Q3.1 Discuss the Internet of Things and how it will affect businesses in South Africa. Identify a sector in the industry and detail how it will be impacted.

 Definition

"The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction."
(TechTarget.com,2016)

IoT impact on the Supply Chain Manamgemt

Research firm Gartner recently released a write-up highlighting what many supply chain professionals have been weighing for some time: the IoT trend is going to impact businesses, and in particular, it will disrupt the way we think about logistics. In the piece, Gartner says a thirty-fold increase in Internet-connected physical devices by the year 2020 will “significantly alter how the supply chain operates.” Specifically, it notes the impact will relate to how supply chain leaders access information, among other things.

ERP and supply chain management (SCM) have gone hand-in-hand for quite some time, but the IoT revolution will allow the industry to enhance those solutions by intelligently connecting people, processes, data, and things via devices and sensors.This deeper intelligence can come to life in many different ways when it comes to supply chain data and intelligence – from automation of the manufacturing process to improved visibility within the warehouse.

Refrences 

Gartner . 2017. Gartner Says 8.4 Billion Connected "Things" Will Be in Use in 2017, Up 31 Percent From 2016. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3598917. [Accessed 6 May 2017]

TechTarget.com. 2016. Internet of Things (IoT) . [ONLINE] Available at: http://internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com/definition/Internet-of-Things-IoT. [Accessed 6 May 2017].