Are IOT Asset Tracking Solutions going mainstream?
Audio Blog Version:
Introduction
The recent explosion of IoT and in particular asset tracking technology has opened up many new possibilities for businesses, especially when they are looking at process automation. This technology is now mature enough to be used in many different industries. Asset tracking in 2022 and future years is and will deliver so much more than simply knowing the location of resources and materials. Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) already use a wide range of IoT devices and platforms to deliver intelligent asset insights across almost every vertical and market sector. IoT asset tracking platforms are being deployed at increasing scale across manufacturing, warehousing, transport, retail, hospitality, healthcare, military, and many other sectors to gain insights into asset status
Businesses are now benefiting from using asset tracking solutions to help them with their automation and business transformational goals, with outcomes of improved efficiency and productivity. Asset tracking solutions are already providing invaluable insights into process efficiency when applied to assets of all types; resources, machinery, equipment, vehicles, materials, and products. Essentially anything that needs to be tracked. Telematics and vehicle tracking is probably the most well known and has benefited from increased accuracy, greater resilience and larger data packets being broadcast.
Businesses are using GPRS enabled devices to underpin full tracking solutions , whether the asset is in motion or static Solutions are GPS enabled for outdoor precise geo-location, with the ability to fall back to GSM cell ID positioning when GPS is not available.
A growing trend is Systems to bring multiple asset tracking devices under the control of a single platform, so business owners can more easily monitor a wide range of assets and resources. These same single platform providers are also providing APIs to allow data to go straight into any business’ own platform where that data and the actionable insight can then be a part of that business’s workflow. Providers that do not provide a good API experience will find that they are reducing their addressable market
Tech Data and the vast ecosystem of providers they have is helping SME to large enterprise take full advantage of the latest innovations in asset tracking and IoT. It allows it customers to take advantage of leading platforms, technologies and device manufacturers to help businesses solve and smarten their workflow challenges – from sophisticated telematics solutions to asset wayfinding and supply chain management.
Use Cases and industries benefiting from asset tracking in 2022
One of the most valuable impacts of asset tracking innovation is being able to monitor asset location and react in real-time. Some of the use cases that benefit from asset tracking technology include :
Inventory management – Business owners can know exactly how many pieces of inventory they have in stock, where they are and their condition in real-time.
Equipment maintenance – Organisations can arrange equipment maintenance schedules based on usage (which often includes metrics like distance, time, and performance history) rather than via calendar dates.
Compliance – Asset tracking platforms can automatically deliver historical data to help document compliance against applicable regulations.
Safety and security – Asset tracking deployments can be augmented with geofencing capabilities to limit or control access to sensitive or hazardous areas and materials.
Loss prevention – Geofencing settings applied to assets can alert managers when valuable assets move outside a predefined area. Additionally, workers can more easily locate an item of machinery or equipment within a large workspace or estate.
Customer experience – Accurate asset tracking can improve order picking, shipment processing and delivery timeframes – resulting in fewer customer issues, returns and cancellations.
Supply Chain – Sensors with temperature-reading capability can monitor goods in transit to ensure they are always kept in optimum conditions. Additionally, asset tracking can support the chain of custody and avoid costly claims alongside accurate compliance reporting.
Manufacturing & Warehousing – The real-time reporting of assets within a process can identify potential bottlenecks and optimise the movement of goods and materials – as well as people and resources.
Healthcare – Asset tracking across a hospital estate makes medical equipment easier to locate, streamlining wait times and avoiding critical situations where essential equipment cannot be located.
The Asset Tracking Market
The growth in asset tracking IoT devices and their related platforms and technologies is driving a revolution in organisational improvements, thanks to the ability to accurately track the flow of materials and people within an environment.
AI will also play a big part in the future of asset tracking solutions; the asset tracking solutions will make smarter decisions. Instead of having to find which assets aren’t in use or not available for use your system may well predict what to do next.
Part of the advancement will relate to how asset tracking technology can integrate and provide an end-to-end process with, for example, inventory management systems, SIEM,
Cybersecurity systems and ERP systems to name a few .
In an article in April published in businesswire with ResearchandMarkets.com it identified the following findings
- Global asset tracking market will reach $60.7B by 2027, growing at 17.1% CAGR
- Global asset tracking market for AI-embedded devices to grow at 32.8% through 2027
- While fleet comprises over 78% of the market, non-fleet asset tracking is growing 17.5% faster
- Asset tracking solutions are becoming increasingly more attractive for sub-$1,000 book value assets
- The asset management and logistics market will witness considerable vendor consolidation through 2030
- Leading companies will integrate asset management, logistics and connected-device security as combined solutions
- IoT supported asset tracking market will account for over 90% of all connected enterprise and industrial solutions by 2030
Conclusion
We have seen how asset tracking has come of age and it is now mainstream. This means that for the first time ever there are multiple options available on the market for any company looking to track their assets. In this article we’ve taken a look at some of these technologies,
Takeaway: if your business needs to keep track of assets then there is no question about whether you should use one! The question will always remain which system does best meet my need