According to Gartner, by 2020 more than 20 billion objects will be connected, making the Internet of things (IoT) one of the most important technology growth markets, with millions of possible applications.
Of the sectors that already benefit hugely from the advantage these technologies offer, logistics is high on the list, with applications opening the way to new ways to administer routing and delivery that are radically different. IoT technologies do indeed now offer highly sophisticated ways to track deliveries and automate scheduling, with up-to-the-minute support for delivery staff, transporters and technical agents working on the ground using smartphones and other mobile devices, optimizing the (sometimes tricky!)
Waste disposal experts Sita equipped their rubbish collection containers with sensors so they could remotely track the rate at which they fill. Uploading the relevant information in real time, the schedules to empty them could time interventions to coincide with exactly the right moment, when containers were nearly full, so optimized routes would only include those containers fulfilling the relevant criteria for being emptied.
Routing to replenish
Sensors and other connected devices are rapidly becoming widely available, and will accelerate the transformation of installations, streamlining the way maintenance operations are delivered. Today it is estimated that up to 80% of interventions could be scheduled using automation. Functions to automate scheduling and real time intervention management tools are now adding a new dimension to automation in this area. In the medium term, we could see 100% of the logistics chain becoming automated, with savings both for customers (the length of time they have to wait for an appointment) and businesses (savings made thanks to a highly efficient scheduling operation) alike.
According to Gartner’s latest
According to Fevad (French federation for e-commerce and distance selling), e-commerce turnover in France is steadily building towards the 100 billion euro mark in 2019. With the exponential increase in B2C orders, 1 parcel in 3 is now delivered to private residences (the remainder destined for businesses and other private institutions), as against only 2% in 2010 – a service that consumers are now reluctant to pay for, and increasingly expect as a matter of course. Today’s customer not only wants free delivery, but they also want it faster, and at times of day that suit their own programme. They also want to be informed if their delivery is going to be late. Trying to satisfy this ever more exacting customer profile, on-line retailers are seeking to protect both market share and sales margins by building their business around reliable transport systems so as to be able to offer an efficient home delivery service at minimum cost.
Today, connected transporters’ vehicles can calculate their
The potential and scope for IoT to optimize delivery services are infinite. Amazon keeps coming up with new solutions: for example, delivery directly into your car boot, thanks to an unlocking device that is remotely controlled by the user with an ‘intelligent’ locking system and camera or, more recently, delivery to the interior of the house using an ‘intelligent’ locking system and a camera connected to Alexa. Something that has been on the horizon for some time now is the possibility of drone delivery to the door, and in view of the hefty investment in this technology we are seeing from Amazon and others in France would suggest this is likely to become a reality.
The 2017 Valeo Innovation challenge gave us an interesting glimpse of the future and a preview of the revolution to come in delivery methods that is ongoing even now, to adapt fulfilment strategies to
Logistics in city centres is
As modes of transport and consumer habits change with time, logistics will need to be flexible if it is to be able to reconcile the diverse needs and interests of mobile teams, logistics controllers and the end customer. Because of the expanding role played by IoT tools in reconfiguring the practicalities in the logistics arena, any company seeking to stay among the front-runners in this race will need to start integrating these tools right now, step by step, ensuring good rates of uptake by staff to maintain close association of teams on the ground with the longer term strategies of companies aiming to improve services offered to end customers, and the overall logistics experience. |