The Internet of Things (IoT) can provide real-time visibility into the operations of warehouses and logistics providers. In addition, smart warehousing can sufficiently expand the supply chain and management possibilities (Pandian, 2019). The concept refers to the widespread connectivity of various devices and objects to enable them to collect and exchange data. This vision is expected to create new opportunities for the logistics industry to collect and transform data. The goal of this review is to analyze various methods of warehouse logistics optimization in the context of IoT implementation. In addition, this article reviews various aspects, which can be improved by IoT use, collecting information from different sources; therefore, this review is relevant to the main research.
Warehouse Logistics and New Technologies
Warehousing is a process of storing various goods before they would be sold. Once applying the word logistics, it will refer to the physical process of delivering or shipping the products to its end point. The rapid emergence and evolution of modern technology in the warehouse and logistics industry has caused the business model to be re-designed to fit the changes brought about by these changes. Technologies enable organizations to develop sustainable supply chains that enable effective delivery of goods across the world (Song, Yu, Zhou, Yang, & He, 2021). One example of this is the use of sensors to monitor the activities in the supply chain.
In China, smart warehouses are built with upgraded structural components to make them more efficient and less costly. Doing so can help minimize errors and make the warehouse more productive (Kamali, 2019). However, according to Shukla, Jain, Chaurasia, & Venkanna (2019), these upgrades could make the work more expensive in the beginning. Due to the increasing popularity of smart warehouses, many organizations in developed countries are already considering them as a replacement for their traditional warehouses.
The concept of the IoT is becoming more prevalent in the context of warehouses. The use of inventory management is being slowly, but surely integrated in IoT in order to provide relevant newest information to the network (Fang & Chen, 2021). Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are technologies that enable system management within the scope given (Buntak, Kovacic, & Mutavdzija, 2019). They allow for the monitoring and analysis of various processes and outputs within a network. The concept of the CPS is similar to the IoT in that it allows all of the physical components within a system to communicate with each other.
Application and Implementation of New Technologies
The evolution of logistics through the use of the IoT has brought a new level of efficiency and sustainability to operations. This concept is applicable to various aspects of logistics, such as transportation planning and management, supply chain management, and warehouse operations (Golpîraa, Khanb, & Safaeipour, 2021). The increasing complexity of storing products in warehouses has prompted the need for new strategies and methods to improve the efficiency of warehouse operations. According to Marques, Pires, and Viswanathan (2019), one of these is the use of robots, controlled via the Internet. They present a robot, based on IoT architecture (Marques, Pires, & Viswanathan, 2019). The utilization of such machines may also help in increasing the speed at which warehouse items are picked up.
Warehouses are important components of the logistics industry as their operational efficiency is directly related to the efficiency of the supply chain. Aside from being efficient, warehouses also have other shortcomings, such as handling damaged goods and inefficient equipment (Tran-Dang, Krommenacker, Charpentier, & Kim, 2020). As the industrial revolution has progressed, the function of warehouses has also become more specialized. Due to the mass production of goods, the need for bigger and more advanced warehouses has also increased.
As the supply chain’s evolution continued, warehouses became more sophisticated in their operations. This is evidenced by the emergence of Industry 4.0, which refers to the increased automation of the warehouse’s core functions (Geesta, Tekinerdogana, & Catal, 2021). The mentioned CPS can help transform warehouses into smart stores. They can use various components such as robots, human-controlled devices, and warehouses to create virtual processes and improve efficiency (Chen et al., 2020). In Industry 4.0, dynamic slotting is a new trend that’s aimed at reducing the time needed for delivery. This technique involves placing products in an empty bin.
To conclude, IoT is a useful tool for improving warehouse logistics. New technologies enabled logistics to minimize errors, yet not all experts would agree with this statement. They suggest that smart warehouse could be overpriced due to its popularity and less developed countries would return to traditional warehouse logistics methods. However, despite its price implementing IoT is favorable since it enables a control for several process within the same scope and connects data driven from various sources. Moreover, using new technologies provides sustainable operations that require more efficient strategies of warehousing. One of the solutions to increase the efficacy is implementing robots or machines. Limitation of warehouse are preserving damaged goods and inefficient equipment. Yet, applying new technologies in warehouse logistics has more advantages than disadvantages.
References
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