Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Gartner says IoT technology is two to five years from “transformational” impact

Improved technology and refined applications help internet of things find place in supply chain operations, firm says.

gartner hype cycle chart IoT

Buoyed by recent technology advances, Internet of Things (IoT) networks are continuing to mature, and are now two to five years away from making a transformational impact on supply chain operations, the research and analyst firm Gartner Inc. said today.

The assessment comes from Stamford, Connecticut-based Gartner’s “2020 Hype Cycle for Supply Chain Strategy,” which found that IoT has reached the bottom of what the firm calls “the Trough of Disillusionment.” Henceforth, the IoT market will begin to climb out of this trough, as the technology advances and practitioners succeed in defining the best opportunities for the unique measurement and tracking capabilities of this approach, Gartner said.


“IoT is in the trough because we see that many companies are implementing the technology, but they struggle to define the best opportunities for using its measurement and tracking capabilities,” Mike Burkett, vice president distinguished analyst with the Gartner Supply Chain Practice, said in a release. “We see further potential to grow its use over the next several years.”

According to Gartner, installed IoT endpoints for manufacturing and natural resources industries are forecast to grow to 1.9 billion units in 2028. That would mark five times their level of 331.5 million units in 2018. Gartner’s “2019 Digital Business Impact on the Supply Chain Survey” found that 59% of respondents had partially or fully deployed IoT across the entire organization. Another 22% were piloting and 15% had not invested yet, but planned to do so in the next two years.

“We have categorized IoT as a transformational technology because it has the potential to impact many areas of the supply chain in a broad and profound way,” Burkett said. “While the most obvious use cases are in manufacturing, IoT can also help improve customer service because it enables leaders to better understand customer needs. More mature organizations will also be able to create information-based products such as providing visibility and analytics for better asset usage.”

Gartner’s “Hype Cycle” also showed that nine other technology concepts are further down the road to widespread adoption than IoT, beginning with: end-to-end supply chain risk management, metrics and performance management, digital supply chain strategy, supply chain segmentation, cost-to-serve analysis, and network design. And the three technologies on the very cusp of success are: center of excellence, diagnostic analysis, and descriptive analytics.

Likewise, the chart listed 22 technologies that still lag IoT in maturity, including familiar concepts such as: predictive analytics, prescriptive analytics, machine learning, robotic process automation (RPA), blockchain in supply chain, supply chain control tower, artificial intelligence, and digital supply chain twin.

Recent

More Stories

Report: U.S. companies are fast to adopt digital supply chains

Report: U.S. companies are fast to adopt digital supply chains

More enterprises in the U.S. are now implementing digital supply chains as competitive differentiators, according to a report from the technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG).

Organizations are working to make their supply chains more resilient to disruptions and responsive to abrupt market changes, the firm said in its “2024 ISG Provider Lens Supply Chain Services” report for the U.S. In the wake of major geopolitical events that have affected supply chains, including international conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic, companies are seeking to prevent or quickly bounce back from supply or demand shocks.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

DHL online shopper report

DHL report shows seven factors about American online shoppers

Online merchants should consider seven key factors about American consumers in order to optimize their sales and operations this holiday season, according to a report from DHL eCommerce.

First, many of the most powerful sales platforms are marketplaces. With nearly universal appeal, 99% of U.S. shoppers buy from marketplaces, ranked in popularity from Amazon (92%) to Walmart (68%), eBay (47%), Temu (32%), Etsy (28%), and Shein (21%).

Keep ReadingShow less
storm track forecast map hurricane rafael

Louisiana and Texas watch Hurricane Rafael approach

Gulf Coast businesses in Louisiana and Texas are keeping a watchful eye on the latest storm to emerge from the Gulf Of Mexico this week, as Hurricane Rafael nears Cuba.

The island nation today is bracing for storm surge, high winds, and destructive waves, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Keep ReadingShow less
white house

Business groups push back on Trump tariff plan

In the face of campaign pledges by Donald Trump to boost tariffs on imports, many U.S. business interests are pushing back on that policy plan following Trump’s election yesterday as president-elect.

U.S. firms are already rushing to import goods before the promised tariff increases take effect, to avoid potential cost increases. That’s because tariffs are paid by the domestic companies that order the goods, not by the foreign nation that makes them.

Keep ReadingShow less
clorox brands

Clorox partnership helps suppliers meet carbon reduction targets

Consumer packaged goods (CPG) provider The Clorox Co. has partnered with Manufacture 2030 (M2030) to help Clorox's suppliers meet their carbon reduction targets and advance the company's long-term goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

In addition to its flagship Clorox bleach product, Oakland, California-based Clorox manages a diverse catalog of brands including Hidden Valley Ranch, Glad, Pine-Sol, Burt’s Bees, Kingsford, Scoop Away, Fresh Step, 409, Brita, Liquid Plumr, and Tilex.

Keep ReadingShow less