Sustainability is a key driver of value in many industries, including manufacturing. The majority of companies surveyed by PwC remain committed to reducing their climate impact. As you enact policies and procedures to reduce your company’s carbon footprint, you may be overlooking the critical need for accurate data. Internet of Things (IoT) applications in sustainable logistics enhance visibility across the supply chain to inform your sustainability efforts.
The right combination of technology gives you accurate, high-quality data that lets you optimize operations to be more sustainable.
Why IoT Is Central to Sustainable Logistics Performance
By definition, IoT refers to physical objects that contain sensors to connect them to the internet. There are multiple benefits of IoT in supply chain management, including:
- Lowering Waste: IoT technology gives you real-time data for smarter inventory management and logistics planning. You aren’t wasting energy by storing excess inventory. You’re also not throwing excess inventory away when you can’t sell it.
- Fewer Empty Miles: IoT sensors with GPS capability track vehicle locations and speeds. They also monitor traffic conditions so you can reroute trucks around traffic or bad weather. You can also set more efficient delivery routes so your drivers aren’t traversing the city all day.
- Better Asset Utilization: IoT technology monitors vehicles, equipment, and inventory. Analyze the data for warehouse space planning and route planning to improve efficiency. Identify bottlenecks in your current supply chain and assets you’re not using to their full potential.
How to Cut Waste With RFID and Smart Sensor Data
Returnable packaging is a great tool to make your operations more sustainable, but they won’t cut waste if you don’t get them back. Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and smart sensors show you where your assets are so you can retrieve them or ask your vendors or customers to return them. You spend less money on packaging and reduce your waste.
Place IoT sensors and tags on trucks and shipping containers to monitor temperature, vibration, and other factors that could damage your goods. Use the data to improve packaging or reconsider carriers who are too rough with your containers. Fewer damaged items save you the money you would spend replacing the item for a customer. They also keep scrapped goods out of the landfill.
Real-Time Tracking That Lowers Emissions
GPS powers IoT tracking to offer transportation visibility at every step of the delivery process. Using AI-powered software to analyze tracking data helps you calculate the most efficient route for every driver. You can also reroute them around construction, traffic, and other potential delays. Reducing unnecessary driving and cutting back on idle time lowers your emission levels, particularly if you manufacture items that require cold chain management.
IoT in the transportation industry improves visibility to arm you with valuable insights. You can see where to improve parts of your logistics strategy, such as shipping via train instead of plane to lower emissions.
One of the benefits of IoT in the supply chain is understanding where you’re not optimizing your assets. You may not be loading each truck to its maximum capacity. Completely filling your trailers reduces the number of trucks you have on the road.
Logistics management systems can analyze data and create dashboards and reports. Submit these reports to environmental regulation agencies if needed to prove compliance.
Predictive Insights for More Efficient Operations
AI-powered supply chain applications analyze big datasets to identify potential patterns that inform your operations, such as:
- Predictive Routing: Algorithms analyze vehicle data, historical delivery routes, data from sensors on roads and other infrastructure, and conditions reports to speed up delivery routes. An AI-powered logistics management system might send you alerts on big storms, accidents, and other events that disrupt deliveries. You can reroute each driver or plan alternate routes before a storm hits.
- Resource Planning: IoT sensors on manufacturing machines, trucks, and other equipment monitor usage data, temperature, and other insights to predict when they need maintenance. These sensors can also track your energy usage so you can schedule high-energy tasks at off-peak times.
- Fewer Expedited Shipments: By carrying just enough inventory to meet customer orders based on expected demand, you reduce storage costs and the associated environmental impacts. But you still have what you need to fill customer orders in the standard shipping window instead of expediting orders, which increases your carbon emissions.
Practical IoT Applications Driving Sustainability
IoT applications in logistics are helping manufacturers like you meet and exceed sustainability goals.
Reusable Package Tracking
The Internet of things in logistics helps you track your reusable containers to create a sustainable, close-loop system. Depending on its material, you can reuse these containers a few hundred times, saving thousands of cardboard and plastic packages from going into a landfill.
Using containers multiple times reduces the need for shipping containers, which saves the energy it would take to manufacture them. RFID tags and other IoT sensors help you optimize cleaning cycles and make sure you always have reusable containers available.
Yard Movement Optimization
Location tracking and other IoT applications help you get trucks and other vehicles in and out of the yard in a hurry. Your team can load and unload trucks simultaneously, so no vehicles are dwelling. Sensors on the dock doors help trucks move efficiently throughout the dock instead of pulling up to an occupied door.
How Surgere Enables IoT-Driven Sustainability
Surgere offers RFID tags, sensors, and software to collect and analyze accurate data to inform your sustainability goals. You can be certain you’re getting accurate, real-time data that enhances sustainability through:
- Supply Chain Visibility: Track your energy usage and carbon footprint at each stage of your supply chain operations. Surgere tracks data at multiple points for accurate reporting and effective sustainability optimizations.
- Waste Monitoring: Our Interius solution measures your environmental impact and waste generation at each point of the supply chain. Its easy-to-read dashboards provide you with insights that help you identify trends and reduce your overall waste.
Through engineering, hardware, sensors, and hardware, we achieve 99.9% data accuracy. You can trust our insights to enhance your operations. Contact us today to learn how we can help you.
