Solving Supply Chain Challenges Through Telematics And IoT

Telematics and IoT are buzzwords which are usually heard in the supply chain vertical. Telematics is the branch of information technology that deals with the long-distance transmission of computerised information, while Internet of Things (IoT) simply means connecting the internet to enable electronic devices in a network.

“The data that got generated from assets or cargo, movement of goods and the financial layer. There are furthermore data points in the asset layer. First is general locations, second is from cargo or asset track and then, how data about the utilisation of assets through sensors, engine data and others. The data points are a combination of geolocations, telematics and IoT,” said Bharat Bhushan, Head – CV Strategy and Digital Initiatives, Commercial Vehicle Business, Tata Motors.

“We capture basic data such as coordinates of time and speed through GPS. We try to provide data to fleet owners to help them increase the utilisation of vehicles or ships and to shippers so they can move the shipment faster. We also provide the analytics of past trends, route performance, and vehicle utilization,” said Ankur Ankur Dhawan AVP of enterprise sales, Fleetx.io.

Speaking at the BW Businessworld Supply Chain Summit & Awards 2022, “The value that can be unlocked from the data depends on the particular position in the supply chain. There are different positions such as manufacturer in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, manufacturer to retailer, logistics supply chain, optimisation and management and then consumers. Also, within that first mile, a second mile and third mile the data importance depends on what drives the value of each individual,” said Amit Shekhar, founder & CEO, BytEdge.

“Telematics start from the essence that you have to capture data and have connectivity solution to be able to rely on that data towards the central database. Then we talk about database solutions or integrated decision-making. We should not only talk about large logistics but also about the first mile and last mile delivery such as small manufacturers and farmers because there are a lot of inefficiencies in last-mile delivery,” said Alok Agrawal, Managing Partner, The Growth Labs, Member, Prasar Bharati Board, and Innovation Evangelist, MG Motor India.