Internet of Things in Intralogistics: Applications and Emerging Research

Managing the performance of intralogistics operations, that is logistics operations within facilities such as manufacturing plants, order fulfillment warehouses, ports and terminals, and retail stores, is critical in fulfilling customer expectations. Traditional decision-making for intralogistics operations is based on historical data, typically collected over long-range intervals with significant processing delays. However, nowadays, Internet of Things (IoT) applications are used to gather detailed real-time data to make dynamic decisions. These new data sources provide challenges and opportunities for operations management. We provide an overview of prominent IoT technologies in four domains: Manufacturing, warehousing, ports and terminals, retail, and other emerging areas. We discuss four prominent research questions (cutting across multiple application domains) that can be addressed using new data sources, along with the methodological approach and managerial insights that may result. In particular, IoT can improve the tracking and tracing of objects, equipment, and humans and provide rapid alerts, allowing managers to make real-time decisions and improve asset use, uptime, and profitability.