4250 IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL, VOL. 8, NO.

6, MARCH 15, 2021

Applications of the Internet of Things (IoT) in

Smart Logistics: A Comprehensive Survey
Yanxing Song , F. Richard Yu , Fellow, IEEE, Li Zhou , Xi Yang, and Zefang He

Abstract—Logistics is a driver of countries’ and firms’ com- of the manufacturing global value chains and the competitive-
petitiveness and plays a vital role in economic growth. However, ness of a country’s economy. There is hence no doubt that
the current logistics industry still faces high costs and low effi- developing smarter approaches to improve logistics efficiency
ciency. The development of smart logistics brings opportunities to
solve these problems. As one of the important technologies of the and reduce logistics costs, in both academia and industry, is a
modern information and communication technology (ICT), the timely and important topic nowadays.
Internet of Things (IoT) can create oceans of data and explore Recently, the concept of smart logistics has been
the complex relationships between the transactions represented proposed [2]–[4]. Smart logistics is based on the modern
by these data with the help of various mathematical analysis tech- advanced information and communication technology (ICT).
nologies. These features are helpful to promote the development
of smart logistics. In this article, we provide a comprehensive sur- It can realize the modern integrated logistics system in an
vey on the literature involving IoT technologies applied to smart intelligent way by real-time processing and comprehensively
logistics. First, the related work and background knowledge of analyzing the information of all aspects of logistics. Smart
smart logistics are introduced. Then, we highlight the enabling logistics can bring end-to-end visibility, improve the way
technologies for IoT in smart logistics. Furthermore, we review of logistics transportation, warehousing, distribution process-
how IoT technologies are applied in the realm of smart logistics
from the perspectives of logistics transportation, warehousing, ing, distribution, information services, and so on, and can
loading/unloading, carrying, distribution processing, distribution, contribute to time and cost savings. Moreover, it can have
and information processing. Finally, some challenges and future the potential to reduce the environmental pollution caused
directions are discussed. by logistics. However, many challenging issues still need
Index Terms—Internet of Things (IoT), smart logistics, wireless to be addressed in the process of realizing smart logis-
communication. tics. The key issues include how to make it be possible
to realize the full interoperability of interconnected devices,
how to enable the adaptation and autonomy of smart logis-
I. I NTRODUCTION tics system to provide it with an always higher degree of
OGISTICS plays a vital role in economic growth, and it smartness.
L is a driver of countries’ and firms’ competitiveness [1].
However, on account of the complex supply chains and high
As one of the important technologies of ICT, the Internet of
Things (IoT) is recognized as one of the most important areas
labor costs, the costs of logistics are still at a relatively high of future technologies. Especially, with the rapid development
level. For example, as one of the high efficient countries in of wireless communication technologies, IoT is rapidly gaining
terms of logistics, U.S. spent $1.64 trillion on logistics in ground in the scenarios of modern wireless telecommunica-
2018, which is a jump of 11.4% from the prior year and is tions [5]–[7]. The definition of IoT is constantly evolving from
around 8.0% of the U.S.’s $20.5 trillion gross domestic product an original focus on machine-to-machine (M2M) connection
(GDP) according to the Council of Supply Chain Management and applications to the “ubiquitous aggregation” of data. That
Professional’s 30th annual State of Logistics Report. Whereas, is, IoT has created oceans of data, the complex relationships
in the least efficient countries, the logistics costs can be as high between the transactions represented by these data can be
as 25% of GDP. High logistics costs will affect the efficiency explored continuously with the help of various mathematical
analysis technologies.
Manuscript received July 25, 2020; revised September 29, 2020; accepted Unquestionably, IoT will play a key role in the implementa-
October 16, 2020. Date of publication October 28, 2020; date of current
version March 5, 2021. This work was supported in part by the Beijing tion of smart logistics [8], [9], which will change the logistics
Social Science Fund under Grant 18GLA009; in part by the Beijing Great operation mode and the architecture of the logistics system
Wall Scholar under Grant CIT & TCD20170317; in part by the National greatly. However, there still are many issues that must be con-
Nature Science Foundation of China under Grant 61803035; in part by the
Beijing Intelligent Logistics System Collaborative Innovation Center; and in sidered during the process of making IoT-based smart logistics
part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. be a reality, such as applicable scenarios, existing challenges,
(Corresponding authors: F. Richard Yu; Li Zhou.) and future directions. We conduct this work to help those who
Yanxing Song, Li Zhou, Xi Yang, and Zefang He are with the School
of Information, Beijing Wuzi University, Beijing 101149, China (e-mail: are interested in the development and improvement of this
[email protected]). domain. Although some surveys related to smart logistics and
F. Richard Yu is with the Department of Systems and Computer IoT have already been presented in the literature, they mainly
Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada (e-mail:
[email protected]). focus on only one of these two areas or one application aspect
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/JIOT.2020.3034385 of IoT in logistics. The purpose of our work is to offer a
2327-4662 
c 2020 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See https://www.ieee.org/publications/rights/index.html for more information.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
SONG et al.: APPLICATIONS OF IoT IN SMART LOGISTICS: COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY 4251

Fig. 1. Roadmap of IoT in smart logistics.

roadmap that considers the related issues in the conjunction direction. We believe that our discussion and exploration will
of these two areas more comprehensively. allow readers to understand this field more comprehensively,
The main contributions of this article are as follows. and promote the related subsequent studies on this issue.
1) We investigate the state-of-the-art researches on smart The remainder of this article is structured as follows.
logistics and IoT technologies, summarize and analyze Section II presents the related work and highlights our con-
the focuses and inadequacies of different surveys on IoT- tributions in respect of other existing surveys. In Section III,
based smart logistics and discuss their limits. we introduce the background knowledge of smart logistics.
2) We present the background knowledge of smart logis- Section IV introduces the enabling technologies for IoT in
tics, including its concept, evolution, scenarios and basic smart logistics, highlights the latest developments of sev-
functions, and key technologies of smart logistics. eral wireless communication technologies, and compares their
3) We further discuss enabling technologies for IoT properties. Section V reviews the applications of IoT technolo-
in smart logistics, including radio frequency identi- gies in the realm of smart logistics. The detailed description
fication (RFID), wireless sensor networks (WSNs), is provided from the perspectives of smart logistics trans-
wireless communication technologies, and middleware portation, warehousing, loading/unloading, carrying, distribu-
technology. tion processing, distribution, and information processing. In
4) We highlight the roles of the entities involved in smart Section VI, we discuss the existing challenges of IoT in smart
logistics transportation, warehousing, loading/unloading, logistics and address the future research directions of smart
carrying, packaging, distribution processing, distribu- logistics. In the end, we conclude this article in Section VII.
tion, and information processing when integrated with
IoT technologies.
5) We discuss the challenges of IoT-based smart logis- II. R ELATED W ORK
tics in the aspect of data security, data privacy, and There are some surveys about IoT in smart logistics in
resource management. We further present the future recent years. Most of them mainly focus on IoT architec-
work of smart logistics combined with other advanced ture and several application aspects of IoT in smart logistics.
technologies in the related areas and IoT technologies. Issues of wireless communication technologies, smart logis-
A roadmap of our approach is given in Fig. 1, where we tics development, and challenges are only presented as a small
focus on the related work, background knowledge of smart part of these surveys. Unfortunately, as listed in Table I, none
logistics, enabling technologies for IoT in smart logistics, the of the existing surveys has reported the current situation and
applications of IoT in smart logistics, challenges, and future challenges of IoT technologies in smart logistics.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
4252 IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL, VOL. 8, NO. 6, MARCH 15, 2021

TABLE I
C OMPARISON OF R ELATED W ORK ON I OT IN S MART L OGISTICS

Ferreira et al. [10] reviewed the main technologies of IoT Paper [13] introduces the application of IoT in the related
associated with automated support of business processes in fields on the basis of the theories of IoT, analyzes the effect
logistics. They introduce smart items, including RFID and of IoT on logistics information in logistics service supply
WSN. Then, they focus on IoT-based support of design and chain (LSSC), builds the architecture of LSSC based on IoT,
runtime changes considering dynamic changes in business and forecasts the application prospect. This survey details
processes. In this survey, IoT is detailed only from smart the effect of IoT on the logistics information issue, includ-
logistics information processing (e.g., business processes), and ing logistics/service flow, information flow, and fund flow, but
wireless communication technologies, other relevant applica- no particular attention is paid to applications of IoT in other
tions, challenges, and future directions of IoT in smart logistics aspects of smart logistics and challenges.
are neglected. Lu and Teng [15] analyzed the characteristics of cloud
Prasse et al. [12] discussed the new requirements and oppor- computing and IoT, providing solutions based on cloud com-
tunities for cyber–physical logistics systems (CPLSs) that are puting and IoT to realize logistics information interchange,
based on IoT technologies. In this article, they show the con- data exchange. Unfortunately, the authors only focus on the
cept of CPLS and list the basic technological layers and use a analysis and applications of the key technologies of IoT,
distribution center as a real-world scenario to illustrate the neglecting many other important key technologies of IoT and
development of CPLS. Although the survey illustrates the their impact on smart logistics, such as RFID, WSN, and
detailed solutions of IoT in smart logistics combining with artificial intelligence (AI).
practical application scenarios, it pays no particular attention Lee and Lee [16] presented five IoT technologies (RFID,
to challenges of IoT in smart logistics and the impact of new WSNN, cloud computing, etc.) that are essential in the deploy-
key technologies on smart logistics. ment of successful IoT-based products and services. At the
Trappey et al. [14] surveyed the literature related to same time, the technical and managerial challenges are ana-
the technologies of IoT that include RFID, WSN, and lyzed. In this article, they introduce IoT-related technologies
cloud computing. The construction and the applications of more comprehensively and discuss the challenges of IoT, but
some key technologies of IoT in smart logistics are ana- they do not grant adequate attention to wireless communica-
lyzed by the patent roadmap visualization approach. The tion technologies and the applications of IoT in logistics that
authors do not discuss challenge issues and their discus- are only been mentioned briefly.
sions of future research directions are limited to superficial In [17], some information processing technologies are used
questions. to enhance the design and evaluation of city logistics schemes.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
SONG et al.: APPLICATIONS OF IoT IN SMART LOGISTICS: COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY 4253

offering a classic survey, our intent is to organize the aspects

of smart logistics systematically and present a roadmap for
applications, challenges, and the future of IoT technologies in
these aspects. Compared to other surveys, our version is more
convenient and clear for the readers to understand.

