I’ve made the argument before that the Internet of Things is nothing new. In the logistics space, for example, we’ve been taking RF scans and using that data to improve warehouse processes since at least 1975 when McHugh Freeman, an early warehouse management system supplier, began business. Internet protocols make it easier to communicate that sensor […]
IoT projects often become Big Data projects. Distributing more intelligence down to the device level could help prevent database bloat and streamline the corporate application environment. But these decisions are not clear cut. There are pros and cons associated with either distributing or centralizing both IoT intelligence and data.
The warehouse is on the trajectory to implement many of the capabilities sought in the vision of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). eCommerce is has been a driver in this sector as companies such as Amazon, Walgreens, and LL Bean are seeking out solutions that are robust, high speed, and have little labor content.
By offering IoT-enabled condition monitoring, spare parts, and equipment repair services, equipment OEMs can remotely monitor asset health in their customers’ plants, anticipate failures, order the parts, and often execute repairs before the failure occurs.
Companies interested in exploring whether the Internet of Things (IoT) is a worthwhile investment have three different paths they can go down. The Internet of Things connects intelligent physical entities – such as sensors, devices, machines, assets, and products – to each other, to Internet services, and to applications. IoT represents a stack of technologies […]
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the catalyst in creating more responsive supply chains by providing real-time, autonomous insight into your operational execution. DHL and Cisco recently published a report (linked here) that indicated the Internet of Things will deliver a $1.9 Trillion boost to Supply Chain & Logistics Operations. The report estimates that there […]
Six years ago, Del Papa Distributing, a third generation family-owned beer distribution company that delivers more than 10 million cases of beer annually, decided that Galveston, Texas was not the ideal location for their operations. Galveston seems to be unusually prone to hurricane damage. The 1900 Galveston hurricane was famous for the devastation it wrought. […]
I attended my first ARC forum a few weeks ago. Having been immersed in presentations and panels for three days though, there was something almost Schrödinger’s cat-like in the air about the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The two apparently contradictory states are: IIoT is real!!! Oh. I thought there was more to IIoT than […]
I have often been struck by the stark contrast in sophistication, automation and control inside the walls of our customer’s facilities, compared to the outside. Inside the walls, lean and six-sigma thinking prevails, while outside, beyond the dock, yard checks are commonly performed by scribbling notes on yesterday’s printout. I am always on the lookout […]
The Internet of Things (IoT) will make our operations more efficient by combining smart sensors, cameras, software, databases/business intelligence, and the Internet (primarily in the form of private clouds) together in diverse ways. IoT is already evident in several places across the supply chain, but pundits are predicting that it will become so deeply part […]