The Internet of Things, as the name suggests, is the “Internet of connected things.” The definition of the Internet of Things is to connect any items to the Internet through infrared sensors, radio frequency identification (RFID), global positioning systems, laser scanners and other information sensing equipment according to agreed protocols, for information exchange and communication, in order to achieve A network for intelligent identification, tracking, positioning, monitoring and management of items. From the perspective of the logistics industry, the emergence of Internet of Things technology fits well with the logistics industry itself. This technology can better liberate manpower in the logistics industry, and can better manage and track logistics to obtain the best results. At present, both technology-based development companies and practical application companies have tasted the sweetness of IoT technology. Therefore, IoT technology is gradually changing our lives.
How does IoT technology have a positive impact on the logistics industry?
1. Problems faced by the logistics industry
1. Industry competition intensifies
After my country’s modern logistics market was fully opened, international logistics companies have entered the Chinese market one after another. With their strong financial strength and rich industry experience, they have certain advantages in competing for the cross-border logistics business of multinational companies; private cross-border logistics companies have greater Great flexibility and strong competitiveness in meeting cross-border logistics needs within regions and specific industries. As the scale of my country’s import and export goods expands, more capital enters the cross-border logistics industry, and market competition will intensify.
2. Lack of professional talents
Compared with developed countries, my country’s cross-border logistics industry has a shorter development history, incomplete service functions, and needs to be improved in management and technology, and lacks high-quality professional talents and comprehensive talents.Due to the rapid update of modern logistics management concepts and technical levels, it takes a certain amount of time to cultivate professional logistics talents. my country’s cross-border logistics industry will still face the dilemma of lack of professional talents for a long time.
3. High cost, low profit
Logistics costs mainly include the following cost components: inventory costs, transportation costs, logistics management costs and hidden costs, etc.
Inventory costs refer to the costs spent on storing goods. In addition to warehousing, damage, labor costs, insurance and taxes, it also includes interest on funds held by inventory. Investing the interest on inventory-occupied funds into logistics costs is the biggest difference between modern logistics and traditional logistics cost calculation. It combines reducing logistics costs with accelerating capital turnover.
Generally speaking, the total cost of transportation includes: freight, fleet, fuel, equipment maintenance, labor, insurance, handling, overstay fees and taxes. Although there are many types of transportation costs, transportation costs included in different transportation methods have different composition categories and ranges, which can be divided into three categories: operating costs, management expenses and financial expenses to facilitate cost calculation.
Logistics management expenses refer to the costs spent in the process of planning, organizing, coordinating and controlling logistics activities in order to achieve the service level that customers want at the lowest logistics cost.
Hidden costs refer to the capital interest costs caused by the increase in inventory costs due to poor logistics operations, the opportunity costs of inventory capital occupation, the loss of slow market response, and the cost of loss and damage of goods caused by poor management. The reason why it is called It is an implicit cost because this local cost is difficult to estimate using quantitative analysis methods.
It can be seen from the above cost structure that it is almost impossible for logistics companies to obtain higher profit margins. This puts tremendous pressure on the development of enterprises, and it requires great courage to seek new breakthroughs.
2. What are the obstacles to the application of the Internet of Things?
1. There is a basic contradiction between the rapid development of logistics application needs and the provision of logistics information.
As we all know, the logistics industry is not very profitable. This has caused many logistics companies to try their best to save all costs, and are seriously deficient in informatization participation. A very large number of logistics companies still use paper files to manage warehouse receipts and shipments. Even if there is a computer, it is common for the inventory records in the software to not match the actual inventory. Computers only play a role in accounting and have not reached the level of information application. Therefore, improving the information hardware facilities of logistics enterprises is a major problem in the current logistics industry. Therefore, there has become a basic contradiction between the rapid development of logistics application needs and the provision of logistics information. This is the first information barrier for the development of the automobile transportation logistics industry.
2. There is a basic contradiction between the increasing logistics transportation volume and the matching of transportation resources.