III. BACKGROUND K NOWLEDGE OF S MART L OGISTICS

Smart logistics is an inevitable trend in the development of
modern logistics, the research topic of which has attracted a
Fig. 2. Evolution of logistics. lot of attention from academia and industry. In this section,
we introduce the knowledge about smart logistics briefly from
definition, evolution, basic functions, and solutions.
Although this article details the applications of information
processing technologies and analyzes the effect of the new A. Concept
advanced manufacturing technologies on city logistics, it
introduces insufficient detail about the application of new Since “smart logistics” is proposed, there is no consen-
technologies in all aspects of logistics. sus on the concept of it has been reached in academia.
Paper [23] introduces the application of IoT in smart logis- Fleisch et al. [24] proposed the concept of smart products
tics in an aspect of logistics distribution and information and smart services at first, which means that humans can del-
processing, analyzing the challenges and the future of IoT- egate some of their control activities to smart products and
based smart logistics. Although the future of IoT-based smart smart services. Smart logistics is defined by Uckelmann [25]
logistics is discussed, the authors only focus on the impact of based on the concept of smart products and smart services.
policy aspects. That means, they do not pay more attention to Uckelmann elaborates on characteristics of smart logistics,
the impact of the advanced technologies. which is used to define smart logistics as the given crite-
Barreto et al. [11] presented new challenges in the logistics ria. Barretoa et al. [11] defined smart logistics as a logistics
domain with the emergence of the Industry IoT (IIoT) and system, which can enhance flexibility, the adjustment to the
address some reflections regarding the most important dimen- market changes, and will make the company be closer to the
sions required for full implementation of the Logistics 4.0 customer needs. Cullity [26] presented that the understanding
paradigm. In this article, they propose the concept of smart of logistics as the integrated planning, control, realization, and
logistics, introduce the technological applications in the aspect monitoring of all internal and network-wide material, part, and
of resource planning, warehouse management, transportation, product flows along the complete value-added chain.
and information security. Then, they discuss the future direc- With the advanced technologies development, the logistic
tion. Although this article mentions the challenges of IoT in performance is becoming more and more dependent on tech-
smart logistics, it does not conduct in-depth analysis. nological innovation, the definition of smart logistics has also
There are other surveys that mainly aim to present the IoT developed accordingly. As mentioned in [27], smart logis-
paradigm, such as articles [18]–[22]. In these surveys, dif- tics is often used to refer to different logistics operations
ferent applications of IoT in various fields are introduced, (inventory, transport, order management, etc.) that are planned,
such as domains of transportation, logistics, smart city. Some managed, or controlled in a more intelligent way compared to
of those papers discuss the challenges of IoT, including conventional solutions.
security and privacy. Some discuss the future directions of However, no matter how the researchers define the con-
IoT combining other advanced technologies. For example, cept of smart logistics, we can find that they have in common
Song et al. [18] provided the basics and development of smart that smart logistics combines the advanced information tech-
cities, focused on the foundations and principles needed for nologies and communication technologies, it can integrate
advancing the science, engineering, and technology of smart and optimize the logistics system by comprehensive analysis,
cities, including IoT, and covered applications of smart cities timely processing, and self-adjustment to make the logistics
as they relate to smart transportation/connected vehicle (CV) system smarter.
and intelligent transportation systems (ITSs). However, the
main limitations of the work are the lack of comprehensive B. Evolution
knowledge about smart logistics and wireless communication The development of logistics is closely related to the
technologies, especially the applications of IoT technologies advancement of technology. We summarize the evolution of
in smart logistics are only listed simply. logistics from the perspective of technological development.
It is clear that all of the aforementioned articles either do Fig. 2 shows the evolution of logistics. The development of
not comprehensively introduce smart logistics, IoT technol- modern logistics has gone through four stages that are logis-
ogy, wireless communication technology in IoT, applications tics mechanization, logistics automation, logistics integration,
of IoT, challenges, and the future of IoT-based smart logistics and logistics intelligence.
combining with new advanced technologies or are limited to a Logistics mechanization can be traced back to the 1920s
part of these issues. In our work, we focus on IoT-based smart when the first truck tractor that was used to carry the cargo
logistics and consider the above-mentioned areas. More than was built by the CLARK Equipment Company in 1917 [28].

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
4254 IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL, VOL. 8, NO. 6, MARCH 15, 2021

smart production-logistics systems to implement intelligent

modeling of key manufacturing resources and investigate self-
organizing configuration mechanisms. Paper [37] focuses on
the smart connected logistic system, which utilizes all the
most advanced principles, such as mobile robotic systems
(MRSs), mobile automated platforms, multiagent cloud-based
control, and various concepts of IoT. Shin et al. [38] proposed
a robot control system that can sort parcels automatically
with a context-aware mechanism for generating information
to control the movement of a robot. The study [39] develops
an efficient target-oriented smart integrated multiple tracking
system that looks up object location based on real-time and
guarantees the accuracy and reliability of logistics location and
resource management by combining the function of multiple
tracking systems.

C. Scenarios and Basic Functions

Logistics scenarios and the basic functions of smart logis-
tics are shown in Fig. 3. There are eight scenarios in smart
logistics, including logistics transportation, warehousing, load-
Fig. 3. Smart logistics scenarios, basic functions, and key technologies. ing/unloading, carrying, packaging, distribution processing,
distribution, and information processing.
1) Transportation: Logistics transportation is shipping
At the first stage, due to the development of the internal com- items from one place to another place using facilities
bustion engine, mechanical manufacturing, etc., the manpower and tools. It is the most important economic activity
in logistics activities are replaced by mechanical equipment. among the components of logistics systems [40].
With the emergence of sensors, bar code, RFID technol- 2) Warehousing: Logistics warehousing is activities that
ogy, etc., modern logistics has evolved from mechanization control, classify, and manage the inventory, which is
to automation gradually from the 1960s. Representative types a significant, dynamic element in the logistics supply
of equipment are the automated guided vehicle (AGV) and the chain [41].
automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) and so on. 3) Loading/Unloading: It means loading/unloading items
Bozer and Srinivasan [29] introduced an AGV system that is at the designated location by human or mechanical
decomposed into nonoverlapping, single-vehicle loops oper- means [42].
ating in tandem. Hackman et al. [30] developed a heuristic 4) Carrying: It is the main logistics operation for moving
procedure to solve the problem that the capacity of the AS/RS items horizontally in the same place.
was insufficient to store all items. During the 1990s–2000s, 5) Packaging: It is to protect products during distribution,
logistics evolved from automation to synergy with the devel- to facilitate storage and transportation. It is one of the
opment of RFID, network, and communication technology. most important areas of logistics [43].
Gustin et al. [31] analyzed the effects of information avail- 6) Distribution Processing: It means simple operations,
ability on logistics integration. Alancioni et al. [32] discussed such as packaging, division, metering, sorting, labeling,
how the Internet is being used in managing the major com- etc., according to the needs of the production place to
ponents of supply chains, including transportation, purchasing, the use place.
customer service, and so on. Paper [33] studies the relationship 7) Distribution: It is a logistics method that delivers the
between information, organizational structure, and the suc- goods to the consignee according to the custom’s order
cessful implementation of the integrated distribution concept. requirements. A comprehensive and perfect logistics
Leung et al. [34] presented a framework for an e-commerce distribution solution has become an important factor
community network, which extends the traditional business- affecting logistics costs [44].
to-business e-commerce to e-commerce at the industry level 8) Information Processing: The dynamic information on
and realizes the online integration of business transactions. In production, markets, costs, etc., is collected and pro-
the 21st century, the rapid development of technologies, for cessed to make logistics-related forecasts and plans,
example, IoT, AI, and big data, has promoted the development which enable logistics activities to be carried out more
of smart logistics. Paper [35] investigates a dynamic produc- efficiently and smoothly [45].
tion logistics synchronization system, which integrates cloud The basic functions of smart logistics include sensing,
manufacturing and IoT infrastructures systematically to enable integration, intelligent analysis, optimization decision, system
a smart production logistics services control mechanism with support, and timely feedback for each logistics scenario.
multilevel dynamic adaptability. Zhang et al. [36] proposed 1) Sensing: It is used to realize smart perception. It uses
a framework depicting the mechanism and methodology of a variety of advanced technologies to collect a large

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
SONG et al.: APPLICATIONS OF IoT IN SMART LOGISTICS: COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY 4255

amount of accurate information on transportation, ware- customer orientation in intelligent logistics. Galkin et al. [47]
housing, loading and unloading, information services, examined the influence of consumers on the efficiency of func-
and other aspects. tioning of the logistics system and propose models that allow
2) Integration: It is to achieve data connectivity, open- determining the interaction effects of the logistics system and
ness, and dynamics by the standardization of data and consumer.
processes. The collected information is transmitted to These studies discuss smart logistics solutions from a macro
the data center through the network for data archiving perspective. There are many studies that propose specific logis-
to establish a powerful database. tics solutions for specific logistics application scenarios, which
3) Intelligent Analysis: It is to analyze logistics prob- we will describe in detail in Section IV.
lems using intelligent simulator models and algorithms.
During the operation, the logistics system can call the IV. K EY T ECHNOLOGIES IN S MART L OGISTICS
original experience data to do analyze. Then, combining
As shown in Fig. 3, it needs four key technologies as sup-
the newly collected data to find loopholes or weak links
port to realize smart logistics. That is, IoT, cloud computing,
in the logistics activities.
big data, and AI. To provide a picture of the role they will
4) Optimization Decision: It is the smart decision function.
likely play in smart logistics, we introduce these technologies
The smart logistics system can propose the most reason-
in this section. Furthermore, we highlight IoT and several key
able and effective solutions by the predictive analysis.
enabling technologies of it.
Then, it makes more accurate and scientific decisions
according to different situations.
5) System Support: Smart logistics is not independent of A. IoT
each scenario. Each scenario can be connected with each IoT is the basis of the development of smart logistics. The
other to share data and optimize resource allocation, basic idea of IoT [48], [49] is that various objects are able
which provides the most powerful system support for to interact with each other and cooperate with their neigh-
all scenarios of logistics. bors to reach the main goal of making a computer sense of
6) Automatic Correction: Based on the previous functions, information without the aid of human intervention [8], [50]
the smart logistics system can operate following the most through unique addressing schemes. Using RFID tags, sen-
effective solution. When some problems are found, they sors, actuators, mobile phones, etc., the smart logistics system
will be fixed automatically. can obtain the information of cargoes, logistics vehicles,
7) Timely Feedback: The smart logistics system is a real- transportation routes, warehousing, etc., anytime and any-
time update system. Feedback is an essential part of where, and can achieve end-to-end information interconnection
implementing system correction and system improve- by network communication technologies. Based on the IoT
ment, which provides a strong guarantee for solving the platform, the smart logistics system can analyze and pro-
system problems in time. cess massive amounts of logistics data and information, and
make a decision to realize smart control of objects combin-
ing with cloud computing, big data, AI, and other advanced
D. Solutions technologies.
Many researchers discuss smart logistics solutions from The IoT architecture mainly consists of four layers, that is,
the perspective of technology development. For example, sensing layer, network layer, processing layer, and application
Hofmann and Rüsch [46] analyzed the opportunities of layer [51], as shown in Fig. 4. The sensing layer is used to
Industry 4.0 in the context of logistics management. They collect and sense various physical parameters, logos, audio,
present a logistics-oriented Industry 4.0 application model as video, and other data in the physical world by RFID, camera,
well as the core components of Industry 4.0 and illustrated 2-D code, and other advanced sensors. The network layer con-
potential implications of industry 4.0 on different logistics sists of data communication and networking infrastructures for
scenarios. Witkowski [9] discusses some “smart” solutions delivering data gathered from devices at the sensing layer to
in logistics and supply chain management according to new higher layers. The processing layer provides a facility for data
technology development of IoT, big data, and Industry 4.0. access, storage, and processing combining with hardware plat-
Barretoa et al. [11] illustrated the application of the advanced forms and intelligent algorithms, such as the cloud platform,
technologies in the Industry 4.0 era on smart logistics from big data technology, and AI. The application layer provides
the aspects of warehousing, intelligent transportation, and access services for IoT users.
information security. Paper [17] describes some applications In terms of enabling technology of IoT, it needs a lot of
of big data systems and decision support systems that can be technologies, including sensor technology, wireless network,
used to enhance the design and evaluation of city logistics communication technology, and so on. In this part, we focus
schemes. on several enabling technologies that are widely used for the
Some researchers discuss the impact of consumer behav- deployment of successful IoT-based products and services in
ior on smart logistics solutions and propose solutions smart logistics.
combining with technology development. For example, 1) RFID: RFID plays a very important role in smart logis-
McFarlane et al. [27] improved the role of the customer tics to identify and capture the data [52], [53] and it is widely
in logistics operations and propose a conceptual model for used in various logistics scenarios.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
4256 IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL, VOL. 8, NO. 6, MARCH 15, 2021

Fig. 4. Architecture of IoT.

