Page 22 - The Fourth Industrial Revolution

One of the main bridges between the physical and digital applications

enabled by the fourth industrial revolution is the internet of things (IoT) –
sometimes called the “internet of all things”. In its simplest form, it can be
described as a relationship between things (products, services, places, etc.)
and people that is made possible by connected technologies and various

platforms.

Sensors and numerous other means of connecting things in the physical

world to virtual networks are proliferating at an astounding pace. Smaller,
cheaper and smarter sensors are being installed in homes, clothes and
accessories, cities, transport and energy networks, as well as manufacturing

processes. Today, there are billions of devices around the world such as
smart phones, tablets and computers that are connected to the internet. Their
numbers are expected to increase dramatically over the next few years, with
estimates ranging from several billions to more than a trillion. This will
radically alter the way in which we manage supply chains by enabling us to

monitor and optimize assets and activities to a very granular level. In the
process, it will have transformative impact across all industries, from
manufacturing to infrastructure to healthcare.

Consider remote monitoring – a widespread application of the IoT. Any
package, pallet or container can now be equipped with a sensor, transmitter

or radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that allows a company to track
where it is as it moves through the supply chain – how it is performing, how
it is being used, and so on. Similarly, customers can continuously track
(practically in real time) the progress of the package or document they are
expecting. For companies that are in the business of operating long and

complex supply chains, this is transformative. In the near future, similar
monitoring systems will also be applied to the movement and tracking of
people.

The digital revolution is creating radically new approaches that
revolutionize the way in which individuals and institutions engage and

collaborate. For example, the blockchain, often described as a “distributed
ledger”, is a secure protocol where a network of computers collectively
verifies a transaction before it can be recorded and approved. The
technology that underpins the blockchain creates trust by enabling people

who do not know each other (and thus have no underlying basis for trust) to
collaborate without having to go through a neutral central authority – i.e. a

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