Inventory Management with Internet of Things | IoT

The Internet of Things is used in manufacturing to ensure proper asset usage, extend equipment service life, improve reliability, and provide the best return on assets, in addition to improving the effectiveness of manufacturing operations. Among the IoT applications that aid in industrial asset management are:

• Industrial asset tracking
• Inventory management
• Predictive maintenance (based on condition monitoring).

IoT collaborates with RFID to enable asset tracking in manufacturing. Each asset, whether it’s a magnetic locator or a crane, is labelled with an RFID tag that acts as an asset identifier.

Each tag has a unique ID that is linked to information about a specific asset. Both the ID and the associated asset data are stored in the cloud. Physical parameters, cost, serial number, model, assigned employee, area of use, and other information may be included in the asset data.

Inventory Management

Inventory management solutions powered by IoT assist manufacturers in automating inventory tracking and reporting, maintaining constant visibility into the statuses and locations of individual inventory items, and optimizing lead time (the time between an inventory order and its delivery). Smart inventory management solutions are said to save 20% to 50% of an enterprise’s inventory carrying costs as a result of these advancements. Inventory management systems used in manufacturing are based on IoT and RFID technologies.

Continuous equipment condition monitoring provides insights into predictive maintenance. A piece of equipment is outfitted with sensors that collect data on a wide range of parameters that determine its health and performance, such as temperature, pressure, vibration frequency, and so on.

Once collected, real-time data from multiple sensors is sent to the cloud, where it is combined with metadata (equipment model, configuration, operational settings, and so on), equipment usage history, and maintenance data retrieved from ERP, maintenance systems, and other sources. On a dashboard or in a mobile app, the entire set of data is analyzed, visualized, and presented to shop floor workers.