Fig. 5. Architecture of WSN.

It uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and

track tags attached to objects. Unlike a bar-code, RFID does
not need to be within the line of sight of the reader, so it
enables identification from a distance. RFID tags support a
larger set of unique IDs than bar codes and can incorporate
additional data, such as manufacturer, product type, and even
measure environmental factors (e.g., temperature) [53].
There are four types of RFID tags according to different
frequency ranges, including low-frequency (LF) tags, high-
frequency (HF) tags, ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) tags, and
ultrawideband (UWB) tags for different application objects in
smart logistics (As shown in Table II). For example, the typi-
cal applications for LF RFID tags are wares identification and
data collection that can be widely used in smart warehousing,
smart distribution, and smart packaging [54]–[56]. HF tags can
be easily formed into a card shape and are used in electronic
tickets, electronic ID cards, etc. [57], so they are common
in smart warehousing. UHF tags are mainly used for smart
transportation [58], [59], and UWB tags can achieve precise
positioning within half a meter, which facilitates the manage-
ment of valuable instruments and personnel management in Fig. 6. Network topologies of WSN. (a) Planar network structure.
smart logistics [52], [60]. (b) Hierarchical network structure. (c) Hybrid network structure. (d) Mesh
network structure.
2) WSN: Due to a large number of terminal sensor nodes in
application scenarios of smart logistics, it is very important to
organize and combine these terminal nodes freely. Therefore, network structure, and mesh network structure (Fig. 6). Planar
WSN has been gained considerable popularity due to their network structure [Fig. 6(a)] is the simplest topology in WSN,
flexibility in solving problems in smart logistics, such as mon- but its networking algorithm is complex due to the used
itoring of transport vehicle status in smart transportation, and self-organizing collaborative algorithm. It is usually used in
item status monitoring in smart warehousing. application scenarios with a few network nodes in smart logis-
WSN [63], [64] refers to a self-organizing network, which is tics. The hierarchical network structure [Fig. 6(b)] and hybrid
built of tens to thousands of spatially dispersed and dedicated network structure [Fig. 6(c)] have good expansibility and are
“sensor nodes” for monitoring, recording, and organizing the convenient for centralized management, such as inventory, in
acquisition data at a central location [65] by wireless connec- and out warehouse management, distribution management, etc.
tivity and spontaneous formation of networks. Fig. 5 shows The mesh network structure [Fig. 6(d)] is a regular distribution
the architecture of WSN. network. The biggest advantage of it is that all nodes have the
There are many kinds of network topologies of WSN to same computing and communication functions, and there are
organize wireless sensor nodes. According to the node function many routing paths between nodes. Therefore, it has strong
and the layer of structure, WSN can be divided into a pla- fault tolerance and robustness for single point or single link
nar network structure, hierarchical network structure, hybrid fault, which makes it is a good structure model for building

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
SONG et al.: APPLICATIONS OF IoT IN SMART LOGISTICS: COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY 4257

TABLE II
RFID W ITH D IFFERENT F REQUENCY BANDS IN S MART L OGISTICS [61], [62]

TABLE III
C OMPARISON OF S HORT-R ANGE W IRELESS C OMMUNICATION T ECHNOLOGIES IN I OT

large-scale WSN. Therefore, this structure is used in vehicle Bluetooth [66]–[68], wireless fidelity (WiFi) [69]–[71],
safety monitoring of smart logistics transportation. near field communication (NFC) NFC [72]–[74], and
3) Wireless Communication Technologies: Wireless com- ZigBee [75]–[77] are widely used in the field of smart
munication technologies are crucial technologies to the field logistics. (Table III). In smart logistics, the correspond-
of the network used to collect all sensor node information ing technologies are selected according to the require-
and send to the base station and the designated client. ments of the application scenario. For example, because
These technologies enable devices to communicate with oth- of the quick scan, small size, and diverse shape of RFID,
ers without being physically connected. With the growth of it is widely used in various scenarios of smart logistics.
radio-frequency (RF) technology, cellular network, and other The Bluetooth technology is often used in product sort-
advanced technologies, wireless communication technologies ing in smart distribution processing and driver behavior
keep in stride with an enormous demand for IoT applications monitoring in smart transportation because of its anti-
in smart logistics. interference and lower power consumption. NFC can
1) Short-Range Wireless Communication Technologies: realize various functions, such as electronic payment of
Short-range wireless communication technologies are vehicles in smart transportation, identity authentication
very important in smart logistics, such as smart ware- in smart information processing, and anti-counterfeiting
housing, smart carrying, smart package, smart distribu- in the smart package, etc. For Wi-Fi, it works best for
tion processing, etc. In these scenarios, it is necessary line-of-sight use, so it is often used in smart warehous-
to transmit the signals of product status or environment ing, smart carrying, smart package, etc. Although the
from a few centimeters to several meters. A number data rate of ZigBee is not too high, it has a high num-
of different wireless technologies have been developed ber of device connectivity that is up to 65 536 that is
for very short distance. In addition to the RFID suitable for warehousing environment data collection,
technology described above, the technologies, including product status information collection, etc.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
4258 IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL, VOL. 8, NO. 6, MARCH 15, 2021

Fig. 8. Comparison of different wireless communication technologies for

IoT in smart logistics.

expected to grow to 20 Gb/s and the latency of it is

only 1ms. At the same time, 5G can support devices
approximately 1000 times more than 4G in terms of
Fig. 7. Enhancements of key capabilities from IMT-Advanced to IMT- the connected equipment density per square kilometer.
2020 [87]. Fig. 7 shows the enhancements of key capabilities from
4G to 5G. These performances will greatly promote the
2) Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN): In IoT sce- applications of 5G in the scenarios, including enhanced
narios of smart logistics, in addition to short-distance mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type of
communication technologies, long-distance communica- communication (mMTC), and ultrareliable and low
tion technologies are required for wide-range and long- latency communications (uRLLCs).
distance connection. At present, the wide-area networks To summarize, each of the technologies mentioned above
have been built to cover the whole world. However, has its own technical advantages and characteristics. Fig. 8
although the wide-area networks cover a wide range, shows the comparison of various technologies in terms of
IoT devices based on these communication technolo- coverage range, data rate, price, etc. In practical applica-
gies have the disadvantage of high power consump- tions, appropriate technologies should be selected according
tion. In order to meet the connection requirements of to specific application requirements.
long distance and low power, LPWAN technologies 4) Middleware: In IoT applications, it is very necessary
are designed, which promote the application of IoT to have a relatively stable high-level and powerful tool for
in smart logistics. In smart logistics scenarios, narrow- system integration. Middleware is an independent system soft-
band IoT (NB-IoT) [78], LTE-M, LoRaWAN [79], [80], ware or service program, which can provide a standard data
Sigfox [81], [82], and Weightless [83], [84] are getting interface to connect the hardware of IoT application and pro-
more and more attention. The main advantages that all vide data and other resources for system software. Therefore,
LPWAN technologies claim to own are: a) high scal- it plays an increasingly important role in the applications of
ability and coverage range; b) low edge-node energy IoT. It hides the details of different technologies, which is
consumption; c) low costs; and d) convenient roaming fundamental to free IoT developers from software services
network point. Although the data rate of LPWAN tech- that are not directly relevant to the specific IoT applica-
nologies is not high, more than 60% of the global IoT tion [88], [89]. Most middleware architectures for IoT follow
market belongs to low-speed business according to the a service-oriented approach in order to support an unknown
data from McKinsey & Company. Therefore, LPWAN and dynamic network topology, which means it encapsulates
technologies can meet the connection requirements of different operating systems to provide an API interface and
low data exchange frequency, low connection costs, and provides a unified standard interface for the application. In
a suitable complex environment of IoT in smart logistics. addition, middleware can also provide standard and unified
3) Mobile Network: In addition to the above public services to application softwares, so as to shorten the
technologies, in long-distance communication, 4G(IMT- development time and improve the quality of application soft-
Advanced)/5G(IMT-2020) [85], [86] also play an wares. Typical middleware in IoT is RFID middleware, sensor
important role in high-speed services of IoT in smart network gateway/sensor network node/sensor network secu-
logistics. Especially with the development of 5G, will rity middleware, and another embedded middleware, M2M
further promote the development of smart logistics middleware.
transportation, smart carrying, smart distribution, and In recent years, the scale of IoT terminal equipment in smart
so on. Compared with 4G, 5G is a heterogeneous logistics is increasing and the application software is more and
structure, including various frequency bands and com- more diverse. The connotation of smart logistics information
munication technologies. The peak data rate of 5G is processing is the continuous expansion of various existing

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
SONG et al.: APPLICATIONS OF IoT IN SMART LOGISTICS: COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY 4259

applications and the continuous increase of new application

forms. For example, in logistics scheduling, it is necessary
to integrate information from transportation vehicles, product
inventory, distribution personnel, users, and so on. It forces
the information processing platform to solve more and more
demands, especially the requirements for distributed network
applications, such as spanning different hardware platforms,
different network environments, the interoperability between
different database systems, etc. These requirements can not be
met only rely on the traditional system software or Web tool
software, therefore, the importance of middleware technology
has been increasingly emphasized.

B. Cloud Computing
Logistics system integration is to solve the problem of
“information isolated island” in the process of the supply
chain. However, the current logistics system is a dynamic,
heterogeneous, distributed, and large system. It has the disad-
vantages of poor dynamic, slow response, low transmissibility,
and high maintenance and expansion costs. With the con-
tinuous development of smart logistics technology, it is the
consensus of the industry to integrate and share the logistics
information resources of large systems and provide all kinds Fig. 9. Logistics cloud service mode.
of on-demand logistics services for various users in the way
of “cloud computing.”
In short, the application of cloud computing in smart logis-
Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, con-
tics will be more conducive to the integration and sharing of
venient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of config-
resources, improve the efficiency of logistics operation and ser-
urable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage,
vice quality, and solve the problems of unreasonable logistics
applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and
layout.
released with minimal management effort or service provider
interaction [90]. The main objective of cloud computing is to
use huge computing and storage resources under concentrated C. Big Data
management. Its essential characteristics are as follows: on- As mentioned above, IoT technology can realize the
demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, interconnection of things in the logistics system and obtain
rapid elasticity, and measured service. Due to its charac- information from the connected nodes. Cloud computing
teristics, cloud computing transparently shares among users provides a high-quality technology platform for resource
scalable elastic resources over a limitless network, which integration. While big data technology can mine new
makes it more like the human brain and the nerve center of a logistics business value through large-scale logistics data
smart logistics system. collected by IoT combining with cloud computing tech-
At present, most of the servers of IoT are deployed in nology, which will promote the development of smart
the cloud, providing various services at the application layer logistics.
through cloud computing. Many researchers have applied Big data is a technology that treats ways to analyze, sys-
cloud computing to smart logistics. Nowicka [91] presents that tematically extract information from large data sets. These data
smart city logistics on the cloud computing model is the con- sets are too large or complex to be dealt with by traditional
cept of citizens’ demand-driven flexible logistics infrastructure data-processing application software [95], [96]. Current usage
performance for the sustainable city of the future which is of the term big data tends to refer to the use of predictive
available for any city government interested in sustainable analysis, user behavior analysis, or certain other advanced data
development. Paper [15] introduces a logistics operation based analysis methods that extract value from data, and seldom to
on cloud computing and IoT, which establishes a logistics a particular size of data set. Big data can be described by the
information interchange, data exchange to meet the busi- following characteristics: the big quantity of generated and
ness requirements of the various types of logistics public stored data, the variety of type and nature of the data, real-
information platform. Arne et al. [92] used cloud computing time data processing velocity, and the high data quality and
as a hardware platform abstraction for autonomous logistics value [97]–[99].
in order to realize the scalability of the hardware platform. The significance of big data technology is not to hold huge
Paper [93] develops and tests a conceptual model for empir- data, but to extract effective information contained in the data
ically examining the green and costs benefits of integration by specialized data processing. It is the basis for the awareness
between cloud service providers and small and medium-sized of smart logistics.
logistics service providers in the Chinese context. Fig. 9 shows There are many studies that apply big data technology to
a logistics cloud service mode [94]. smart logistics. For example, Govindan et al. [100] presented

