Impacts of Internet of Things on Supply Chains: A Framework for Warehousing

The emergence of new digital industrial technology, known as Industry 4.0, has a positive impact on the performance of the supply chain. Warehouses are a basic part of the supply chain; they are used to store products and manage the inventory level. A sound warehouse management system can lead to cost reduction and also can improve customer satisfaction. Traditional warehouse management models have become less efficient and unsuitable for today's increasing market requirements. For the past decades, information and communication technology has been used for warehouse management. This paper presents a new approach for warehouse management by utilizing one of the main pillars of Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things. This new technology enables the connection of several objects through collecting real-time data and sharing them; the resulting information can then be used to support automated decision-making. The architecture of this application is illustrated and its potential benefits are overviewed. A framework is proposed to implement this approach in warehousing management, which can help in providing real-time visibility of everything in the warehouse, increasing speed and efficiency, and preventing inventory shortage and counterfeiting. This proposal gives an effective roadmap for enterprises to improve their warehouses by using the Internet of Things.