Blog: Will smart robots revolutionise the supply chain?

The internet of things is not just set to revolutionise the consumer side of technology. It will have an impact on the supply chain too.

A new report from One Network Enterprises looks into the idea and paints a picture worthy of any science-fiction writer.

“Think about an electronic workforce of process robots designed to count your inventory items in real time, on demand, with no mistakes made. You pay them nothing, and they never complain. They even alert you to any issues related to orders, inventory levels, or shipments, taking action to reorder items when they drop below minimum thresholds.”

If only every worker was a robot. It all sounds a bit dystopian, but no doubt there is genuine opportunity to streamline certain supply chain processes. The report says it is possible to design robots which can match demand and supply across a global supply network. This all depends on the platform on which the robot is built being based in the cloud, so that the data on the ERP systems of various companies in the network can be shared.

This technology is apparently already used in the medical device market – here, another layer has been added, with connected devices like smartphones being used to track patients’ blood pressure, for instance. This can then feed into the supply chain to indicate what products are needed.

In retail, this sort of halcyon situation might be a while off. The robots will need every product to be tagged with RFID or similar, which not every retailer has managed or even wants to do. The technology needed for robot supply chains will no doubt need to become much more ubiquitous before it is cheap enough for many retailers’ high volumes and low margins.