Page 47 - MMI-March-April-2022

Adopting advanced agement can be adopted based casts the mechanical health of
technologies on the data generated from pro- vehicles, maps their locations
The short-term effects of duction, purchase orders, and and driver performance, and
COVID-19 seem to be wearing supplier delivery challans. ensures the security of goods
down, but the strains on supply The Internet of Things (IoT) is while facilitating real-time
chain functioning have existed proving to be a path-breaking tracking for logistics operators
long before the pandemic and technology in supply chain op- as well as the end customer.
need a strong focus to bring eration management. The us-
artificial intelligence (AI) from age of IoT leads to the real-time Facility management
the manufacturing floor to exchange of information be- systems
front door delivery. Retailers tween all stakeholders. This, The role of facility manage-
are increasingly using AI to in turn, leads to greater speed, ment providers is to assist
predict customer demographics reduced operational costs, and warehouses with a detailed
and their behavior patterns to improved decision-making on analysis of how manpower
forecast demand and supply. both the demand and supply and machine can collaborate The Internet
In warehouse management, side of the market. Building a to achieve the fastest and most of Things
facility managers assist ware- robust Advanced Logistic Sys- efficient ways of loading and (IoT) is
house managers in inventory tem (ALS) with Transport Intel- unloading, stacking, and place- proving to
planning, forecasting, and op- ligence (TI) for supply chain dis- ment of goods. Converting a be a path-
timization based on real-time ruption is the need of the hour, conventional warehouse to a breaking
information on the products and an efficient IoT can serve smart warehouse would need technology in
available. Thanks to AI, appro- many functions. It contributes an IoT-enabled platform cus- supply chain
priate stocking and shelf man- to optimal route planning, fore- tomized to the requirements, operation
as there is no such thing as management.
‘one size fits all’. Depending on The usage of
IoT leads to
the requirements, automation the real-time
can be built to integrate a full- exchange of
blown facility management information
system that incorporates se- between all
curity systems, safety, onsite stakehold-
facility management, and asset ers. This, in
and building maintenance sys- turn, leads
tems, backed by an intelligent to great-
command control center that er speed,
can prevent, predict, and gen- reduced oper-
erate artificial intelligence for ational costs,
and improved
better onsite facility manage- decision-
ment of the warehouses. making on
both the
Digitization is crucial demand and
Except for the ‘first and last supply side of
mile’ of the distribution net- the market.
work, where human interac-
tion is inevitable, digitization
of logistics and warehousing
through the deployment of
IoT, towards integrating all
back-end processes, is crucial
to maximizing value-added de-
livery with proper analysis and
real-time tracking information.
The sector is now at the brink
of transformation, fostering an
entirely new cycle of innova-
tion within the Logistics sector
and its ancillary industries.

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