Did you know that we already are using IoT technology in our daily life? From home automation, wearable tech, and biometric security systems to smart cars, we access so many interconnected devices, which are called IoT, and without them, life cannot be imagined at all.
So, as IoT technology has swept us off the floor, does it have the same effect on businesses? If yes, then what does it mean for a print business? How can it help an eCommerce print business raise a level up? Let’s get some answers.
IoT Technology in Business
IoT’s entry into the business world has been a game-changer. Many businesses are already on the growth spurt after leveraging the power of IoT. The way IoT has opened up a network of potential possibilities for everyday life and business operations shows how many revolutions it can bring in and around us.
Where running a business requires management of a lot of complex procedures, with IoT technology, everything gets sorted and simplified such that the business gets the following benefits:
● Increased efficiency
● Heavy cost savings
● Reduced expenses
● Increased customer satisfaction
● Better decision-making
● Reduced operating & maintenance costs
● Increased production
● Improving quality through reduced human error
● Increased competitiveness
● Development of new business models & revenue streams
Now, although all businesses benefit the same from IoT technology, industry-wise, there are some specific gains, and those for the print industry we are going to see below.
IoT Technology in Smart Print Business and How It is Changing and Uplifting It?
Thanks to technology, the print industry is undergoing a smart revolution, due to which, instead of dying, the print industry is now the talk of the town. You may think, in the era of digitalization, who and why does someone need printed solutions but guess what? Print is still in business and is a much-needed form of communication that is never going to go off track.
In fact, due to the latest technology like IoT, running a printing business has not only become less messy but is also profitable, which is why many are today investing in it without any doubts in their mind.
With smart printers and multifunction printers (MFPs) equipped with the technology necessary to provide remote management of these devices, smartphones connected with printers enabling mobile printing, and printers with cloud connectivity that access IoT-based sensors to provide focused insight to real-time print usage data, etc., the print process has become streamlined and take up a lot less time than it used to be.
So, here’s how IoT is helping print businesses run smartly, efficiently, and quickly.
1. Better tracking and logistics
One of the biggest hassles is that logistics can be easily handled in the print business with smart tracking via IoT in the print industry. Where keeping track of the printed products, right from the orders received, manufactured, packed, and shipped, to their delivery, every single action can now be tracked and managed due to IoT. If you have not thought of it yet, now is the time, and utilizing a web to print software can make it happen!
With printing software connected to smartphones, logistics and every single process can be easily accessed and controlled in a few actions. In short, using IoT in logistics and transportation improves the efficiency of warehouse logistics, delivery management, and fleet management without wasting unnecessary time and effort behind it.
2. Automated inventory management
Inventory management, done the old-fashioned way with spreadsheets and physical counts, are barbaric. With IoT, you can create a more streamlined supply chain using its real-time data. IoT helps in pinpointing the location of every item in inventory, its delivery status, transit status, expected time of arrival, etc., pretty accurately.
3. Enhanced relationships between printers and end consumers
Due to connected devices, the printers and end consumers need not get in touch with each other for every single need. For example, a consumer can order or re-order a particular product, request for quotation, raise a query, receive solutions, all via common print software, and thus save time, money, and resources without bothering each other and maintaining a long healthy relationship.
4. Personalized information and actions
Personalization is what we all need in everything, and due to IoT, personalization has no limits. In no time, the user gets personalized information, can perform personalized actions as well as get offers tailored to him/her which in turn influence their shopping decision, with utmost safety of the information provided by them.
5. IoT-oriented eCommerce websites
Website development isn’t the same as it was ages ago. Today is the time of online shopping, and in order to appeal to that demand, many print businesses are opting for IoT- oriented eCommerce website, which allows consumers to access their websites from any device and from anywhere.
6. Increased customer satisfaction
The real reward for any business is the satisfaction of the customers, and to achieve that they go to any extent. With IoT technology, the print industry can improve customer satisfaction by predicting problems before they surface in their purchase, suggesting solutions to tackle them, sharing tips to enhance their purchase, etc., which is more than enough for customers to stick to you for future purchases because nothing makes a customer satisfied than knowing that the business is there to help always, anytime.
7. Automated shopping processes
More than we remember things, our smart devices keep things in their memory safe and sound and remind us when required. What we meant to say is that online shopping has become smarter than before due to IoT.
A customer’s shopping pattern is monitored, analyzed, planned, and executed all by our smart devices on their own and hence when a customer comes to shop, the buying process becomes automated and so customers just have to walk in, buy, and walk out with the cost billed to their smartphones.
Things to Keep in Mind Before Applying IoT to Your eCommerce Print Business
IoT technology is seen as a huge expense and unnecessary in the print business, due to which many are still ignoring it. Whereas it has nothing to do with any particular business and anyone, be it a big enterprise or a small startup, IoT benefits all equally; therefore anyone can leverage its power. The only things to be taken into consideration are:
● Your platform must be up-to-the-mark and suited to your needs.
● You must provide proper security of the customer data, which is very much important in IoT technology.
● You must be transparent and keep your customers informed about how you are using their data to give a personalized and smooth shopping experience.
Wrapping Up
IoT technologies and capabilities are evolving at a rapid rate, and keeping up with the competition in your field. Harnessing the power of the latest technologies has become a need of the hour. Think through it if you want to reduce costs, optimize your workflow and improve efficiency and help evolve your print business into a big brand.