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
4260 IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL, VOL. 8, NO. 6, MARCH 15, 2021

system based on real-time big data analysis, which

allows following the movement of products, manage
inventories, and optimize stock bearings for materi-
als destined for the production and/or distribution.
Wang et al. [104] addressed the problem of locating
distribution centers in a single-echelon, capacitated dis-
tribution network, and presented a distribution network
design model with big data.
4) Supply Chain Risk Prediction: By collecting and analyz-
ing the abnormal data in the supply chain, it can forecast
the potential risks, such as trade risks and goods dam-
age caused by force majeure. For example, in [105], an
environmentally sustainable procurement and logistics
model is proposed for a supply chain, which provides
an optimal sustainable procurement and transportation
decision based on big data.

Fig. 10. Fusion scenarios of AI technology in smart logistics. D. AI

AI is an important technology that has a system’s ability
to correctly interpret external data, to learn from such data,
and analyzed a variety of opportunities to improve big data and to use those learning to achieve specific goals and tasks
analysis and applications for logistics and supply chain man- through flexible adaptation [106]. There are three major soft-
agement. In [101], the authors analyze big data technology in computing paradigms in AI technology [107], that is, artificial
different aspects, which help businesses in the areas of logis- neural networks (ANNs) [108]–[110], fuzzy logic [111]–[113],
tics and supply chain. Overall, big data technology has four and evolutionary computation [114], [115]. The application
logistics application scenarios. of AI technology will accelerate the development of smart
1) Consumption Demand Forecasting: It can predict the logistics, so it has attracted the attention of researchers as a
demand of consumers by collecting and analyzing big key technology for smart logistics. Fig. 10 shows the fusion
data, including consumers’ consumption characteristics, scenarios of AI technology in smart logistics.
sales records, purchase platform, and so on, which helps 1) Operation Management: With AI technology, the oper-
to arrange warehousing and transportation in advance. ation management center will have the ability of self-
For example, Amazon analysis customer needs accu- learning and self-adaptive through machine learning, and
rately based on big data analysis technology. Through can make an independent decision after perceiving busi-
the customer browsing history recorded by the system, ness conditions. For example, using machine learning,
the background will put the inventory of customers’ the logistics scheduling system can learn the com-
interest in the nearest operation center, so as to facil- mand and scheduling experience and gradually realize
itate customers to place orders. At present, in terms of auxiliary and automatic decision making.
the prediction accuracy, there is still a lot of room to 2) Warehouse Management: In the future, the unmanned
improve, it needs to expand the amount of data and warehouse will be realized by combining AI technol-
optimize the algorithm. ogy with IoT, big data, cloud computing, etc. It can
2) Equipment Maintenance Prediction: Through the real- classify and manage items by an intelligent algorithm.
time acquisition of equipment operation status from the Paper [116] concentrates on automated storage and
IoT system and big data analysis to achieve premainte- retrieval using IoT, AI, and cloud computing to have
nance, so as to increase the service life of the equipment. any time access to the stock available in the warehouse.
Ayed et al. [102] proposed a novel approach to detect 3) Unmanned Distribution: AI is beneficial for transporta-
and recognize containers code based on a Hadoop big tion. Through the AI algorithm, the unmanned distribu-
data analytics system. Volvo’s logistics vehicles are tion robot can realize path planning, intelligent obstacle
equipped with monitoring chips to carry out mainte- avoidance, and so on, which will change the distribution
nance in advance through big data analysis. With the mode and help to reduce logistics costs.
application of robots more and more widely in smart 4) Sorting: Through the AI system, different cameras and
warehousing, smart transportation, smart distribution, sensors can capture real-time data of millions of goods,
etc., this will be an important application of big data and then identify items through brand logos, labels, and
in the future. 3-D shapes. It means the sorting system no longer needs
3) Distribution Network and Route Planning: Using his- transport machines, scanning equipment, manual pro-
torical data, timeliness, coverage, and so on to cessing equipment, and staff to sort one by one, which
build an analysis model to optimize the layout of will reduce cost greatly.
warehousing, transportation, and distribution network. 5) Packing: By calculating the volume data and packing
Karim et al. [103] proposed a logistics trajectories box size of products using the AI algorithm, the packing

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
SONG et al.: APPLICATIONS OF IoT IN SMART LOGISTICS: COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY 4261

system can intelligently calculate and recommend pack- using RFID technology is proposed, which combines with
ing material and packing sorting, so as to arrange the GPS and GSM technology. In this project, an RFID transpon-
box type and commodity placement scheme reasonably. der is designed and a read range of approximately 31cm
6) Site Selection: The location of warehousing and dis- is obtained in the LF communication range (125–134 kHz).
tribution center directly affects the logistics efficiency. Using this system, autonomous vehicle tracking can be facil-
AI algorithm can give a location model that is close itated with the use of RFID technology where GPS signals
to the optimal solution by fully learning and optimizing are nonexistent. Feng et al. [119] proposed an architecture
according to various constraints of the real environment, of the vehicle traffic congestion controlling and monitoring
such as the geographical location of customers, sup- system in IoT. It uses Bluetooth technology to transmit the
pliers and manufacturers, transportation economy, labor current status and density of traffic and gets the dynamic traffic
availability, construction cost, taxation system, etc. conditions by effective data analysis. In [120], the innovation
7) Customer Service: In smart logistics, AI-based speech path of logistics formats based on 5G is proposed. This article
recognition has become one of the important appli- establishes an intelligent logistics traceability system through
cations. The customer service agent based on speech the integration of 5G, IoT, and AI, which realizes fully auto-
recognition technology can realize the visualization and mated transportation and accelerates the development of smart
intelligent analysis of the customer’s voice, so as to logistics.
assist the manual agent to quickly search and match the 2) Cargo Status Monitoring: By cargo monitoring, the
key knowledge points. It will improve work efficiency location and the status of cargo can be obtained in real time.
and service quality. In addition, consumer behavior An intelligent cargo tracking system based on IoT is
prediction is also an important part of AI customer proposed in [121]. This cargo tracking system uses RFID,
service. GIS, 3G communication, middleware technology, and AI tech-
In brief, AI will be applied to logistics transportation, ware- nology. It realizes cargo tracking through real-time signal
housing, distribution, management, and so on to achieve an acquisition, data communication, and information processing.
efficient logistics system. Although AI technology is still not In [122], dynamic road transport of the dangerous goods mon-
fully mature at present, the development of smart logistics can- itoring system is proposed, which is based on IoT and RFID
not be without it. It will lead the future development direction technology. This system cooperates with the highway infras-
of smart logistics. tructure and information sharing system databases by cellular
communication and gets more information about dangerous
V. A PPLICATIONS OF I OT IN S MART L OGISTICS goods by information processing. An intelligent cargo solution
EURIDICE is presented in [123]. The solution adopts an IoT
In this section, we focus on the applications of IoT tech-
approach in distributing intelligence on mobile and distributed
nologies in smart logistics from the perspective of wireless
devices. It allows them to communicate with each other as well
communication.
as with a central platform. In this manner, EURIDICE provides
a number of services, including cargo localization, rerouting,
A. Smart Logistics Transportation and monitoring of cargo conditions, to be performed without
In the smart logistics transportation, IoT technologies are human intervention.
often used to complete the real-time monitoring of vehicles, 3) Driver Monitoring: In terms of driver monitoring, it
cargo, and driver. During the logistics transportation process, can be realized by detecting the driver’s healthy and driving
information of the vehicle, cargo, driver situation, etc., are effi- behaviors through IoT technology.
ciently combined to improve transportation efficiency, reduce Paper [124] describes the wearable sensor network design
transportation costs, reduce cargo loss, and clearly understand for a low-power healthcare real-time processing and other
everything in the logistics transportation process. application of IoT, which uses the wireless technology to
1) Vehicle Status Monitoring: For vehicle monitoring, it transmit the physiological parameter of the people at remote
mainly includes location tracking and real-time situation of locations. This design is useful for the driver’s community
vehicles, such as the speed of the transport vehicle, the tire to take some preventive measures and thus road accidents
pressure, the fuel consumption, the number of brakes, and can be reduced to some extends. In [125], an architecture
so on. for driver behavior monitoring based on IoT and fog com-
In [117], a vehicle tracking system is designed and imple- puting is presented. In this architecture, all the environmental,
mented for tracking the movement of any equipped vehicle vehicle, and driver influential factors are considered by using
from any location at any time. The system integrates tech- multisensors. Data communication can be realized through var-
nologies, such as global positioning system (GPS) and global ious communication technologies depending on the different
system for mobile communication/ general packet radio ser- types of sensors and data frequency, such as RFID, Bluetooth,
vice (GSM/GPRS) technology, in which GPS module is used WiFi, or 4G-LTE, and so on. At the same time, to cope with
to get geographic coordinates at regular time intervals and the the time sensitivity of data communication, fog computing is
GSM/GPRS module is used to transmit and update the vehi- used. By applying the above technologies, this architecture can
cle location to a database. At the same time, the smartphone realize real-time monitoring and analysis of driver behavior.
application is also developed for continuously monitoring the Boja et al. [126] proposed an architecture for driver behav-
vehicle location. In [118], an accurate vehicle location system ior analysis by collecting raw data from connected cars in

