4 April 2015, 00:00
The Internet of Things is quickly becoming part of the way consumers live their everyday lives. With smart houses, cars and thermometers becoming more and more popular, the makers of many consumer products are taking notice.
In 2014, Zebra Technologies commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a study on IoT adoption and found that global businesses were overwhelming embracing IoT within their operations.
As part of the study, Zebra surveyed makers of consumer products and found that approximately 94 percent of those companies report they are ready to make changes required for IoT. The study also found that 61 percent of respondents have implementations, while another 27 percent plan to deploy IoT solutions within a year.
Most consumer companies expect IoT to provide operational and actionable data on location and condition of their assets and will optimize supply chains, ensure compliance, and enhance safety and loss prevention. The following issues were identified as the issues that consumer companies would address by implementing IoT solutions:
-
Inventory levels
-
Supply chain visibility
-
Tracking customer, supplier or partner transactions
-
Asset location
-
New asset purchasing
Most respondents recognize that security of IoT is an issue that needs addressing and that educating their organizations to the benefits of the trend can be challenging. However, the benefits of IoT outweigh these challenges, with consumer companies expecting IoT to improve operations and asset utilization, create new revenue streams and enhance the ways they serve their customers.