Supply chain and logistics are the life blood of industry, including vertical markets as varied as retail, pharma/life sciences and manufacturing. Not surprising, the technological challenges and changes that are affecting those markets are flowing downstream to every aspect of the supply chain. We can talk all day about trends, but the discussion in the Logistics market isn’t about one technology or another, it’s about how different products and services, including big data, machine to machine (M2M), cloud and its associated services are working in unison to drive innovation across all industries. Let’s take a closer look at how these technologies will affect change in the coming year.
Jeffrey Luft is Global Practice Leader for the Transportation & Distribution Verticals, Verizon Enterprise Solutions
Data Analytics Drives Efficiency
The biggest evolvement in the supply chain and logistics industry today is the copious quantity of data that enterprises produce from connected equipment. Some companies are collecting it today; others are just scratching the surface of the amount of data that they can get through M2M connectivity. The challenge, however, is how to best capture the data and hone it into information that leads to quantifiable business results.
Data analytics starts with collecting the raw data and then examining it from many different viewpoints. Historically, if I wanted to monitor the route of a truck in my fleet, I’d ask the driver to send me a report. Using M2M technology, I can now place tracking tags on the vehicle and see the route that he actually took and correlate that information back to the road conditions at that time. If he didn't make his deliveries on time, I can tell if the vehicle was stopped, ascertain whether it was due to traffic and optimize the route for future deliveries. It all starts with collecting data. Businesses realize that as the cost of collection devices comes down, they can tag more machines and collect more data. From an analytics perspective, the world is a business leader’s oyster — there's no end to the possibilities.
Making the Most of M2M
We make a big thing about the term M2M, but everything has to be machine to machine — it’s the only way it exists. There are many M2M applications that can help improve enterprises in the transportation field. For example, if I'm in the dairy industry and I'm transporting milk, that milk has to stay within the range of 33 to 40 degrees at all times. If all of a sudden the trailer’s refrigeration unit breaks and the trailer has been sitting in the sun and has been baking for six hours the product inside is compromised. With M2M, shipping companies can install battery-powered sensors in the trailer that run on a 4G LTE network to keep tabs on the temperature and alert the driver or headquarters of dramatic changes to the vehicle and they can react instantly.
Shipment Transparency
A huge benefit of M2M is the ability to track a package right to the doorstep. Today, enterprises want to be able to track where their shipments are at all times and real-time data analytics offers businesses the ability to track their packages and see the progress of the goods in transit. Another thing that we will start seeing is enterprises using raw data to control transportation spend. For example, it’s not unusual to ask to have a package overnighted in this “need it now, want it now, can I get it now environment.” But do they really need it overnighted? If I have access to the data and can analyze my spend, I can see that I'm spending thousands of dollars each month on overnight delivery, then I can drill down to the data that shows what packages went priority (the highest expense) and put policies in place stating that no one can ship using this services, unless there is a business case for it. That will reduce spend while still ensuring that businesses make the most of the transportation technology.
Cloud Promotes Efficiency
Cloud storage and computing plays a major role in how data is collected and accessed in the modern supply chain. Verizon offers its customers a cloud infrastructure that allows data, such as financial figures, ERP, forecasting and planning statistics and shipping numbers, to reside securely in one of 50+ data centers, and gives businesses access to that data from multiple locations. So, a headquarters of a trucking company can see the same data as a terminal location, at the same time, which helps improve collaboration and promote effective and timely decision-making. Verizon has monitoring systems available at all times and strong data security measures in place. We also become a central point of contact in the management of our customers’ information.
We recently signed a deal with a transportation company that is doing a rather unique asset-tracking application. In partnership with Verizon, the company is placing asset-tracking tags on shipments of live animals. This solution allows its customers to see where the shipments are at all times. This is also particularly effective with mission-critical documents or products. Unlike traditional postal tracking methods that work off a tracking number, this application allows you to track the actual package through the asset tag.
The technologies in this article are all part of the evolution of the supply chain and logistics industry and shouldn’t be considered simple trends. M2M, cloud and big data are tools that can improve your enterprise business and, as a result, the lives and businesses of the customers that you serve.
Visit Verizon Enterprise Solutions to learn how to implement these solutions into your supply chain and logistics organization.