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
4262 IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL, VOL. 8, NO. 6, MARCH 15, 2021

an IoT environment. The system uses mobile technologies in

embedded devices and smartphones, and data mining services
in Cloud. An assessment solution of driving style is presented
in [127]. The solution is designed based on the embedded
system designed according to IoT, which can assess the driv-
ing style according to the vehicle’s speed, acceleration, jerk,
engine rotational speed, and driving time.
In addition to the above aspects, in recent years,
with the rapid development of intelligent transportation,
IoT-based ITSs have gradually been applied to logistics
transportation [40], [128], [129].
As mentioned above, in smart logistics transportation, it is
necessary for an IoT monitoring system that can collect sta-
tus information by multisensor and preprocess it in the local
embedded system. At the same time, it also needs to estab-
lish an interconnection with the logistics center to transmit Fig. 11. Framework of the proposed IoT-based warehouse management
the status information for further analysis and prediction so system [138].
as to make a correct scheduling decision. As far as the mon-
itored objects are concerned, vehicles, cargos, and drivers all more efficient use of the storage capacity and a more effective
have the characteristics of dynamic movement. Therefore, the control strategy.
real-time and stability requirements of information transmis- 2) Warehouse Environment Monitoring: Monitoring ware-
sion are relatively high, which means that the transmission house environment mainly includes environment temperature
rate and dynamic stability of wireless communication are the and humidity, power distribution management, etc.
primary factors to be considered in the IoT system applied in Paper [134] designs an intelligent warehouse measure and
smart logistics transportation. control system based on ZigBee WSN and network nodes.
In this design, the ZigBee technology is used in warehouse
control and environmental management. It can improve the
B. Smart Warehousing intelligent level of logistics warehousing technology. In [135],
Warehousing management is becoming more complex and an IoT architecture that is suitable for cotton storage is
critical as business and technology continue to change. Now constructed. It uses IoT technologies to improve cotton ware-
with IoT technologies, we can optimize the utilization of ware- housing management. Yu et al. [136] designed an automated
house space, monitor the warehouse environment, and improve warehouse monitoring system based on IoT to solve the prob-
the product management process. lems of the monitoring lagging and nonintelligent. The design
1) Warehouse Space Optimization: In terms of warehouse can be used to monitor the temperature, humidity, and the
space optimization, it mainly includes product location plan- case of fire in the warehouse. Chihana et al. [137] proposed
ning and warehouse space structure optimization. and developed a novel method that used sensors, wireless
Trab et al. [130] proposed a multiagent architecture for radio communication module, and GSM/GPRS technologies.
product allocation planning with compatibility constraints, It can be used to sense real-time warehouse intrusion and grain
which uses a decision mechanism for product’s placement, tracking theft so that the human resources needed for grain
based on negotiations between agents associated to compat- management can be reduced.
ibility tests. This negotiation mechanism relies on an IoT 3) Warehouse Management: As one of the warehousing
infrastructure and multiagent systems are defined in order to management systems, improving the warehousing manage-
solve the security problem of product allocation operations. ment process is very important.
In recent years, the most representative application of Lee et al. [138] proposed an IoT-based warehouse manage-
the warehouse space structure optimization is the AS/RS. ment system with an advanced data analytical approach using
Paper [131] introduces the basic concepts of dense storage computational intelligence techniques to enable smart logis-
technology, which includes the mode, scheme, and techni- tics for Industry 4.0. Fig. 11 shows the typical framework
cal equipments. It studies how dense storage technology can of an IoT-based warehouse management system. Paper [139]
optimize the use of the distribution center concluding com- combines vehicle tracking and warehouse management to real-
bined with an example of the practical application. Ma [132] ize warehouse working procedures seamlessly. It adopts a
studied and puts forward a design scheme of an automatic location-based service trigger to manage warehouse proce-
logistics control system for AS/RS based on ZigBee wireless dures. In [140], an RFID-based intelligent warehouse manage-
network technology, which adopts the star control structure. ment system is proposed. It makes full use of the existing types
This scheme can meet the flexible control requirements of the of equipment and facilities based on IoT technologies to help
users and makes a 3-D warehouse logistics control system to achieve better inventory control, as well as to improve oper-
more intelligent, simple, and effective to improve operational ational efficiency. Jing and Tang [141] proposed the specific
effectiveness. Paper [133] presents an AS/RS system based on framework programs and function modules of an intelligent
a cartesian robot for the liquid food industry, which provides inventory management system based on IoT technologies.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
SONG et al.: APPLICATIONS OF IoT IN SMART LOGISTICS: COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY 4263

Combined with the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, a result, the application can realize client/server teleoperation
this system can realize full control and management of all and data monitoring. In [145], a mini forklift robot is designed,
products, faster in/out warehousing, and dynamic inventory. which can store and pick up an object to/from a specified
To summarize, the warehouse has the characteristics of fixed storage slot from/to a base using line follower and RFID.
location and limited scope, which makes the design process 2) Equipment Monitoring and Dispatching: Equipment
of the IoT-based smart logistics system can be completed monitoring includes getting equipment position and monitor-
according to the characteristics of warehouse structure and ing equipment status. Based on this, the equipment dispatching
environment. With regard to the current research and appli- can be realized.
cation status, the wireless communication of smart warehouse Papers [146] describe a multimodal framework for
is mainly based on short-range communication technology. In interacting with an autonomous robotic forklift. The human
the warehouse space optimization system and warehouse envi- supervisor can interact with the forklift using speech and
ronment monitoring system, the network capacity of wireless sketch by a wireless or handheld tablet. That means, the
communication is required to be large, and yet the transmis- interface of the system supports commands that include sum-
sion rate is required to be relatively low. Therefore, ZigBee is moning the forklift and directing it to lift, transport, and place
very popular in these application scenarios. Warehouse man- loads of palletized cargo through a simpler set of sketched ges-
agement involves products in and out, and it needs to complete tures. In [147], a high-performance 5.8-GHz wireless forklift
the reading of product information in this process, so RFID positioning system is introduced. In this system, an optimized
is widely used in this scenario. With the development of heuristic localization method is used to derive the position
information integration, mobile network and LPWAN commu- and orientation of the forklift. The proposed RTOF system
nication technologies are gradually applied to IoT-based smart concept allows a minimal complexity of the infrastructure
warehouse system. since no backbone network and no dedicated synchronization
scheme is needed. Hoefinghoff et al. [148] made a com-
parison between measured and simulated field distribution
C. Smart Loading/Unloading for a UHF RFID system mounted on a forklift truck, by
The basic actions of loading/unloading activities include which it can achieve the optimal tag identification positions
loading (ship), unloading (ship), stacking, storage, outbound for reliable communication between the reader and the tag.
transportation, etc., which mainly refer to the handling on Estanjini et al. [149] proposed an optimizing warehouse fork-
the vertical direction. They are the necessary activities arising lift dispatching using a WSN and stochastic learning, which
from transportation and storage activities. is a successful deployment of an inexpensive mobile WSN in
In the logistics process, loading/unloading activities are con- a commercial warehouse served by a fleet of forklifts. The
stantly appearing and repeating, so they often become the keys system establishes a sensor network platform, which provides
to determine the logistics speed and costs. Furthermore, the use enough bandwidth and a reliable transmission protocol to meet
of loading/unloading equipments (such as a forklift) based on the requirement of real-time monitoring. By monitoring the
IoT can greatly improved logistics efficiency. At present, the running state of the forklift, including the used time, battery
applications of IoT technologies in this area mainly focus on power, location, collision detection, etc., the optimal dispatch-
the following aspects: equipment automation, equipment posi- ing of the forklift is achieved combined with the corresponding
tioning, equipment status monitoring, equipment dispatching, dispatching method.
and so on. For the application of loading and unloading, the current
1) Equipment Automation: The automation of load- IoT system mainly aims at the realization of loading/unloading
ing/unloading equipment is closely linked to logistics costs automation, equipment status monitoring, and dispatching.
and efficiency, so there is a lot of research on this. From the perspective of communication, because the load-
In [142], a data collection unit (DCU) is designed, which ing/unloading equipment operates in a certain range, the IoT
can easily connect several sensors with different interfaces like system mainly adopts short distance communication, such as
a controller area network (CAN) port, UART, RS232, and so RFID, WiFi, etc. Only in equipment dispatching, it needs
on. It is applied to the smart forklift that has several sensor remote information transmission, so mobile communication
modules, such as scale, RFID reader, etc. So that the forklift technology is usually used.
can get its exact position and eventually deliver the goods in
an indoor warehouse instead of people. An IoT-based fork- D. Smart Carrying
lift robot is presented in [143]. The system uses multisensor, Carrying is the activities required for the transportation and
including camera, line sensor, sharp sensor, and so on. At the storage of goods, which mainly refers to the handling of the
same time, Wi-Fi communication module is used to establish horizontal direction. In recent years, the intelligent develop-
the remote bridge between robot and warehouse operator so ment of carrying is mainly reflected in the development and
as to connect the robot to the Internet and command the robot. application of AGV that is used for the internal and external
Paper [144] describes a client/server application developed for transport of materials [145]. With the rapid development of
the automation of a fleet of industrial forklifts. In this appli- IoT technologies, the networks based on wireless communi-
cation, a forklift is completely automated using external an cation technologies are increasingly applied in AGVs, which
internal sensor and data communication between forklift and usually provide a number of advantages to AGVs, such as low
server is realized by wireless communication technology. As costs and high efficiency [150].

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
4264 IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL, VOL. 8, NO. 6, MARCH 15, 2021

(a) (b)
Fig. 13. Principle of work of smart packaging [160], [161].
Fig. 12. Wireless communications of AGVs based on ZigBee and WLAN
network [150]. (a) ZigBee. (b) Wi-Fi. Paper [158] presents a remote discrete model reference
adaptive control for a two-wheeled mobile robot. In this model,
1) Carrying Based on RFID: Among these wireless com- all actuators, sensors, and controllers are interconnected by
munication technologies, RFID is the most commonly used. wireless communication. Here, the robot is controlled by
Lu et al. [151] presented an RFID-enabled positioning the computer-based proposed controller through LoRaWAN
system in AGV for a smart factory. By examining the key wireless communication. Sun et al. [159] proposed a low-
impact factors on AGV’s accuracy, such as a magnetic field cost and high-precision positioning method based on cellular
in circular antenna, circular magnetic field, and circular con- automata. In this method, AGV is equipped with wireless com-
tours stability, the system can determine the antenna type munication, which can complete the positioning through the
for different occasions. This can be used to deploy RFID continuous iteration of simple cell evolution rules in the cell
devices systematic in automatic logistics shop. In [152], an space mapped by the positioning space.
AGV wireless control system based on WSN and mobile robot In summary, AGV is a highly integrated carrying system. In
control is proposed to improve the intelligence and efficiency the process of carrying, it needs to complete the goods reading,
of the AGV system. The vehicles in the network can orga- path identification, positioning, scheduling management, etc.
nize the network autonomously and share the information, This makes the use of a single communication method can not
including position, speed, direction, load status, etc., which meet all the functional requirements. Therefore, it is necessary
can take full advantage of the distributed processing ability to integrate a variety of communication methods, includ-
of the mobile vehicle and alleviate the load of the center ing RFID, WiFi, ZigBee, LPWAN, etc., in the IoT system
server. Roehrig et al. [153] proposed an inexpensive solution of AGV.
for localization and tracking of small AGVs. In this solu-
tion, RFID transponders are used to realize global localization. E. Smart Packaging
Nugraha et al. [154] designed a line-follower AGV robot. The The packaging is the technology of enclosing or protecting
robot is equipped with an LED/LDR-based color sensor and products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. With the devel-
an RFID-based identification/authorization system. It realizes opment of IoT technologies, the packaging market is changing
choosing the route by detecting different color lines. from conventional packaging to interactive, aware, and intelli-
2) Carrying Based on ZigBee and Wi-Fi: In addition to gent packaging. In other words, smart packaging can leverage
RFID, ZigBee and Wi-Fi are two dominant technologies in IoT and big data to establish a dynamic interaction with sen-
this domain. Fig. 12 shows the wireless communications of sors on the packaging, such as RFID, NFC, Bluetooth, and
AGVs based on the ZigBee network and Wi-Fi network. smart labels [160]. Fig. 13 shows the principle of the work of
Paper [155] presents an anti-collision method for an AGV. smart packaging.
They use three ways to obtain the position of AGVs, by which As shown in Fig. 13, smart packaging can improve tracking
the priority of AGVs that enter the areas of the collision is and tracing of packages by connecting to a network, which
determined and the route of AGVs on a ZigBee network is con- helps companies to make decisions on-the-fly. At the same
trolled. In [153], an AGV localization method based on ZigBee time, its application helps product traceability to further reduce
is proposed. In the proposed method, AGV wheel encoder data the risk of product recalls.
and range measurements are obtained from a ZigBee network. The research on wireless communication-enabled smart
Then, the location of the AGV is obtained through information packaging mainly focuses on the design of smart packaging
fusion. Wu [156] presented an approach for navigation and products and the application of smart package.
guidance of a duo cycle autonomous robot vehicle by using 1) Packaging Product Design: In terms of packaging prod-
ZigBee wireless control. By comparing the measured angular uct design, it is mainly the design of automated packaging
and location of the vehicle with reference points of a cer- systems, which uses wireless communication technology-
tain trajectory, AGV can follow a given path autonomously. enabled IoT to achieve packaging automation.
Wang et al. [157] developed a distributed control system for Li et al. [162] proposed an IoT-based automated e-
AGV. The system uses Wi-Fi and CAN bus to realize real-time fulfillment packaging system. In this system, the robot, sensor,
communication and further realized controlling the AGV. and smart machine are connected in a cyber network to
3) Carrying Based on Other Wireless Communication achieve high velocity and flexibility of procedures and real-
Technologies: In addition, some new wireless communication time information exchange, by which the robots accomplish
technologies are gradually being applied to AGV. the packaging task successfully and cooperatively. In [163],

