Research on impact of IoT on warehouse management

Abstract

Automation and digitisation are the driving force of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. Industrial revolutions led to the mass production of goods, which increased the need for modern warehouses. Every year, the operation of warehouses becomes increasingly more complicated due to the increasing abundance of goods, thus the usual warehouse management strategies are no longer suitable. In order to cope with huge product flows, modern innovations should be used more extensively to manage these processes. Successful management will help provide quality service to rapidly changing business sectors. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a technology designed to process large amounts of data with maximum efficiency in real time. This technology can facilitate the implementation of smart identification, tracking, tracing, and management using radio frequency identification (RFID), infrared sensors, global positioning systems (GPS), laser scanners, and other detection tools. Such innovations as IoT have made a significant impact on warehousing operations. The aim of IoT is to perform administrative work, i.e., to efficiently manage warehouse data. IoT can be used to monitor and track goods, forecast demand trends, manage inventory, and perform other warehouse operations in real time. The key elements of a warehouse are sales and customer satisfaction. Implementing IoT improves financial performance, work productivity, and customer satisfaction. However, innovation requires additional investment in, for instance, implementation and maintenance. It is necessary to investigate how warehouse elements such as inventory accuracy or order processing time are affected by the internet of things in companies of different sizes. Research on the impact of IoT on warehouse management focuses on IoT advantages, disadvantages, mitigation risks, and the use of IoT in warehouses. The aim of this work is to research the impact of IoT on warehouse management in companies of different sizes and to determine whether the costs and benefits of IoT differ in the same scenario. As a result, the conceptual model for the adoption of IoT measures in warehouse companies was created, and its suitability was assessed by experts.