The nio Platform enables industrial companies to connect previously siloed operational processes (e.g., manufacturing, sales, and logistics) into cohesive systems. For example, the integration of a Real-Time Location System (RTLS) at a facility and a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system increases management visibility into the day-to-day operations and enhances the ability to easily and effectively engage with customers.

Distributed solutions

The distributed nature of the nio Platform empowers flexible and scalable solution architecture for any enterprise and market sector. Distributed architectures overcome the limitations of client-server computing and encourage robust systems.

Data acquisition

nio Blocks allow systems to acquire data from any device. Data can be processed locally before it is sent to servers or the cloud for aggregation and advanced processing.

Rapid integration

With the pub/sub model implemented by nio, integrating additional or replacement readers can be done with minimal downtime. Adding a reader to the system only requires simple device configuration and a single parameter change of the nio block.

Operational intelligence

Integrating the sales management systems, CRM, and manufacturing exhibits top-to-bottom operational intelligence--from the corporate headquarters to the production floor.

how to build intelligent, connected operations

Take a look at how we are able to make meaningful connections between the production floor and customers:

WebHandler

The RTLS system is comprised of cell-enabled forklift readers and locally-networked static readers. Product tag movement and real-time GPS coordinates and indoor locations zones are reported to the WebHandler endpoint.

Filter

The RTLS readers report a heartbeat signal once per minute to verify reader connectivity and power. For this service, we filter the heartbeat signals out so only location data, which comes in as it is created, is sent to the database.

Modifier

Prior to adding the tag information to the database, the data format is standardized between the different readers.

RethinkDBUpdate

The RethinkDBUpdate block will update the location and product data in the production database. This product location data can be used for real-time or historical purposes--process analysis, production scheduling, or, as you will see, customer engagement.

Filter

By contextualizing inputs from the floor technicians and the RTLS data, nio is able to determine whether or not the job has been completed. We use this new insight as an automated trigger to contact the customer in the following steps.

OracleDB

Using the customer data from the tag, we run a query against the CRM to retrieve the customer’s contact information.

Modifier

The modifier block constructs a personalized message to alert the customer that their product is ready for pickup.

Choice of communication

The SendEmail block delivers the pickup alert to the customer. Email could be replaced by any form of communication such as SMS, Twitter, Intercom, Slack, or a phone call, based on customer’s preference.

results

Real-time inventory tracking

With the ability to track inventory and store the location of the physical product, each facility has the tools to pinpoint the exact location of each product in real time.

Increased management visibility

Manufacturing, supply chain, marketing, and finance are transformed into data-driven functions. Corporate and operations leaders now have unprecedented visibility into their business units to make smarter business decisions.

Automated customer engagement

The benefits of this solution are not limited to internal operational efficiencies. The same visibility created for management is leveraged for automated customer notifications--helping to create service differentiation and customer satisfaction.

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