Shipments should be seen as a source of actionable insight, thanks to smart labels, argues Sharath Muddaiah, Head of Global Business Strategy and Customer Success for IoT Solutions at Giesecke+Devrient.
Supply chains are facing numerous challenges, from disruptions of safe transport of goods to mounting pressure to deliver items to end consumers faster, all in a more cost-effective and sustainable way. To meet these demands, real-time visibility is increasing in importance, allowing organisations to check the condition and location of goods in transit.
Smart labels offer the industry an opportunity to modernise, making any package a trackable IoT device. But such labels generate considerable amounts of data that must be utilised properly to improve operational efficiency, prevent stockouts and encourage proactive decision-making. Just one label can generate as much as 1.5MB over the course of its life. For the ecosystem of shareholders to benefit, data sharing will be essential.
Enabling real-time tracking
A smart label can be fixed to any item in transit, from small envelopes to larger parcels. They are thin and about the size of a credit card. This makes them ideal for applications where a larger tracking device isn’t suitable, and also ideal for close tracking of valuable or sensitive documents.
Smart labels are driven by low-power cellular, wifi and GPS technology, showing accurate visualisations of their location. They also monitor the surrounding temperature and can even detect instances of shock, helping businesses to protect sensitive goods. A tamper-proof design is also incorporated for security. If someone opens the package, an alert is sent for remedial action, and the label itself is fully reusable for sustainability purposes.
The significant creation of data is key to driving real-time visibility. Collectively, millions of labels can theoretically generate terabytes of data on a yearly basis. For that data to be interpreted properly, Business Intelligence (BI) systems are central to making it accessible.
AI and BI working together
BI platforms can show users exactly where goods are on their journey and their current status by making sense of patterns, trends and anomalies and playing them back in a consumable format. With this information to hand, businesses can make better decisions to support decision-making and operational efficiency.
Say that a phone manufacturer wants to know where its devices are as they are sent to different retailers. Smart labels show the exact location of each package. With the BI technology delivering data on real-time inventory levels being sent to each store, any potential shortages can be identified ahead of time. This gives rise to supply chain management that reduces any unnecessary delays, preventing lockouts and ensuring improved customer experiences.
The advances in AI mean that over the next few years, smart label data will inform automated actions, without human intervention. For example, AI could autonomously re-route lorries with information to faster or more fuel-efficient paths. It could also reallocate inventory in transit to better align with customer demand. As AI systems become increasingly accurate and proactive, they will be capable of fully streamlining logistics processes with minimal user input.
Bringing data to the wider ecosystem
Smart labels are highly advantageous to businesses, but they are often used just for internal purposes. However, supply chain operations depend on multiple stakeholders – warehousing partners, logistics providers, manufacturers and retailers – and when they do not share access to the same data, the value smart labels can deliver across the wider ecosystem is greatly constrained.
The solution is to share the data with multiple authorised users across the supply chain. This enables better coordination and more informed decision-making. For example, retailers can refine their sales forecasts by drawing on real-time delivery information from couriers.
Data visibility across the ecosystem does present a few hurdles. Cross-border connectivity, interoperability and the security of the data being transmitted are all major considerations. However, these challenges are steadily being overcome as smart label technologies become more sophisticated, enabling secure and reliable data sharing.
Actionable data from any shipment
Smart labels can transform any shipment into an actionable data source. Ever-expanding AI capabilities and BI platforms can enable organisations to proactively manage goods in their supply chain, rather than be forced into reactive action.
The true potential of smart labels, however, will only be truly realised when data is available to all stakeholders in the wider ecosystem. The creation of secure interoperable frameworks will provide a data source for logistics providers, warehouses, manufacturers and retailers to all access and utilise. This will empower them to avoid disruption, protect sensitive goods, optimise their inventories and make more sustainable decisions. With shared access to information, it’s an opportunity to transform how supply chains operate.