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
SONG et al.: APPLICATIONS OF IoT IN SMART LOGISTICS: COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY 4265

a prototype of a hybrid flexible smart temperature tag is products are shipped. The goal is to increase the added value of
proposed, which is designed with sensing, processing capa- the product. There are many kinds of activities corresponding
bilities, and NFC compatibility. It can be used for potential to distribution processing, such as packaging, sorting (group-
temperature-sensitive product management and smart packag- ing products into sets), labeling (applying labels), division
ing to realize monitoring the environmental temperature. (split as required), metering, and so on. For IoT technologies,
2) Package Application: There are many applications of more are applied in sorting and labeling.
intelligent package products. 1) Sorting: Sorting is the operation of sorting and stacking
Biji et al. [164] introduced an intelligent food packaging items in order of variety and order, it is a preparatory work to
system that monitors the condition of packaged food to give improve delivery and support delivery. In recent years, more
information regarding the quality of the packaged food during research has been done on intelligent sorting.
transportation and storage. Nawawi et al. [170] presented a reverse logistics sorting
Chandra and Lee [165] proposed a cold chain logistics mon- system based on RFID. In this system, the value of the prod-
itoring system that is based on IoT technologies. The system uct is recorded in the RFID tags mounted on the product,
applies NFC, ZigBee, mobile communication network, etc. By which includes all information on the materials and parts for
identifying the unique NFC tag on each package, the system recycling purpose activities. When the product entered the
can monitor the product location. The iHome Health-IoT is reverse logistics chain, reverse logistics operators will retrieve
proposed and implemented in [166]. On this platform, an all information in the RFID tags to help to recycle products.
intelligent pharmaceutical packaging (iMedPack) with com- Shangguan and Jamieson [171] proposed a mobile RFID
munication capability enabled by passive RFID is designed, tag sorting robot. This robot is an autonomous wheeled robot
which can offer a promising solution for the medication non- reader that conducts a roving survey of libraries, manufac-
compliance problem by automatically reminding the user and turing lines, and offices so as to achieve an exact spatial
dispensing a certain amount of medicine on time according order of RFID-tagged objects in very close (1-6cm) spacings.
to the online prescription. Paper [167] presents a manage- Zhi and Poobalan [172] presented the design of an intelligent
ment platform to realize real-time tracking and tracing for recognition and sorting system. In this system, a multilayer
prepackaged food supply chains. It proposes an integrated feed-forward ANN is used to recognize the product and duplex
solution of using both the QR code and RFID tag. By this Bluetooth communication is used to communicate between the
platform, a benign and safe food consumption environment intelligent system and control computer. Paper [173] deliv-
can be ensured. ers an outline of an embedded wireless control system for
Kang et al. [168] proposed a wireless-enabled (13.56 MHz) the robot arm of sorting systems. It describes the archi-
smart packaging concept model that integrates the rectenna tecture of the wireless sorting control system and wireless
(wireless power supply), humidity sensor, and simple elec- embedded-based control method.
trochromic signage on a poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) Asghar et al. [174] presented a wireless pick-by-light system
film using R2R processes. This model has the ability to sense based on LoRaWAN for fast localization of items at the pick-
the status of contents in the packaging actively and communi- ing process in warehousing logistics. The proposed system
cate the information wirelessly so as to enable more effective offers long-range and minimum maintenance costs by using
logistics and quality control. Paper [169] presents a smart food power-optimized LoRaWAN end devices.
detector and safety monitoring system. Through the sensor and 2) Labeling: Logistics label is a value-added service for
wireless communication module equipped on the package of logistics in the supply chain process. The label contains the
the food, the status of food can be monitored. Based on the necessary information about the product, which is very impor-
freshness of the food, an alert message will be sent to our tant for product tracking and traceability. Therefore, labeling is
mobile phone. an important link. The research on labeling is mainly focused
In short, in smart packaging, whether it is packaging prod- on the application of smart labels.
uct design or package application, the application scenarios of Sun et al. [175] designed an anti-counterfeit system for
the IoT system are mainly short-range. The basic function of it identifying the origin of agricultural products based on GPS
is to realize the product readable and recognizable. Therefore, and encrypted Chinese-sensible code. The system uses RFID
low-power short-range communication, such as RFID or NFC, and Chinese-sensible Code based on an AES algorithm. It can
is the first choice for such applications. With the gradual collect and process the weight and location of the agricultural
improvement of the intelligence of product packaging, more products, then print the anti-counterfeit label. Xu et al. [176]
and more applications can real-time monitoring of product sta- proposed a solution for RFID label printer to access the
tus by the package. For this application requirement, it needs to Internet through NB-IoT technology. In the proposed solu-
integrate sensor monitoring, embedded processing, and remote tion, NB-IoT technology is applied to RFID label printer
communication (such as mobile communication module) in to implement printer access to the Internet, which helps
packaging products. It will also be a big development trend printer manufacturers to achieve remote fault analyzing and
for smart packaging. helps customers to solve problems of the printer. Paper [177]
validates an RFID smart tag for real-time traceability and
F. Smart Distribution Processing cold chain monitoring for food applications. This smart tag
Distribution processing refers to all of the processing that integrates environment sensors (light, temperature, and humid-
is performed at the warehouse or logistics center before the ity sensors), a microcontroller, a memory chip, low-power

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
4266 IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL, VOL. 8, NO. 6, MARCH 15, 2021

electronics, and an antenna for RFID communications, which

can be attached to the tracked food product to realize product
tracking.
As mentioned above, in distribution processing, the process
of sorting and labeling is closely related to the recognition
of goods. Therefore, RFID is very common in such appli-
cations. With the development of long-range communication
technologies and the continuous improvement of the intellectu-
alized request, many research combine RFID with long-range
communication technology to realize remote control of sort-
ing and labeling, which is conducive to the optimization of Fig. 14. Communication infrastructure of the intelligent container [183].
the logistics process.
improved and comprehensive supervision of goods is realized.
G. Smart Distribution Fig. 14 shows the communication infrastructure of the intel-
In recent years, modern logistics distribution continues ligent container. Dittmer et al. [184] presents an intelligent
to develop in the direction of informatization, digitization, container that is a part of IoT to monitor the temperature
networking, integration, intelligence, and flexibility. The appli- and humidity for the delivery foods. Based on monitoring
cations of IoT technologies in intelligent logistics distribution and providing information about the shelf-life of its cargo,
are mainly reflected in the intelligent management of dis- the intelligent container will increase the transparency of the
tribution centers and the development of intelligent delivery food supply chain.
approaches. Sun and Zhao [185] presented a terminal delivery container,
1) Intelligent Distribution Centers: Intelligent distribution that is, a multifunctional parcel delivery locker system. It
centers realize intelligent management by integrating techni- can realize SMS sending, password generation, and password
cal equipments, such as intelligent handling, automatic sorting authentication, by which the customs can be validated to get
equipments, information processing systems, and so on. their parcels.
In [178], an IoT-based route planning system (IRPS) is In recent years, AVs have been great potential in logistics
proposed. The system integrates IoT, Taguchi experimental delivery. Yu and Lam [186] proposed a novel autonomous
design, and genetic algorithms to formulate the total product vehicles logistic system (AVLS) to accommodate logistic
monitoring and optimal delivery route planning for multi- demands for smart cities. In this system, vehicular ad hoc
temperature food distribution. Gao and Tang [179] research networks (VANETs) were set up based on dedicated short-
the model of intelligent distribution to build the intelligent range communications (DSRC, 802.11p) to accommodate the
distribution center. The distribution center uses IoT tech- wireless communication demand. It can optimize the routes for
nologies to realize identifying cargos, storing and collecting the governed autonomous vehicles in consideration of various
information, intelligent warehouse management, and automatic requirements imposed by logistic requests.
vehicle dispatching. Paper [180] conducts a case study on a Song and Han [187] proposed an enhanced parcel delivery
CVS distribution center in Taiwan. It simulates the distribu- system based on IoT technology, which provides LoRaWAN
tion center operations and costs after RFID technology is used. as a dedicated global network for IoT and has the ability to fig-
In [181], a smart distribution system based on dynamic WSN ure out the current delivery route. Wang et al. [188] proposed
is described. In the proposed system, wireless sensor nodes a uniform parcel delivery system based on IoT. This system
called SmartPoints are used to monitor the environmental con- adopts IoT, computer network technologies, wireless com-
ditions and generate alarms when specific events are detected, munication, and cloud computing. Through this system, the
which can monitor the quality of perishable goods, such as package delivery process, including classification of packages,
fruits, pharmaceuticals, etc. vehicle scheduling, path planning, transportation monitoring
2) Intelligent Delivery Approaches: Regarding logistics could be intellectualized.
delivery, couriers delivery cannot guarantee highly time- UAVs are promising in relieving congestion in urban areas
precise delivery and cannot monitor the status of the goods in and improving accessibility in rural areas, moving the deliv-
real-time. In order to combat the existing problems, a series of ery off the road and into the air. Paper [189] introduces a
new delivery approaches for logistics delivery have emerged, comprehensive survey on UAVs and related issues. In this arti-
such as intelligent containers, autonomous vehicles, unmanned cle, UAV-based architecture for the delivery of UAV-based and
aerial vehicles (UAV), etc. [182]. value-added IoT services from the sky are introduced, and the
In [183], an intelligent container is proposed. In the system, relevant key challenges and requirements are presented.
WSN and wireless communication technologies are sup- As stated above, smart distribution is an integrated applica-
porting technologies to supply the necessary information to tion of IoT technologies. It involves multisensor acquisition,
autonomous processes. The system can monitor the inside dynamic positioning, navigation positioning, multisource
parameters like the number and kind of loaded goods, the information fusion, decision-making optimization, and other
temperature, other environmental conditions, and the out- aspects. Therefore, in this kind of IoT system, the used
side information (e.g., the changes in transport orders, costs, communication technologies are also diversified. The wire-
and the effects of the traffic situation). By this system, the less communication technologies mentioned above, including

