IoT the most strategic technological initiative says transport and logistics industry

April 2015

IoT the most strategic technological initiative says transport and logistics industry: A survey, conducted by Zebra Technologies Corporation, has discovered that 96 per cent of transport and logistics companies believe that the Internet of Things (IoT) is the most strategic technological initiative which their company will participate in this decade.

Companies in key industries around the world are using the Internet of Things solutions, to prepare themselves with real-time and intelligent data, which will enable them to be more connected and do smarter business.

The survey found that 90 per cent of transport and logistics companies either have or plan to utilise Internet of Things solutions by next year.

The survey also found that 51 per cent expect the Internet of Things to raise regulatory compliance and deliver processes.

A further 45 per cent claim that it will improve safety within their business and 44 per cent say that it will recognise cost efficiencies.

44 per cent of the companies surveyed believe that the Internet of Things will improve their visibility within the supply chain.

When the respondents were asked which technologies are the most important for enabling the Internet of Things implementations, the respondents said that, Wi-Fi, security sensors, near-field communications and real-time locating systems were the most important.

As it stands, 83 per cent of businesses are using location tracking and/or WiFi, 80 per cent are using GPS tracking and 79 per cent are using bar codes for asset tracking.

Of the respondents, approximately 40 per cent said that privacy and security concerns are the greatest challenge for the Internet of Things implementations.

38 per cent said that implementation complexity was an issue.

Senior director, global manufacturing principle for Zebra Technologies, Jim Hilton, said of the findings:

“The survey findings demonstrate exactly how important IoT is to the T&L industry. IoT solutions provide operational and actionable data on the location and condition of tracked objects which will help improve the customer experience, create new revenue streams, enable competitive differentiation, and promote workforce collaboration.”