Game changing automation for air cargo driven by IoT in 2021

Video doorbells, smart thermostats, and virtual assistants like Alexa and Google Home are just a few examples of how the Internet of Things (IoT) has impacted consumers’ lives. As logistics companies and businesses leverage this technology, the possibilities seem practically endless, with DHL and Cisco estimating an impact of more than $1.9 trillion in the supply chain and logistics sector.

Let’s look at this technology and how it is making waves by creating new efficiencies and more transparency in the entire logistics supply chain. In addition to temperature, IoT devices can also measure many aspects of their environment, including light exposure, humidity, location, movement, and speed, among others.

“When it comes to supply chain applications, IoT technology offers expanded capacity for tracking and monitoring.”

When it comes to supply chain applications, IoT technology offers expanded capacity for tracking and monitoring. Although tracking isn’t a new strategy to supply chain management by any means, IoT technology offers two distinctive advantages – additional data, such as environmental conditions or upto-the-minute location tracking. Greater possibility for automation, both in terms of the collection of data as well as potential automation for triggering future events.

Here are some of the automations, which would be game-changing for the air freight industry in 2021 that’s driven by IoT.

Tracking cargo movement

Tracking the speed of movement and the traffic flow of products makes it much easier to predict how goods will move through the supply chain. Suppliers, manufacturers and distribution centers can prepare to receive goods, which reduces handling times and ensures the efficient processing of materials.

Warehousing and inventory tracking

Warehousing and tracking of inventory are essential parts of the IoT logistics system. In this process, the management of vehicles and other schedules can be traced easily through the setting of small, inexpensive sensors. Through them, the companies can get to know about the inventory items, their position and their status. In this way, delays and other losses in work can be avoided very well by reducing the error

Monitor storage conditions

Some goods like pharma and chemicals need to be stored in ideal conditions. Special IoT devices can monitor areas like temperature, humidity, exposure to an atmosphere, light intensity, and other environmental factors. These devices may even trigger an alarm if certain thresholds are breached. This makes it much easier to track the quality of vaccines and other sensitive pharma goods through the supply chain and to reduce spoilage.

Secured access

Cargo theft is a serious concern at cargo warehouses across the world. Surprisingly, much attention isn’t given to addressing these issues. Well, this exists because much attention isn’t offered to processes on a micro level. But with automation, every process such as document generation and status sharing become one on one among the stakeholders. Therefore, the entire process gets secured as there is no scope for intruding manually.

Read more on disruptive technologies changing Air Cargo

Predictive analytics

Predicting enormous demand and shortage in demand is something several organizations have been striving for for decades. But technology is making the task simple and allowing all stakeholders to innovate much better. By predicting demand or an unforeseen event like the pandemic, the stakeholders would be well prepared. Moreover, business continuity can be very well ensured if predicting demand growth/slump is made simple.

These are some of the basic applications which are shaping up in the coming days. In addition to this, a significant automation could be seen too as cargo tracking and seamless documentation procedures are becoming the need of the hour. Therefore, 2021 is going to be a year of automation at least for the air cargo sector.

Donna Mullins

Vice President of Kale Info Solutions (USA)

Donna Mullins is an industry veteran with close to four decades of experience in the logistics and supply chain industry. She held key positions in freight forwarding, customs brokering, and several other firms. Under her stewardship, companies expanded their global footprint and capabilities. In these four decades, she has been responsible for all facets of the logistics business by preparing a robust System of Planning. Her stint also generated significant business and growth realizations. With her proven leadership skills, she spearheaded and managed import/export operations globally. Donna is affiliated –with regulatory bodies as an active member.  These affiliations have put her in the position to help set the course of the logistics industry in North America.

As a member of these bodies at the national level, she has been communicating the policy changes and working hand in hand with CBP, BIS, FMC, TSA, and others. She is well-versed in the regulations and the other government agencies that can be involved in what seems like the most straightforward of transactions but in fact, is very complicated. In Kale, she is on a mission of creating awareness of the need for digitization and community platforms on facilitating the same in the North American region.