There has been a rapid increase in the maturity level of IoT across the transport and logistics sector since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to research by satellite communications company Inmarsat.

Respondents from the sector reported that Covid-19 had demonstrated the importance of IoT to their businesses, with many accelerating IoT deployments in response to the pandemic.

According to the research, adoption has seen huge progress from 2020 to 2021, with 72 per cent of transport and logistics respondents now having fully deployed at least one IoT project, with 29 per cent having achieved this in the twelve-month period from the second quarter of 2020. Of the remaining 28 per cent of transport and logistics respondents that have not yet adopted IoT in any form, all are either trialling it or plan to deploy or trial at least one IoT project in the next two years.

A further 90 per cent of transport and logistics respondents indicated they have or they intend to accelerate the adoption of IoT in response to challenges related to Covid-19. This figure includes 49 per cent who have already accelerated IoT adoption to respond to Covid-19, versus 28 per cent who will accelerate over the next twelve months and 13 per cent who will accelerate beyond the next twelve months.

The 49 per cent that have already accelerated IoT adoption are less likely to state that Covid-19 has negatively impacted their ability to operate, demonstrating a link between IoT and business continuity during the pandemic. Additionally, over half (52 per cent) of respondents in the sector indicated that business and operational challenges related to Covid-19 have underlined the importance of IoT.

“Despite the considerable challenges to the industry caused by Covid-19, our research shows that IoT data have played a vital role in helping to support organisational efficiencies in under pressure supply chains,” said Steven Tompkins, director of market development at Inmarsat. “The findings show that the transport and logistics sector is embracing digitalisation and accelerating its adoption of IoT and other Industry 4.0 technologies to ensure tomorrow’s logistics networks are both efficient and sustainable.”

Mike Carter, president of Inmarsat Enterprise, added: “The rapid increase in IoT deployments over the last few years highlights the considerable progress global industry has made to overcome some of the world’s most challenging forces. It is particularly interesting, though logical, that Covid-19 has further catalysed businesses to increase their reliance on Industry 4.0 technologies, and particularly the industrial internet of things, in order to maintain business continuity. Those businesses implementing IoT technologies ahead of their competition and across their value chains are those who stand to win in the long term.”

He said that while the findings pointed to IoT driving significant uplifts in efficiency, sustainability and safety across global supply chains, there were areas where organisations could make improvements to draw the optimum benefits from the technology. Connectivity, data management, skills shortages, security threats and investment levels remain problematic as the world’s production and supply chains become increasingly digitalised and intertwined.

The report focuses on measuring IoT maturity of global industry during the Covid-19 pandemic and the rise of digitalised production and supply chains. It analyses a number of themes such as adoption, connectivity, data, skills, security and investment.

The report is based on the interviews of 450 global respondents across the agriculture, electrical utilities, mining, oil, gas, transport and logistics sectors in early 2021, a year after the start of the pandemic. Respondents were drawn from businesses with at least 250 employees from the Americas, Emea and Asia-Pacific who were responsible for delivering IoT initiatives at their respective organisations.