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
SONG et al.: APPLICATIONS OF IoT IN SMART LOGISTICS: COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY 4267

the short-distance communication technologies, long-distance systems, such as delivery path optimization, procurement
communication technologies, and mobile communication tech- process optimization, intelligent payment, etc.
nologies are used according to different application require- Paper [194] describes a telematics system based on an
ments. Furthermore, due to the characteristics of multisource intelligent van, which applies various wireless communica-
information, the requirements for information fusion process- tion technologies, such as Bluetooth, RFID, Wi-Fi, etc. This
ing will be higher in smart distribution. system is capable of tracing pharmaceutical drugs over deliv-
ery routes from a warehouse to pharmacies without altering
carriers’ daily conventional tasks.
H. Smart Information Processing In [195], an analytical model is presented to compare RFID-
Logistics information refers to all information related to based traceability information systems. The model uses the
logistics activities (transportation, warehouse, and so on). In estimated costs of data capture and query processing to choose
smart logistics, logistics information processing is essential. In a solution for a given supply chain problem. Hsu et al. [196]
fact, logistics information processing exists in every logistics developed an IoT-enabled one-stop logistics service provider
scenarios. In addition to the application scenarios described process framework, which helps to solve the problems that
above, logistics information processing based on IoT tech- the current material procurement process required excessive
nologies is also applied to the design of logistics management operation times and has poor data integration capabilities.
models and logistics information systems. Paper [197] presents a smart parking payment system based on
1) Logistics Management Model: The logistics manage- NB-IoT and third-party payment platforms. In this system, the
ment model is the design plan for the expected production basic information management, charge management, task man-
logistics system. Reasonable logistics management model can agement, and business intelligence modules are implemented
improve logistics efficiency and reduce logistics costs greatly. on the cloud server, which can improve the utilization of exist-
Therefore, the research on the logistics management model has ing parking facilities. Burow et al. [198] showed IoT-based
always been an important content of smart logistics. Moreover, applications with hundreds of connected devices using the
the development of wireless communications and IoT tech- up-coming telecommunication standard 5G, which support a
nologies has provided the necessary technical support for the highly flexible production-logistics system and can satisfy the
optimization of logistics management models. actual customer needs for custom-tailored solutions, services,
Paper [190] introduces an innovative logistics model and and products.
containers solution for efficient last-mile delivery. In this solu- As far as the current research and application are con-
tion, data networks (Wi-Fi, UMTS, wired networks, etc.) con- cerned, the biggest challenge of smart logistics information
nect the control units so that it can transmit to the information processing is the storage and processing ability of massive
system of the logistics operator real-time information. In [35], data, especially the fusion processing ability of multisource
a dynamic production logistics synchronization model is data information. This problem is also the current focus of
presented, which integrates cloud manufacturing and IoT researchers. Although the development of big data, cloud com-
infrastructures to enable a smart production logistics synchro- puting, AI, and other technologies provides solutions for this
nization control mechanism with multilevel dynamic adapt- problem, the existing solutions are still not particularly mature.
ability. This model can deal with the dynamics occurring in Therefore, the research on this problem will still be the key
production logistics processes. Verdouw et al. [191] presented to the development of smart logistics in the next few years.
a reference architecture for IoT-based logistic information
systems in agriculture food supply chains. The model com- I. Summary
bines IoT and cloud computing, which supports affordable Nowadays, IoT technologies have been applied in all sce-
solutions by utilizing technology enablers of the European narios of the logistics industry to promote the development
Future Internet Program. Paper [192] presents an IoT-enabled of smart logistics. At the same time, we can know that RFID
dynamic optimization for sustainable reverse logistics. In technology is the most widely used in the logistics industry,
this framework, an IoT-enabled real-time information sensing especially in indoor application scenarios (e.g., warehous-
model is designed to sense and capture the real-time data of ing, packaging, etc.), which is followed by ZigBee, Wi-Fi,
logistics resources, at the same time, a bottom-up logistics and Bluetooth. In addition to the above technologies, cel-
strategy is adopted to achieve the real-time information-driven lular mobile communications (e.g., 3G, 4G-LTE, 5G, etc.),
dynamic optimization distribution for logistics tasks. In [193], LPWAN (e.g., LoRaWAN, Sigfox) and satellite communi-
a new logistics management model based on IoT and software- cation (e.g., VSAT) are gradually being applied in smart
as-a-service is proposed. This model can help to improve the logistics, including indoor and outdoor (e.g., transportation,
integration between physical resources and cloud services. distribution, etc.)
Based on the proposed model, enterprises can develop their
own cloud-based logistics management information systems. VI. C HALLENGES AND F UTURE D IRECTIONS
2) Logistics Information Processing System: The logis- The IoT technologies can help to realize the vision of future
tics information system is an interactive system that pro- smart logistics, but also face multiple challenges. For example,
vides information for logistics managers to perform planning, due to the explosion of data generated by IoT devices during
implementation, and control functions. According to differ- the supply chain process, data security, privacy, and resource
ent application goals, there are different logistics information management will be big challenges for smart logistics. In

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
4268 IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL, VOL. 8, NO. 6, MARCH 15, 2021

this section, we discuss these challenges from a technical privacy protection scheme with position and attribute-based
perspective and present some future research directions. access control for mobile devices, which can provide pri-
vacy protection of both personal information and logistics
A. Challenges information.
This part discusses three technical challenges: 1) data Although a lot of research on preserving privacy has already
security; 2) data privacy; and 3) resource management. been proposed, many topics still need further investigation,
1) Data Security: In the process of applying IoT technolo- such as data privacy in sharing and management.
gies to achieve intelligent logistics, the information needs to 3) Resource Management: As a result of the proliferation
be crossed multiple administrative boundaries and can be used of IoT technologies in smart logistics, it requires the man-
for multiple purposes at any time, even for unknown pur- agement of a large variety of protocols, data formats, and
poses. As a growing number and variety of connected devices physical sensing resources in the operation process. This raises
are introduced into IoT networks, the potential security threat the question of how the resources provided by the devices can
escalates [16]. be efficiently managed and provisioned [206], that is, resource
According to the study by [199], 70% of the most com- management is another challenge in smart logistics and it has
monly used IoT devices contain vulnerabilities. The most also become a hot topic for researchers.
common and easily addressable security issues include privacy Some researchers have promoted resource management effi-
concerns, insufficient authorization, lack of transport encryp- ciency from the perspective of universal management methods.
tion, and insecure Web interface. Paper [200] discuss the For example, paper [207] present a resource management
detail reasons for the security issues of the IoT-based system. model, in which Fog is used to manage resources, perform
Specifically, the IoT system is highly dynamic, without well- data filtration, preprocessing, and security measures. This
defined perimeters, and highly heterogeneous with respect model covers the issues of resource prediction, customer type-
to the communication medium and protocols, platforms, and based resource estimation and reservation, advanced reser-
devices. In addition, human interaction is not scalable in IoT vation, and pricing for new and existing IoT customers.
devices and this makes it difficult for security analysts or end- Semasinghe et al. [208] explored some nonconventional
users to carry out security activities. Addressing such security game-theoretic models that fit the inherent characteristics of
challenges requires revisiting or substantially extending the future large-scale IoT systems. This model can solve poten-
current security solutions. Apart from this, paper [201] ana- tial IoT-related resource management problems. Some have
lyzes IoT security issues from a communication perspective. proposed the corresponding management strategies for spe-
They analyze how the existing protocols and mechanisms to cific resources. For example, Malik et al. [209] proposed
ensure fundamental security requirements and protect com- game-theoretic mechanisms for resource management in NB-
munications on IoT, and propose the open challenges and IoT-based IoT systems. They make the rate maximization
strategies for future research work in the area. problem considering the overhead of control channels, time
Although some solutions have been proposed, for example, offset, and repetition factor to build an interference aware
grouping embedded devices into virtual networks and only resource allocation for NB-IoT. In [210], a dynamic resource
presenting the desired devices in each virtual network [22], management mechanism for the IoT-based cyber–physical pro-
more effort is needed for it to be mature. duction system is proposed. This mechanism realizes the load
2) Data Privacy: In the logistics process, it contains a balancing based on Jena reasoning and Contract-Net Protocol
lot of personal information, product information, and enter- technology, which provides a solution for complex resource
prise information, which is communicated and exchanged over allocation problems in current manufacturing scenarios.
the Internet. Therefore, preserving data privacy is a sensi-
tive subject and becomes an important research direction for B. Future Directions
researchers. Since smart logistics based on IoT technologies has attracted
Paper [202] depicts the challenges to IoT deployment widespread attention and has been studied widely, its devel-
on preserving privacy from data collection policy and data opment can be influenced by a lot of other technologies.
anonymization. The authors propose that privacy can be In addition to the aforementioned technologies, including
ensured by restricting the type and amount of the collected AI, cloud computing, and big data, there are blockchains,
information, the data anonymization can be ensured by cryp- cyber–physical system (CPS), 3-D printing, etc. For example,
tographic protection and concealment of data relations. Leaute Tijan et al. [211] research the possibility of blockchain tech-
and Faltings [203] presented a coordinating logistics opera- nology in sustainable logistics and supply chain management.
tions model, which integrates with cryptographic techniques Paper [212] provides a comprehensive survey on the literature
to allow several logistics service providers to coordinate involving blockchain technology applied to smart logistics.
without revealing agents’ private information. A logistics In [213], a CSP-based architecture is illustrated, which is
information privacy protection method based on encrypted for dynamic and modular control of single material handling
QR code (LIPPS) is proposed in [204]. It encrypts personal equipment within a logistics system. Mohr and Khan [214]
information and stores the ciphertext in the QR code with discussed 3-D printing and its disruptive impacts on supply
the segment encryption method. The logistics business oper- chains of the future.
ations can be completed by decrypting the corresponding On the whole, with the continuous development of IoT,
information. Gao et al. [205] proposed a logistics information wireless communication technology, AI, and other advanced

