The Internet of Things: How IoT Is Reshaping Retail The Deal Is in the Data

The Internet of Things (IoT)

From a term that came into use in 2009, the Internet of Things (IoT) has come a long way in 10 years.

You've no doubt heard about it and likely use it on a daily basis if you own a fitness tracker or smart home gadget of any kind.

It refers to the ecosystem of physical objects that are connected to the Internet and use it to communicate.

As with many new technologies, the IoT has been the subject of much hype, lots of grand ideas, and, inevitably, somewhat less return than initially promised.

For an in-depth look at IoT and the "endless opportunities", it was offering a few years ago, see our whitepaper, The Internet of Things and the Modern Supply Chain.

Right now, in the context of the retail Armageddon, we thought it was time to offer a reality check on IoT and how it may play out in the retail sector.

What we discovered is IoT does have numerous applications for retail operations, but not necessarily where we thought they might be a few years ago.

What's interesting is how the use of IoT technologies to track inventory throughout the supply chain can dovetail with the kind of visibility you gain when you implement a best-of-breed dock scheduling system, like the one we’ve developed at C3 Solutions.

IoT lets you know what's on an inbound trailer, for example, and our solution lets you make sure that the right trailer gets unloaded, at the right door, at the right time.

It's a beautiful, coordinated sequence that lets you keep all the pieces in play for better efficiency.

Download this paper to learn more about IoT, its scope, and potential retail use cases. It's a fascinating technology, and it's here to stay.