IoT evolution predicted for food supply chain
18 August 2017
Investment in interconnected smart devices is set to rise, according to a new report from food and grocery research charity IGD.
The research shows that 37% of food and grocery companies are already trialling or have successfully deployed IoT products or services, with a further 58% planning to increase their use of technology providers to help them embrace IoT opportunities.
IGD’s research, exploring the evolution of the IoT opportunity and the strategic implications for food and grocery supply chains, questioned 84 food and grocery businesses and service providers worldwide. Some 61% highlighted ‘improved understanding of customers’ in their top three expected business benefits of IoT, with 53% of companies citing ‘reduced costs and increased efficiencies’ and 51% ‘development of new business models’.
Assessing how IoT will create greater connectivity through data transparency and business partnerships, change the way businesses operate and reinvent value through the creation of new services and applications, Chris Irish, supply chain insight manager at IGD, said: “The pace of change and breadth of impact for technology is such that demand is growing for food and grocery supply chains to deliver innovations that offer speed, transparency, connectivity and convenience. The Internet of Things allows each unique product to be tracked and monitored, opening up the possibility for highly personalised and responsive solutions for consumers while introducing a new level of real time data-sharing for businesses.
“A new age of retailing is emerging – a digital, connected and personalised age, shaped by technology and the consumer. An IoT-enabled food and grocery supply chain helps bring this about through live, precise, consumer and product level insight enabling efficient, responsive solutions that meet needs and create value throughout the chain.”
Click here to read more about IGD’s Internet of Things report.