10. Water Supply:

Water leakage can be hazardous for public utilities. Tracking water leakages and supply disorders at the earliest remains high on priority for them. IoT can enable tracking the leakages and shortcomings in distribution of water supply by using location based mapping of water pipelines. The leakages can be marked on the maps and notification alerts can be sent to respective authorities for faster troubleshooting.

IoT is fast gaining prominence and becoming a technological revolution. The realtime and automated collection of data from devices around us, which generate contextual insights, are making things more intelligent than ever before.  The machines are becoming smarter and helping the users to take context based actions. The times ahead will be fascinating to watch as more & more applications around Internet of things will emerge to drive the future.

Kreyon Systems is an IoT software company providing comprehensive business software & e-governance solutions for smart cities.

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Intelligent systems for a more connected world

This infographic explains Internet of Things. With the digitally connected devices, mobile and internet penetration, IoT is playing a huge role in transforming businesses. Kreyon Systems provides IoT based asset management software & other business software for their needs. Please get in touch for any assistance.

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The internet of things is a digital representation of the physical world. The internet of things is an interconnected ecosystem of the devices, data and objects surrounding us. As per industry estimates, approximately 3.9 billion connected things were in use in 2014. According to Gartner, the figure is expected to be nearly 26 billion connected devices by 2020. An unprecedented growth in the connected devices has made the use case for IoT stronger than ever before. The digital solutions space represents the connected objects equipped with RF identifiers and wireless networks. The IoT enables to collect, measure, store and analyze information from these devices.

The key enablers for IoT are:

1. Growth in the number of connected Devices at a phenomenal volume and rate.
2. Cloud based systems and applications that act as centralized systems for these devices.
3. Big data and Analytics to provide meaningful insights based on the data collected from the interconnected devices.
4. Increased penetration of smart machines, RF tags and wireless connectivity
5. Improved efficiency, smarter systems for supply chain management, business growth with mobile workforce and hidden revenue streams from data analytics.

An Increasing number of Organisations are considering IoT as the first step in transforming their business into a digital one. Assets equipped with sensors, data they can generate can be monitored through cloud based systems and the proactive communication can trigger actions for businesses. So here are the top ten tips for your organisation to capitalize on the internet of things:

1. Infrastructure and key business areas.

Focus on the key areas of your business that can generate a quick return on investment. Identify your infrastructure requirements for logistics, inventory, maintenance and operational efficiencies of your organisation. An IoT is a great ecosystem to interconnect all these and make you connect systems, develop better visibility of your business performance. It can also reduce downtime, reduce predictive costs and increase operational efficiencies for your existing systems.

2. Improve Asset Utilization

With IoT, all the existing assets of an organisation can be tagged. The tagged assets can be connected to a centralized system where they be monitored proactively. The sensor devices communicate with the centralized system through signals sent through network protocols. The real time status of the assets is also available on the centralized system. This improves an organisation to track where its assets are located and makes them effectively utilize them.

3. Process Efficiency

IoT enables an interconnected system to connect devices, people and processes. The communication can be improved with sensor data and proactive monitoring of the systems. The processes are triggered by insights from the data, for e.g. maintenance may be scheduled by actual usage log of the machine. It will minimize human intervention and make the processes more efficient.

4. Cost Savings

Many experts believe that by 2018, the total cost of the business owners will drop around 30% through the help of smart machines and other industrialized services. Internet of things can help organisations to reduce manpower, automate tasks, increase operational efficiencies, asset utilisation and downtime leading to increased cost savings.

5. Fleet Management

The fleet management operations can be efficiently managed with IoT. All the vehicles of a company may be tagged with realtime trackers and sensors. The status of the vehicles is visible on the centralized system. The realtime status, location and movement of the vehicles can be tracked with IoT. The critical parameters like fuel, oil, temperature and other diagnostics can also be tracked realtime.

6. Manufacturing Operations

The IoT enabled manufacturing creates smart systems to develop products rapidly. The key processes for manufacturing are enabled with intelligent sensor devices for optimized work flow. The process controls, tools, services, safety regulations and measurements can be designed to improve reliability of processes and improve manufacturing for companies.

7. Integrated Platform

The IoT enables you to connect multiple lines of business, people and processes to a centralized system. The manufacturing, supply chain management, people time sheets and attendance, fleet management and several other areas can be integrated with IoT. An integrated platform enables better tracking, improved responsiveness and better decisions.

8. Data Analytics and Insights

Data is a central part of the IoT. The data is collected from all the devices through the sensors. Most of the organisations are learning and adapting to survive in the industry. They can monitor and analyze useful data from different sources and enable their business to change in a proactive way. With the help of IoT services, you will be able to apply necessary historical data to make predictive assessments for your future of your business. The insights from the data are used to trigger decisions for better business outcomes.

9. Targeted Marketing

The data captured from the IoT devices can be used for creating effective and targeted marketing campaigns. The behavioral trends of the users are analyzed for creating contextual display advertising based on usage patterns and interests. The location, buying patterns and interests of the users are used for creating targeted & effective marketing campaigns. Devices and mobiles are now the mainstream touch points driving revenue and business.

10. IoT Partner

The IoT is a step to empower and transform your business. The agility, process improvements, operational efficiencies, and data analysis can help you uncover hidden potential and business opportunities. Selecting the right partner for implementation is one of the key decisions. The IoT partner must be able to customize, create custom solutions for maximum impact and ROI for your business.

The organisations around the world are sizing up the opportunities and benefits from IoT. The sheer scale and rapidly growing technological advancements in this space cannot be ignored. A proactive approach will help companies to ride on this wave of technological revolution and surge ahead of their competitors. Companies like Procter & Gamble, Walmart and several others have adopted smart IoT systems to improve their supply chain methodology. They have benefitted immensely with realtime inventory, better health status of their machines with predictive monitoring, improved up-time for machines, develop new business models, proactive and better customer service.

Kreyon Systems is a software company with niche solutions for business software. We are adept at using latest technologies to deliver compelling software products & solutions for clients. If you need any assistance for software product development, ERP software development or offshore software development, please get in touch.

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