'Internet of Things' to revolutionise logistics

The next generation of the internet, dubbed as the Internet of Things or IOT, is expected to bring profound changes to the global supply chain via intelligent cargo movement and consolidated businesses as well as technological advances.

Born out of a spread of logistics information, IOT incorporates current state-of-art technologies, including electronic product code (EPC), radio frequency identification (RFIP), intelligent transport system (ITS), and global positioning system (GPS) to make all cargo - on the road, on water or in the air - "talkable and trackable". "The Internet of Things will revolutionise the supply chain. It will give the supply chain a transparent, visible and controllable nature with intelligent communication between people and cargo," said Wen Zhenhua, president of the Hunan Vocational College of Modern Logistics, at a recent forum in Suzhou, Jiangsu. "The ex-factory product will carry a distinct identity label with next-generation coding EPC or RFIP that can be sensed and tracked; the labelled data will be stored and processed through centralised internet platforms jointly woven into a regional, national or even global network. The networks, serving as a shared data centre, will provide cloud-computing of the data flow and apply their analysis to the needs of every end-user. Operators and managers in manufacturing zones, logistic parks, distribution centres, trading centres, transport routes and various terminals could actually see the movement of their things and get instant responses on their mobile phones and laptop computers. "IOT will become the incubator and propeller of the logistics industry today and tomorrow," Wen said. Initiated by Bill Gates in 1995 and updated by IBM chairman Samuel Palmisano in 2009, IOT will enable the business world to sense, monitor, process and analyse all products. Its spread will lead to an integration of the flows of cargo, commerce, information and capital, consolidation of cross-industry businesses and online platforms, and more specialised and refined operations, said Zhai Xuehun, general manager of Beijing Chinaway Technologies Co. "Almost all of the industry will have to be changed in five to 10 years." And the IOT technologies are not in the distant future, said Zhai. "It has been in our lives in a mild manner following the introduction of laser labelling, sensing and blue-tooth communication. "The biggest difference from the current internet is that not only people, but also the vehicles, the ships and planes as well as the cargo on board, are going online. Not only business managers but also the drivers, dock handlers or terminal workers, store keepers and many others in the trade." The potential benefits from IOT seem to be boundless. Before Premier Wen Jiabao called for the use of IOT in August 2009, the industrial value of RFID (radio frequency identity) in China was estimated at about US$1 billion at most, which was shunned by many ambitious cities or local areas. After Wen blew the horn, RFID has become a key part of a multi-trillion yuan long-term programme, claimed Professor Wang Dong of the Software College of Shanghai Jiaotong University. Now IOT is expected to be given priority in the nation's next five-year plan and in other long-term strategies, he said. "IOT gives not only to the eye and the ear, but also to the brain," said David Ouyang, secretary-general of RFID China Alliance. "The IOT consolidates multiple-sourced technologies such as WLAN, WMAN, DSL, NFC, WiMax and MEMS.'' However, the high expectations in China are in sharp contrast with the low-level development of logistics information processing and standardisation. Logistics Continued from Page 4 was one of the top 10 priority industries chosen by the central government for the stimulus package in 2009 but it is the least tapped so far. The IOT system could be painful for the various mini-networks developed by manufacturers, carriers and third-party logistics providers. The patented fees, inaccessibility of some corporate or even government networks, could worsen the situation. "A major solution rests on public information platforms for the logistics industry backed by government resources," said Wen. Such platforms could incorporate public and private, social and individual resources and offer a one-station service for enterprises. The key to the new generation of the internet is the inter-communication and interconnection among existing and to-be-developed technological outlets, Wen said. "The time is ripe for such public platforms to solve the problem of corporate networks trapped as isolated islands in this inter-woven era," he added. But challenges still abound. The country's vastly dispersed chain supply businesses have given birth to a huge number of multilevel platforms of enterprises, guilds and chambers of commerce, third-party online service providers, and e-commerce websites. Many are holding separate grounds instead of getting interconnected. "The rather chaotic situation calls for workable national standards as early as possible," said Huang Bin, deputy manager of Shenzhen Yu Yi Tong Sci-Tech Co. "The more detailed and more feasible, the better." About a dozen ministries and commissions of the central government are reportedly organising 19 working groups for setting up technological standards in the application of the IOT. But analysts pointed out national standards often are results of year-long juggling of regional and sectoral interests, the cause of the noises in the industry. Zhai added, however, that national standards are a must, especially with the IOT going deeper and wider throughout the upper, middle and low-ends of the supply chain.

Interconnecting objects IN computing, the term Internet of Things (also known as the Internet of Objects) refers to the networked interconnection of everyday objects. It is generally viewed as a self-configuring wireless network of sensors whose purpose would be to interconnect all things. The idea is as simple as its application is difficult. If all cans, books, shoes or parts of cars are equipped with minuscule identifying devices, daily life on our planet will undergo a transformation. Things like running out of stock or wasted products will no longer exist as we will know exactly what is being consumed on the other side of the globe. Theft will be a thing of the past as we will know where a product is at all times. The same applies to parcels lost in the post.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)