Impacts of Internet of Things on Supply Chains: A Framework for Warehousing

Abstract

The emergence of new digital industrial technology, known as Industry 4.0, has a positiveimpact on the performance of the supply chain. Warehouses are a basic part of the supply chain;they are used to store products and manage the inventory level. A sound warehouse managementsystem can lead to cost reduction and also can improve customer satisfaction. Traditionalwarehouse management models have become less efficient and unsuitable for today’s increasingmarket requirements. For the past decades, information and communication technology has beenused for warehouse management. This paper presents a new approach for warehouse managementby utilizing one of the main pillars of Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things. This new technologyenables the connection of several objects through collecting real-time data and sharing them; theresulting information can then be used to support automated decision-making. The architecture ofthis application is illustrated and its potential benefits are overviewed. A framework is proposed toimplement this approach in warehousing management, which can help in providing real-timevisibility of everything in the warehouse, increasing speed and efficiency, and preventing inventoryshortage and counterfeiting. This proposal gives an effective roadmap for enterprises to improvetheir warehouses by using the Internet of Things.