Data has become the new oil as almost all business functions rely on data to improve their operational efficiency. The Industry 4.0 trend requires manufacturing companies to adopt innovative automation and data exchange solutions like the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, cognitive computing, artificial intelligence, and many other intelligent technologies.

As the number of smart devices is increasing, the emergence of IoT technology is simpler. It has allowed companies to collect reliable, safe, and real-time data for analysis, which allows companies to reduce the consumption of resources, creating more efficient business processes to improve productivity and growth. Many industries like manufacturing, agriculture, and logistics have been relying on industrial IoT (IIoT) to optimize their applications by connecting machines and devices. These industries which were earlier marred with inefficiencies, bottlenecks or excessive resource consumption, have taken a sigh of relief with the emergence of IIoT.  Here is a detailed analysis of the advantages of IoT technology for industries:

Inventory management: IoT sensors can enable companies to design an intelligent warehouse by collecting data on the internal location of the products and the kilometers traveled by the operator. These sensors also offer data on temperature, humidity, solar exposure, and energy consumption, which enable companies to manage their resources and prevent any product damage.

Manufacturing: IoT devices provide information about manufacturing equipment like the time it takes for equipment to start, and for how long the machine is in operation. These devices can also provide real-time information about any interruptions, allowing companies to plan the manufacturing process and serve their customers efficiently with improved speed.

Logistics management: Logistics companies can optimize their freight transport functions with the help of IoT sensors. The IoT sensors embedded in the delivery vehicles can provide information like the GPS location, cargo volume, downtime, and delivery times. Companies can integrate logistics data with warehouse data to make efficient logistics management.

Asset maintenance: IoT devices provide data about the health of equipment, which can be very efficient in the predictive maintenance of the assets. Predictive maintenance tools use sound, vibration and many other factors provided by IoT devices to determine the health of a machine.

See Also: The Manufacturing Outlook