The supply chain is the backbone of virtually every industry. Businesses need timely, transparent shipments to meet their customers’ needs, which means having a well-functioning, organized inventory system. At the same time, many stockpile practices fall short, but 5G networks could be the answer.
Many store and factory inventories use manual methods to keep track of stock levels and move goods throughout the warehouse. Technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and data analytics offer more efficient alternatives, and 5G provides the platform necessary to support them. Here’s how these new networks will drive the future of inventory management.
Expanding IoT Product Tracking
IoT tracking is one of the most important upgrades 5G enables for inventory management. These networks offer far more connection density than their predecessors, supporting up to 1 million devices per square kilometer. That bandwidth lets warehouses incorporate more IoT devices, providing more visibility into stock levels and product locations.
5G-enabled IoT sensors can send real-time updates on where any given package is within a warehouse. Businesses can then access that data from a centralized remote management system to gain a single point of view of the whole inventory. That way, they can organize shelves to aid more efficient picking processes and help employees find what they’re looking for faster.
This transparency also enables more accurate ordering and shipping practices. With real-time updates on inventory levels, businesses can reorder items before they run out and communicate timely stock information to online shoppers.
Enabling Real-Time Analytics
5G goes beyond making more data accessible to supply chains. Its high speeds also help analyze it in less time. As these networks expand, inventory managers could even analyze incoming data in real-time, enabling faster, more effective responses to changing situations.
Many popular online stores today offer free shipping services to drive sales. As e-commerce grows, these sites could capitalize on 5G’s speed to analyze buying behavior as it happens. They could then adapt to shifting shopping trends as quickly as possible.
Inventories must stay on top of trends to avoid over-ordering items falling out of style and ensure they have enough of increasingly in-demand ones. 5G technology provides the speed needed to understand these shifts as they emerge, preventing stock shortages and surpluses.
Automating Warehouse Processes
Warehouses must work efficiently to adapt to incoming changes, even with quick trend analysis. That means moving away from these facilities’ historical reliance on manual workflows in favor of automation. 5G lays the necessary groundwork to enable and expand these technologies.
5G’s speed and latency are crucial parts of enabling self-driving cars in smart cities, and the same applies to autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs). These mobile robots retrieve and move products throughout a facility without human input. However, to do that safely and efficiently, they need to be able to detect nearby obstacles quickly and accurately.
Warehouses can use 5G to set up edge computing networks, enabling faster analysis of obstacles and communication with other nearby devices. These upgrades will make AGVs a more viable solution, facilitating a move away from inefficient manual picking processes. This increased automation will also help mitigate the impact of labor shortages.
5G Could Revolutionize Inventory Management
Inventory management is critical for many businesses, yet it often has considerable room to improve. 5G technology is the gateway to that improvement. As more facilities implement these networks, they’ll be able to use other technologies like automation, data analytics and IoT to their fullest potential.
5G may still lag in consumer markets, but its potential in industrial workplaces is hard to ignore. As more organizations implement this technology into their inventory management, it could redefine retail, logistics and manufacturing industries.
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