An Internet of Things (IoT) Solution to Optimise the Livestock Feed Supply Chain

Abstract

The animal feed supply chain to farm, mainly represented by the feed suppliers and livestock farmers, currently faces great inefficiencies due to outdated supply chain management. Stakeholders struggle with the timing and quantity evaluation when restocking their feed bins, significantly affecting cost and labour efficiency. However, the lack of accurate and cost-effective sensors to measure stock levels of solid materials stored in containers and open piles is preventing the implementation of these strategies in a large number of industrial sectors. In these cases, traditional technologies cannot offer a convenient solution due to an inevitable trade-off between accuracy and cost. This work develops an integral feedstock management system to optimise the entire supply chain. A new monitoring system based on an RGB-D sensor is presented as well as the data processing pipeline from raw depth measurements to bin specific daily consumption rates. K EYWORDSInventory management, Vendor Managed Inventories, Internet of Things.