Supply chain organizations are increasingly leveraging the internet of things (IoT) to improve operations and improve customer service, according to a study produced by eft Supply Chain and Logistics Business Intelligence, a UK-based leader in business intelligence and C-level networking for the transport, logistics and supply chain industry.

The survey, “The Internet of Things (IoT) in Supply Chain and Logistics,” polled 600 supply chain decision-makers to learn about their existing and future plans for leveraging IoT within their operations. 

Of the supply chain managers surveyed, 64% have or are planning an IoT strategy, while 41% already have a solution in place and 23% have IoT on their roadmap.

Other key takeaways from the survey include:

• Most retailers, manufacturers and logistics providers are looking for location information, including security, temperature and speed.
• Supply chain managers are looking to be more connected to the whole ecosystem, causing an increasing demand in data from suppliers and providers.
• A majority of the respondents (69%) expect to see ROI from their supply chain solutions within the next 24 months.
• 19% of respondents utilize IoT and monitoring technology, while 14% use data loggers and 5% use GPS and satellite tracking.

·         80% of respondents are looking to improve operational visibility by land, with 50% by air and 33% by sea.

• Most respondents (47%) feel that cyber security is a moderate threat to their IoT strategy.

·         However, 61% of respondents analyze less than half of their IoT data.

·         Despite cost barriers, 87% of supply chain providers are looking to expand their usage of IoT solutions.

“As supply chains are strained under competition, technology is proving to be a valuable differentiator and competitive advantage,” the report says.