How 5G Is Empowering Better Supply Chain Management

There has been a good deal of attention drawn in recent years to supply chain disruptions and failures. Fewer people outside of the manufacturing and logistics industries are aware of the ways that supply chain management (SCM) has improved and risen to meet those challenges. The embracing of 5G technology is just one example, but it’s a crucial one.

What Is 5G?

Average consumers often assume that the switch to 5G is just another routine upgrade, but that’s simply not the case. The new technology doesn’t just speed up load times. It also allows for greater device density and lower latency, which means that using 5G on SCM is now a serious possibility. Companies across modern supply chains have been embracing automation and the Internet of Things (IoT) at ever-increasing rates, and that’s only possible because of 5G.

SCM and Streamlined Logistics Operations

Until very recently, all companies used manual controls to track products, but 5G has changed that by streamlining logistics operations. Logistics companies can now label, track, and record shipments automatically, helping to alleviate issues with lost cargo, misplaced containers, and smuggling. So far, only large companies with private networks have been able to implement this change, but the mass roll-out of 5G should change that.

Smart Inventory Improves Warehouse Management

The rollout of 5G isn’t just changing the way logistics companies handle shipments. It’s also improving the efficiency of inventory and warehouse management. In this context, access to high-speed 5G networks allows goods and products to be collected, delivered, and archived more efficiently and with greater transparency.

Warehouses won’t just benefit from the ability to optimize critical processes using smart technologies. Smart tech is allowing for increasing levels of remote maintenance and control and facilitating the rollout of autonomous vehicles.

Fleet Managers Have Access to Real-Time Data

While it’s true that the use of fully autonomous vehicles on public roadways is a ways off, much of the technology that will support their use is already in place. Fleet managers can use the data collected by advanced sensors and collision avoidance systems to track driver safety and vehicle status in real-time. The lower latency and faster speeds associated with 5G also allow shipping companies to offer real-time delivery status updates.

Experts believe that it’s only a matter of time before autonomous vehicles can develop the enhanced safety profiles that would be required to release them onto ordinary roads, and 5G is driving key changes. It’s now possible for IoT-connected cars to react faster to external stimuli, and many of today’s advanced driver safety systems already take advantage of 5G connectivity. Once vehicles become fully automated, it stands to change the way that transportation companies do business for good.

Modern Solutions to Modern Problems

Today’s supply chains span across the globe, and because everything is interconnected, one minor issue in China can lead to delays all the way across the world in the United States. Globalization is not the problem, though. It just creates new challenges that require modern solutions, and 5G is the driving force behind the necessary changes.

Business owners don’t need to know everything about 5G, the IoT, and how these new technologies are already affecting today’s supply chains. It’s better to reach out to an expert who understands SCM and the tools used to facilitate it in today’s world.