Smart Devices Shifting From Consumers to Businesses

Posted by James Lusk on

Consumers are adopting smart devices at a rapid rate, welcoming them into their homes, cars and everyday lives. These devices have changed the way we think, live and interact with one another, and there are no signs of it slowing down. However, while we often correlate smart devices and technology to products we use in our personal lives, they are more relevant than ever to businesses today, especially in manufacturing, logistics, industrial, shipping and tracking industries. Companies must notice these trends and recognize the advantages in investing in smart technology.

What is smart technology?

Smart technology connects multiple devices or networks via wireless protocols, allowing objects to operate interactively and autonomously. Any type of equipment, instrument, or machine that has its own computing capability is considered a smart or intelligent device.

Harvard Business Review explains it well:

“All smart, connected products, from home appliances to industrial equipment, share three core elements:

  • Physical components (such as mechanical and electrical parts)
  • Smart components (sensors, microprocessors, data storage, controls, software, an embedded operating system, and a digital user interface)
  • Connectivity components (ports, antennae, protocols, and networks that enable communication between the product and the product cloud, which runs on remote servers and contains the product’s external operating system).”

You may be familiar with smart, connected products like smart refrigerators that can sense what kinds of products are being stored inside them and keep a track of the stock or FitBits and other wearable tech that offer personalized data, like heart rate, step count and calories burned. However, it’s no longer just about the “smart home”. It’s also about the “smart office” and “smart warehouse.”

How are businesses using smart technology?

Data Collection

With more devices connected than ever before, companies have greater access to data regarding consumer behavior, patterns and interests. Companies are taking advantage of the increased amounts of data by making decisions, like product recommendations, effective advertising and sales decisions, based off their findings. Greater access to data is proving to be valuable as studies show that executives want their companies to focus more on data, and less on intuition.  We wrote about data and the Internet of Things in January.

Inventory Tracking and Management

The ability to view, track, and monitor inventory continues to improve through smart devices and technology. A smart supply chain is updated in real-time, so your company can track inventory, remain aware of shipping issues and keep track of what stock needs replenished. Additionally, RFID tags are able to hold and communicate even more information about an object, such as temperature, weather, traffic, damage to the object, etc. This will reduce the number of lost items, better identify inefficiencies and help companies make more informed decisions. Learn more about the benefits of RFID technology for businesses.

Automating Manual Processes

One of the main complaints we hear from business owners who are considering switching to Odyssey is that they want to focus on the work that really matters. They are too distracted by the inconsistencies and headaches of multiple tools and manual processes. With smart devices, everything is connected, automated and streamlined, freeing up employees and business owners to focus on tasks that add value. This allows companies to produce more and larger projects in less time. Automatic processes also reduce the number of errors that are normally seen during manual processes. See how your company can squash errors.

What are the benefits for companies?

Many businesses have found that smart technology improves their bottom lines through:

  • Informed decision making via data collection
  • Automating manual processes, freeing employees up to focus on value-adding tasks
  • Lower operating costs
  • Increased productivity and efficiency
  • Reduced number of errors

Because of the advances in smart devices and technology, everything is connected. Odyssey has adopted this growing technology to create integrated, cross-departmental work-flow processes that utilize an efficient and effective cloud-based platform. Today’s Department of Defense commerce requires an IT platform that can make sense of requirements and provide an automated environment to easily react and respond in real-time. Our DoD-approved software helps to make our partners’ work easier and more efficient by:

  • Improving resource utilization
  • Reducing errors
  • Enabling streamlined commerce and DoD compliant measures
  • Creating a more efficient process, saving companies time and money

We take pride in staying on top of the latest and most effective technology. Learn how your company can benefit here.