IoT in FMCG Industry and Future Applications

Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) is the 4th largest sector in Indian economy in terms of job creation and revenue generation. This sector mainly comprises 3 main categories that are food and beverages which accounts for 19 percent of the sector, healthcare which accounts for 31 percent and household and personal care which accounts for the remaining 50 percent of overall industry.

For an FMCG Company, forecasting and demand planning is a critical aspects of business operations. Companies involved in FMCG industry either use manual system or human operated ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems to book orders and manage production. Supply chain management and production planning greatly influences the decision making and hits the bottom line. The FMCG industry has always been willing to implement new technologies to establish efficient business practices.

Supply chain management is the greatest demand of FMCG industry thus gradually adopting IoT (Internet of Things) technologies in a big way to benefit from cost reduction, asset management, utilization, productivity and efficient improvements. The connected supply chain management is the next big thing in FMCG industry which is helping to reduce downtime due to material shortage and supplier delays. IoT is helping FMCG segment by providing insights on understanding consumer behavior and patterns.

These companies are exploring the commercial potential in the IoT data which provides insights on customer’s behavior, needs and wants. FMCG companies are shifting towards a data driven environment where companies are using data in store management, mobile platforms and social media marketing. The FMCG companies are currently focusing these key areas namely, direct consumer relationship, mobile and location based services, predictive analysis, demand driven supply chain management, idea to product acceleration, safety & traceability and sustainability.

IoT in FMCG industry is being used in location based marketing, supply chain management, weather forecasting, material management, customer engagement, asset management and tracking. Using the data provided by IoT solution like location of consumer, the customized offer can be sent through push notification or App marketing. On other end, inside the store sensors will detect a customer’s vital statics like height, weight, BMI etc and suggest the items based on their health. These personalized marketing and promotion activities will help companies to improve sales and customer service experience.

Future IoT Applications in FMCG Industry:

Environment Monitoring: Environment monitoring systems are designed to provide scalable, efficient and compact solution to take informative decisions based on the data provided by environment monitoring systems.

Material Management: Material management systems are designed to manage material and goods in warehouse.

Customer Engagement: Data driven from IoT based customer engagement system is playing an essential role in personalized marketing and promotional activities.

Supply Chain Management: IoT based connected supply chain management system has created its place in FMCG industry as it helps companies to track and manage the delivery fleets.

Asset Tracking and Management: Smart labeled asset management and tracking system is being used in IoT enabled smart stores where it helps store manager to track and manage individual asset in store or warehouse. Leading Service Providers are Frugal Labs, Altizon and PegusApps.

SHARE
Previous article4zerobox Internet Of Things Toolkit
Next articleHow To Overcome Big Data Hiring Challenges
Electronics Media is an Indian electronics and tech journalism platform dedicated for international electronics and tech industry. EM covers news from semiconductor, aerospace, defense-e, IOT, design, tech startup, emerging technology, innovation and business trends worldwide. Follow us on twitter for latest update in industry.