The automobile transportation logistics industry lacks a national and practical logistics public information platform. More supply and demand information is in the hands of freight forwarders scattered in different corners of the city. These freight forwarders are commonly called distribution stations. The existence of distribution stations adjusts the supply and demand relationship in the automobile logistics market to a certain extent. Due to its massive dispersion, it restricts the free exchange of logistics information on a regional scale. Even if some excellent distribution software exists, it is only an internal information exchange platform in the distribution industry and cannot achieve information matching between supply and demand in the automotive logistics industry. This has resulted in a basic contradiction in equipment between the increasing logistics transportation volume and transportation resources. This can be seen from the fact that the empty rate of trucks on the highway is about 40%. This is the second information barrier for the development of the automobile transportation logistics industry.
3. There is a contradiction between supply and demand between the rapid development of the logistics industry and the information management of the industry.
The main carrier of automobile transportation logistics between domestic cities is third-party logistics. Third-party logistics is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises, and the application of industry information management is relatively low. For example, there is a dedicated logistics line from Beijing to Guangzhou. The cargo owner’s goods were loaded onto the truck in Beijing. Five hours later, the cargo owner wanted to check where his goods were. You can only call the logistics company in Beijing, and the logistics company will check the feedback through other methods. At present, open cargo location query on the Internet is only widely used and standardized in the express delivery industry. The application rate in other third-party logistics industries is very low. Even the barcode technology that should be applied most has a very low application rate in third-party logistics companies. There is a mismatch between industry information management and the rapid development of the logistics industry, and there is a contradiction between supply and demand. This is the third information barrier for the development of the automobile transportation logistics industry.
4. The standards in the Internet of Things industry are not unified.
The core of the Internet of Things is wireless networks and collection and identification equipment, including RFID, ultra-wideband and Wi-Fi real-time positioning systems (RTLS), mobile handheld devices, PLCs, sensors, etc. Therefore, some people equate the Internet of Things with RFID, which is only half correct. RFID is not young. It was first used in the 1970s and 1980s. This kind of application presents two characteristics: first, it started from military use and then converted to civilian use; second, the civilian use stage was fragmented, the application was limited within enterprises, industries, and regions, and the information stored in RFID chips was not uniform. Ideally, the detailed information of the item will be stored in the cloud computing center, and only the ID number of the item (Electronic Product Code EPC) will be retained in the RFID chip, and the ONS system (Internet of Things Object Name Service) will be responsible for the resolution of the item ID. In this way, the manufacturing cost of RFID chips can be greatly reduced, thereby increasing the enthusiasm of enterprises to invest in the Internet of Things.
3. Positive impact of IoT technology
Specifically in application, how much time can the Internet of Things save us? We might as well make a comparison. At present, people are relatively familiar with barcodes, which are widely used in many fields such as commodity circulation, postal management, library management, and banking systems. It takes about ten seconds to read a barcode manually, and about two seconds to read a barcode by machine. If we choose electronic tags and radio frequency technology to read, it only takes 0.1 seconds to complete the identification. Imagine that if this technology is promoted in enterprise logistics, it will not only solve the time problem for the enterprise, but also solve a series of problems such as personnel, management, and safety. What enterprises directly gain is cost reduction and efficiency improvement.
Generally speaking, IoT technology can enable logistics companies to achieve the following effects:
1. Realize management automation (data acquisition, automatic classification, etc.), make operations efficient and convenient, and change the image of “coolie” companies in China’s warehousing logistics enterprises.
2. Reduce warehousing costs.
3. Improve service quality, improve response time, increase customer satisfaction, and integrate supply chain links more closely.
4. Taking advantage of the Internet of Things, whether consciously or passively, the informatization of my country’s logistics enterprises will generally reach a new level, and it will also promote the creation of opportunities for great sharing in the logistics information industry.
5. Meet legal challenges.
4. Looking to the future
Internet of Things technology is a comprehensive technology, and its application in the logistics industry has the characteristics of scale, extensiveness, management, and technology. A new logistics business system composed of intelligent transportation, automatic warehousing, dynamic distribution and information control has been formed. Since the Internet of Things runs through all aspects of the logistics industry, all links in the supply chain of the logistics industry are closely connected to form a seamless connection, thereby forming a logistics service chain.
The logistics industry is the most widely used industry for the Internet of Things. Its development will help improve the professionalization of logistics, have a positive impact on the operation of logistics links, and promote the integration of logistics functions. With the strong support of relevant policies and the continuous development of Internet of Things technology, China’s logistics industry will surely undergo tremendous changes and be profoundly affected by the development of the Internet of Things.