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
SONG et al.: APPLICATIONS OF IoT IN SMART LOGISTICS: COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY 4269

technologies, more and more researchers and enterprises have [14] A. Trappey, C. Trappey, C. Fan, A. Hsu, X. Li, and I. Lee, “IoT patent
increased their research efforts on smart logistics based on roadmap for smart logistic service provision in the context of industry
4.0,” J. Chin. Inst. Eng., vol. 40, no. 7, pp. 593–602, Sep. 2017.
multitechnology integration, which will also greatly promote [15] D. Lu and Q. Teng, “A application of cloud computing and IoT in
the development speed of smart logistics. logistics,” Int. J. Softw. Eng. Appl., vol. 5, pp. 204–207, Dec. 2012.
[16] I. Lee and K. Lee, “The Internet of Things (IoT): Applications, invest-
ments, and challenges for enterprises,” Bus. Horizons, vol. 58, no. 4,
VII. C ONCLUSION pp. 431–440, Jul./Aug. 2015.
[17] E. Taniguchi, R. Thompson, and T. Yamada, “New opportunities and
This paper provided a survey of the current IoT tech- challenges for city logistics,” in Proc. 9th Int. Conf. City Logistics
nologies applied to smart logistics. We began our discussion Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Jun. 2015, pp. 17–19.
[18] H. Song, R. Srinivasan, T. Sookoor, and S. Jeschke, Smart Cities:
with some related papers and background knowledge of smart Foundations, Principles, and Applications. Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley,
logistics. Then, we focused on enabling technologies for IoT 2017.
in smart logistics. Furthermore, how IoT technologies are [19] Y. Sun, H. Song, A. J. Jara, and R. Bie, “Internet of Things and big
data analytics for smart and connected communities,” IEEE Access,
applied in the realm of smart logistics was discussed in detail, vol. 4, pp. 766–773, 2016.
from the perspectives of transportation, warehousing, load- [20] S. Jeschke, C. Brecher, H. Song, and D. Rawat, Industrial Internet
ing/unloading, carrying, distribution processing, distribution, of Things: Cybermanufacturing Systems. Cham, Switzerland: Springer,
2017.
and information processing. We also discussed some signif- [21] L. Atzori, A. Iera, and G. Morabito, “The Internet of Things: A survey,”
icant research challenges and future research directions in Comput. Netw., vol. 54, no. 14, pp. 2787–2805, Oct. 2010.
IoT-based smart logistics. In summary, research on applying [22] A. Al-Fuqaha, M. Guizani, M. Mohammadi, M. Aledhari, and
M. Ayyash, “Internet of Things: A survey on enabling technologies,
IoT technologies in smart logistics is quite broad and a number protocols, and applications,” IEEE Commun. Surveys Tuts., vol. 17,
of research issues and challenges lay ahead. Nevertheless, it is no. 4, pp. 2347–2376, 4th Quart., 2015.
in favor of the community to swiftly address these challenges [23] Y. Jiang and S. Hao, “Research on the development of intelligent logis-
tics based on Internet of Things,” in Proc. Int. Conf. Remote Sens.
in smart logistics. This article attempts to briefly explore how Environ. Transp. Eng., Jun. 2011, pp. 5254–5257.
IoT technologies work and when they should be used to solve [24] E. Fleisch, O. Christ, and M. Dierkes, Die Betriebswirtschaftliche
problems in smart logistics. We hope that our discussion can Vision des Internets der Dinge. Berlin, Germany: Springer, 2005.
[25] D. Uckelmann, “A definition approach to smart logistics,” in Proc. 8th
help promote the development of smart logistics innovation. Int. Conf. NEW2AN 1st Russian Conf. Smart Spaces, Sep. 2008,
pp. 273–284.
[26] B. Cullity, Introduction to Magnetic Materials. Reading, MA, USA:
R EFERENCES Addison-Wesley, 1972.
[27] D. McFarlane, V. Giannikas, and W. Lu, “Intelligent logistics: Involving
[1] J. Mentzer, D. Flint, and G. Hult, “Logistics service quality as a the customer,” Comput. Ind., vol. 81, pp. 105–115, Sep. 2016.
segment-customized process,” J. Mark., vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 82–104, [28] History, Clark Mater. Handling, Lexington, KY, USA, 2019. [Online].
Oct. 2001. Available: https://www.clarkmhc.com/Company/History
[2] S. Lee, Y. Kang, and V. Prabhu, “Smart logistics: Distributed control of [29] Y. Bozer and M. Srinivasan, “Tandem configurations for automated
green crowdsourced parcel services,” Int. J. Prod. Res., vol. 54, no. 23, guided vehicle systems and the analysis of single vehicle loops,” IIE
pp. 6956–6968, Jan. 2016. Trans., vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 72–82, Jan. 1991.
[3] S. Suma, R. Mehmood, N. Albugami, I. Katib, and A. Albeshri, [30] S. Hackman, M. Rosenblatt, and J. Olin, “Allocating items to an auto-
“Enabling next generation logistics and planning for smarter societies,” mated storage and retrieval system,” IIE Trans., vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 7–14,
Procedia Comput. Sci., vol. 440, pp. 1122–1127, May 2017. Oct. 1990.
[4] A. Kawa, “SMART logistics chain,” in Proc. Asian Conf. Intell. Inf. [31] C. Gustin, P. Daugherty, and T. Stank, “The effects of information
Database Syst. (ACIIDS), Mar. 2012, pp. 432–438. availability on logistics integration,” J. Bus. Logistics, vol. 16, no. 1,
[5] J. Li, F. R. Yu, G. Deng, C. Luo, Z. Ming, and Q. Yan, “Industrial pp. 1–21, 1995.
Internet: A survey on the enabling technologies, applications, and chal- [32] R. Alancioni, M. Smith, and T. Oliva, “The role of the Internet in supply
lenges,” IEEE Commun. Surveys Tuts., vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 1504–1526, chain management,” Ind. Mark. Manag., vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 45–56,
3rd Quart., 2017. Jan. 2000.
[6] M. Liu, F. R. Yu, Y. Teng, V. C. M. Leung, and M. Song, “Performance [33] W. Lisa, N. Avril, I. Dimples, and F. Terence, “Logistics integration:
optimization for blockchain-enabled industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) The effect of information technology, team composition, and corporate
systems: A deep reinforcement learning approach,” IEEE Trans. Ind. competitive positioning,” J. Bus. Logistics, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 31–41,
Informat., vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 3559–3570, Jun. 2019. Jul. 1997.
[7] C. Qiu, F. R. Yu, H. Yao, C. Jiang, F. Xu, and C. Zhao, “Blockchain- [34] L. Leung, W. Cheung, and Y. Hai, “A framework for a logistics
based software-defined industrial Internet of Things: A dueling e-commerce community network: The Hong Kong air cargo indus-
deep Q-learning approach,” IEEE Internet Things J., vol. 6, no. 3, try,” IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. A, Syst. Humans, vol. 30, no. 4,
pp. 4627–4639, Jun. 2019. pp. 446–455, Jul. 2000.
[8] K. Ashton, “That ‘Internet of Things’ thing,” RFID J., vol. 22, no. 7, [35] T. Qu, S. Lei, Z. Wang, D. Nie, X. Chen, and G. Huang, “IoT-based
pp. 97–114, Jun. 2009. real-time production logistics synchronization system under smart
[9] K. Witkowski, “Internet of Things, big data, industry 4.0—Innovative cloud manufacturing,” Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol., vol. 84, nos. 1–4,
solutions in logistics and supply chains management,” in Proc. 7th Int. pp. 147–164, Apr. 2016.
Conf. Eng. Project Prod. Manag., vol. 182, Sep. 2017, pp. 763–769. [36] Y. Zhang, Z. Guo, J. Lv, and Y. Liu, “A framework for smart
[10] P. Ferreira, R. Martinho, and D. Domingos, “IoT-aware busi- production-logistics systems based on CPS and industrial IoT,” IEEE
ness processes for logistics: Limitations of current approaches,” in Trans. Ind. Informat., vol. 14, no. 9, pp. 4019–4032, Sep. 2018.
Proc. 16th Annu. Conf. INFORUM, May 2010, pp. 611–622. [37] T. Gregor, M. Krajčovič, and D. Wiecek, “Smart connected logistics,”
[11] L. Barreto, A. Amaral, and T. Pereira, “Industry 4.0 implications in in Proc. Int. Sci. Conf. Sustain. Mod. Safe Transp. (TRANSCOM),
logistics: An overview,” in Proc. Int. Conf. Manuf. Eng. Soc. (MESIC vol. 192, Jun. 2017, pp. 265–270.
2017), vol. 13, Jun. 2017, pp. 1245–1252. [38] M. Shin, M. Ko, Y. Ju, Y. Jung, and B. Lee, “Implementation
[12] C. Prasse, A. Nettstraeter, and M. Hompel, “How IoT will change the of context-aware based robot control system for automatic postal
design and operation of logistics systems,” in Proc. Int. Conf. Internet logistics,” Stud. Informat. Control, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 71–80, Mar. 2013.
Things (IoT), Cambridge, MA, USA, Oct. 2014, pp. 55–60. [39] J. Kim, H. Lee, and R. Oh, “Smart integrated multiple tracking
[13] W. Liu and Z. Gao, “Study on IoT based architecture of logistics service system development for IoT based target-oriented logistics location
supply chain,” Int. J. Grid Distrib. Comput., vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 169–178, and resource service,” Int. J. Smart Home, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 195–204,
Feb. 2014. 2015.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
4270 IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL, VOL. 8, NO. 6, MARCH 15, 2021

[40] Y. Tseng and W. Yue, “The role of transportation in logistics chain,” [66] K. Sairam, N. Gunasekaran, and S. Redd, “Bluetooth in wireless
in Proc. Eastern Asia Soc. Transp. Stud., vol. 5, 2005, pp. 1657–1672. communication,” IEEE Commun. Mag., vol. 40, no. 6, pp. 90–96,
[41] T. Brockman, “21 warehousing trends in the 21st century,” IIE Jun. 2002.
Solutions, vol. 31, no. 7, pp. 36–44, Jul. 1999. [67] K. Chang, “Bluetooth: A viable solution for IoT? [industry perspec-
[42] A. Alho, J. Silva, and J. Sousa, “A state-of-the-art modeling frame- tives],” IEEE Wireless Commun., vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 6–7, Dec. 2014.
work to improve congestion by changing the configuration/enforcement [68] S. Darroudi and C. Gomez, “Bluetooth low energy mesh networks: A
of urban logistics loading/unloading bays,” Procedia Soc. Behav. Sci., survey,” Sensors, vol. 217, no. 7, pp. 1–19, Jun. 2017.
vol. 111, pp. 360–369, Feb. 2014. [69] H. Omar, K. Abboud, N. Cheng, K. Malekshan, A. Gamage, and
[43] R. Lancioni and R. Chandran, “The role of packaging in interna- W. Zhuang, “A survey on high efficiency wireless local area networks:
tional logistics,” Int. J. Phys. Distrib. Logistics Manag., vol. 20, no. 8, Next generation WiFi,” IEEE Commun. Surveys Tuts., vol. 18, no. 4,
pp. 41–43, Aug. 1990. pp. 2315–2344, 4th Quart., 2016.
[44] J. Wang, R. Zhang, and J. Wang, “Research on the distribution system [70] T. Adame, A. Bel, B. Bellalta, J. Barcelo, and M. Oliver, “IEEE
in e-commerce logistics based on gridding management,” in Proc. Int. 802.11ah: The WiFi approach for M2M communications,” IEEE
Conf. Logistics Inf. Service Sci, (LISS), Barcelona, Spain, Jul. 2015, Wireless Commun., vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 144–152, Dec. 2014.
pp. 1–5. [71] Wi-Fi Protected Access: Strong, Standards-Based, Interoperable
[45] E. Bardi, T. Raghunathan, and P. Bagchi, “Logistics information Security for Today’s Wi-Fi Networks, Wi-Fi Alliance, Austin, TX, USA,
systems: The strategic role of top management,” J. Bus. Logistics, 2003.
vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 71–85, 1994. [72] R. Want, “Near field communication,” IEEE Pervasive Comput.,
[46] E. Hofmann and M. Rüsch, “Industry 4.0 and the current status as vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 4–7, Jul.–Sep. 2011.
well as future prospects on logistics,” Comput. Ind., vol. 89, pp. 22–23, [73] V. Coskun, B. Ozdenizci, and K. Ok, “A survey on near field commu-
Aug. 2017. nication (NFC) technology,” Wireless Pers. Commun., vol. 71, no. 3,
[47] A. Galkin, C. Dolia, and N. Davidich, “The role of consumers in pp. 2259–2294, Aug. 2013.
logistics systems,” