Due to optimized asset and inventory management (hence, lower inventory carrying costs and search times), reduced machine downtime, more agile operations, and more efficient energy use, companies reduce operational costs and create new sources of revenue. For instance, smart, connected products allow to shift from selling products to selling experience – product usage and post-sale se

Faster and more efficient manufacturing and supply chain operations allow reducing product cycle time. Harley-Davidson, for instance, leveraged IoT to reconfigure its York, PA manufacturing facility and managed to reduce the time it takes to produce a motorbike from 21 days to 6 hours.

The mass customization process requires a dramatic increase in the variety of produced SKUs, which causes inventory to go up and become more diverse. Manufacturing operations get more complex as well – the production of 20 items of SKU X can be immediately followed by the production of 10 items of SKU Y. Tracking the inventory and the manufacturing operations becomes burdensome and, in some cases, not feasible. IIoT facilitates mass customization by becoming a source of real-time data required for thoughtful forecasting, shop floor scheduling and routing.

IIoT helps to ensure a safer workplace. Paired with wearable devices, IIoT allows monitoring workers’ health state and risky activities that can lead to injuries. Along with ensuring workers’ safety, IIoT addresses safety problems in potentially hazardous environments. For instance, in oil and gas industry, IIoT is applied to monitor gas leakages as it travels through the pipe network.