Eliminate In-Transit Damages and Delays for Electronics Shipments with IoT

When it comes to shipping expensive, fragile electronics products, the last thing you need is to be surprised by in-transit damages and delays. But without real-time visibility into your shipments, many electronics manufacturers are stuck in the dark, putting out fires time and again without any ability to predict or avoid supply chain issues. 

For example, if a shipment of TV monitors experiences high shock levels while being transported via truck, it is likely that many of the products will arrive damaged. Not only that, but the manufacturer will have no way of knowing about the damage in advance, so they will be forced to rush to solve the problem when it's discovered upon delivery. This often means costly fees to expedite a replacement shipment, lost customers due to a poor experience, and a whole lot of wasted time and money for the manufacturer.

Similarly, sensitive products such as hard drives, server racks, and electrical components often have to stay within precise environmental conditions to avoid damage. A slight temperature or humidity excursion en route may result in the entire shipment being unsellable, and without real-time visibility, the damage can only be identified after the fact.

Faced with the challenges of cutting costs, reducing damages, and avoiding delays, many electronics manufacturers are looking to sensor and software based solutions to gain insight into the real-time location and condition of their shipments. Specifically, new IoT tools enable real-time alerting as soon as certain conditions are met, such as a temperature excursion or shipment delay. With multi-sensor trackers attached to each shipment and sending data directly to the cloud, manufacturers can monitor their in-transit goods from start to finish, and can get a heads up if anything goes wrong.

That advance warning means the manufacturer can plan ahead, avoiding expediting fees and working with customers and partners to ensure damages and delays don't cause further issues downstream. But it's not just about solving one-off problems like a single damaged product or delayed shipment. Access to comprehensive data makes it possible to identify trends and incorporate actionable predictive analytics into supply chain operations. For instance, if data from several months of shipments indicates that a particular route or carrier is more prone to in-transit damages, the manufacturer can opt to use a different route going forward. In addition, with a more precise understanding of where their goods are and where issues tend to occur, manufactures can more accurately asses risk and allocate capital. Safety stock can be removed from low-risk areas and added to high risk areas, enabling both cost-cutting and risk reduction throughout the supply chain.

Ultimately, real-time visibility gives electronics manufacturers the tools they need to reduce damage rates, lower costs, and improve customer satisfaction. If your company ships electronics products or components and you're sick of finding out too late when those shipments are damaged or delayed, request a demo with Tive today to learn more about how an IoT solution could improve your supply chain operations.