The pandemic shed light on one common thing across all industries: our heavy reliance on supply chain systems and the dramatic consequences for our businesses and economy when the slightest disruption in the collection and delivery of products occurs.

While many industries have digitised in the past two years in response to the pandemic and supply chain risks, traditional sectors such as food and beverages can be slow - even reluctant to adopt digital technologies.

This reluctance often comes from a misconception around digital technologies being too complex to implement and a lack of awareness around the rapidly changing technology solutions and the actual business value these can bring. For many businesses in these industries, current inefficiencies are not abundantly clear on the profit and loss statement, and it's easy to think that digital technologies shouldn't be a priority because they are selling physical products and goods.

But among these traditional industries are inspiring disruptors, proving that there is, in fact, tremendous value in digitising.

An area that has become particularly popular these past few years is Internet of Things (IoT) based tracking technologies.

Indeed, for any business heavily reliant on product delivery and collection and/or a solid supply chain to function, IoT tracking technologies offer an affordable and straightforward way to solve common challenges.

Enhanced tracking technology lifting traditional industries

The latest advancements in IoT technology have seen the birth of a new range of tracking solutions, including Smart IoT Beacons that track where products are and gather a wide range of data related to a product's lifecycle and consumption safety requirements (e.g. temperature).

These tiny beacons have enough power to help solve most of the supply chain and delivery challenges traditional industries have been facing these past two years and, in some cases, even disrupt entire business models.

The stainless steel keg industry example

Given the recent lockdowns across Australia and New Zealand, kegs hit a standstill, leading to massive inefficiencies and a stainless steel keg shortage. Many kegs were simply forgotten in cellars or left on the street. Breweries were struggling to locate where their kegs were located and faced increasing supply chain disruptions as a result.

While the pandemic heightened this problem, it's been a challenge faced by the industry for many decades.

Many might think that such a traditional industry as brewing wouldn't see the point in digitising. But a growing number of breweries, including Moon Dog in Australia and Parrotdog in New Zealand, are amongst technology-driven disruptors using Smart IoT beacons to track and report back on the location and temperature of their kegs.

This device, alongside a powerful analytics platform, provides a solution for the entire keg management process, leaving producers to focus on creating beverages and selling kegs into venues.

Access to live data also means delivery partners can go to multiple places and share insights into who they pick kegs from, where they're going, and more. 
 
Efficiencies, savings, sustainability,  risk reduction, and so much more

Any industry highly reliant on the collection, delivery, and tracking of items can benefit from using IoT Smart Beacon technology.

It can help reduce friction and increase efficiencies dramatically, leading to cost savings and better service for customers.

This can also support businesses in their sustainability efforts and, ultimately, cost savings. For example, brewers using this IoT beacon technology can reduce keg losses from an industry average of circa eight per cent to zero and significantly increase keg turns, the benefits of which far outweigh the cost of adoption.

Whether operating in the food and beverages industry, manufacturing or retail, there are many ways traditional industries can build more resilience and reduce risk. The use of IoT beacons is an easy to implement and affordable solution, and it should become a priority for those who want to stay competitive and generate more growth.