The main drivers behind the adoption of Track & Trace solutions are the prevention of theft or loss, reduction of operational losses and recall incidents, and optimisation of product lifecycle management. Previously, the loss of items (such as reusable assets) was outweighed
by the cost of asset tracking, but as IoT technology is becoming cheaper, and asset losses increase as businesses expand, the utilisation of tracking devices is becoming increasingly viable.
The application group is also witnessing a strong regulatory push for the monitoring of goods whilst in transit, particularly in the pharmaceutical and food industry. These regulations are an effort to reduce spoilage, contamination, and falsified items in these industries.
This report summarises the status and forecasts from the Track & Trace Application Group found in the Transforma Insights Connected Things IoT forecast. The report provides a description of what is covered in the Application Group, as well as top-level figures from the forecast that provide detail on how many connected devices will be installed, the types of communication technology used and the total revenue opportunity. Full details are accessible through the IoT Forecast tool.
This section begins with the drivers behind the adoption of Track & Trace solutions (including reduction of operational losses and recall incidents and regulatory push for the monitoring of goods - especially in the pharmaceutical and food industry).
It then discusses the aspect of regulatory push (particularly focussed by the pharmaceutical and food industries) which is also adding to the increasing adoption of Track & Trace solutions. For instance, enforced since 2017, the FSMA ensures the safety of refrigerated foods in transit, particularly those that present a risk of food poisoning. In a tabular format, it also charts the regulations, date of implementation, type of system, and data carrier of countries and regions, including Argentina, Brazil, China, EU, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the US. Last but not least, it also explains how the introduction of new regulations to ensure ethical and sustainable supply chains is also becoming a driver for companies to embrace Track & Trace solutions.
The “Market development” part has been further categorised into “Key application areas”, “Connectivity technology”, and “Track & Trace and blockchain”.
This section lists the major areas where Track & Trace solutions find the majority of use-cases.
This subsection focuses on the stolen returnable or reusable assets in supply chains and discusses how attaching tracker devices to these assets can give real-time information about the assets, making such trackers highly suitable for industries such as logistics. For instance, leading industry players such as DHL and PostNL are increasingly adopting asset trackers for roller cages in which parcels are transported.
It then talks about how earlier, parcel tracking was mostly done through barcodes and RFID tags, while now, companies offer sensor-based devices, and the features of such devices. For instance, attaching sensors to the packages improves the punctuality, safety, and security of the content, which is especially critical for clients transporting emergency medical supplies or life-saving pharmaceutical drugs.
It then adds another table, which discusses the Track & Trace application deployments for tracking supply chain assets and includes companies like Konvoy, Österreichisch e Post AG, DHL, CouriersPlease, PostNL, Posten, and An Post. It then provides a few examples of relevant IoT deployments in this application, including CouriersPlease deploying Optus LPWA based battery powered asset tracking solution.
This subsection of the report expounds upon the issue of reverse logistics and explains how disposable or single-use tracking devices can be used to deal with this problem. It discusses the benefits of deploying these devices and mentions some of the challenges associated with them, including their cost, environmental hazards (since most of them are fitted with lithium batteries), and the availability of more sophisticated track and trace solutions.
Then it mentions a few examples of relevant IoT deployments in this application, such as Alpine Fresh collaborating with Tive for shipment tracking.
This subsection has been further categorised into “Equipment and tools tracking” and “Personal item tracking”.
This subsection explains how tracking tools and equipment can save companies significant monetary resources since many industries face the issue of loss or theft of such tools and equipment. It also discusses how apart from industries, customers can also benefit from equipment and tools tracking.
This subsection discusses the growing popularity of tracking personal items like keys, wallets, and bags. It mentions the connectivity technology used by these trackers (like cellular (4G) and LPWA) and shows how the Ultra-Wide Bandwidth (UWB) option has also gained momentum. It then discusses how the market for additional services associated with these trackers is also gaining traction, in which advanced functionality services (like SOS alerts) for unsafe situations, roadside assistance, free towing, or crash detection often require a subscription.
It also provides some examples of relevant IoT deployments in this application, including BMW implementing Efor's smart solution at its Aragon dealership in Spain to enhance both indoor and outdoor location tracking of its vehicles.
This subsection first focuses on the issue of the theft of manhole covers in countries like China and India, and discusses how GPS technology has been mostly deployed to track them (especially in China). It then talks about how similar technologies can be used in other sectors such as agriculture or construction to prevent theft or recover stolen assets and discusses a few examples of relevant IoT deployments in this application, like Thingpark deploying sensors for preventing theft of manhole covers.
This section talks about the role of LPWA technology in making track and trace devices cheap (like ensuring additional network coverage beyond the range of cellular networks). It also lists some of the barriers towards the usage of such solutions, like the availability of other low-tech alternative solutions. It then explains why choosing the right technology, based on the asset tracking need is crucial. For instance, Barcodes and RFID are preferred for product tracking due to their cost-effectiveness at scale. For pallet tracking and supply chain equipment tracking, LPWA technologies are favoured for their scalability (better than Wi-Fi and BLE), superior range, and lower power consumption (when compared to cellular solutions).
This section expounds on the convergence of the IoT and blockchain, which ensures that solutions deployed in supply chains are more transparent and trustable. It then talks about the reasons behind the rising demand for supply chain transparency, like consumers being more concerned than ever about the environmental impact of the products they buy. It also lists some of the benefits of this transparency from the companies’ point of view. For instance, the real-time location of products helps companies optimise their process and manage inventory.
Some relevant case studies have also been included in the report. For example, CouriersPlease, a subsidiary of SingPost, deployed Optus’ LPWA-based, battery-powered asset tracking solutions, powered by Thinxtra’s Sigfox Network to help it scale efficiently while reducing instances of lost transportation cages and operating costs.
The key vendors section lists some of the main providers of products and services related to the market such as AT&T, KORE, Roambee, Telia, Thinxtra, T-Mobile US, Verizon, Vodafone, Accent Systems, Digital Matter, Wiser Systems, Tile, and Life360. The report provides profiles of the various vendors including aspects most relevant to this Application Group, such as product offerings, pricing, financial results, and technology.
In the market forecasts section, we provide a summary of the forecasts from the Transforma Insights IoT Forecast Database:
The report charts the growth in the number of track and trace devices which will grow from 564 million in 2023 to 1.3 billion in 2033.
Transforma Insights forecasts are compiled on a country-by-country basis. This report includes a regional summary, showing splits between Australasia, Greater China, North America, Europe, Japan, Latin America, MENA, Russia & Central Asia, South East Asia, South Korea, India & South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Transforma Insights’ IoT forecasts include splits between the various connectivity technologies as follows: 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G mMTC, 5G non-mMTC, LPWA (non-mMTC), Satellite, Short Range, and Other.
This section discusses which technologies will be used in the track and trace application group.
This part of the report discusses the market growth in terms of revenue (module revenue, service wrap revenue, and VAC revenue). Transforma Insights estimates that the revenue in the Track & Trace Application Group will grow at a CAGR of 10%.
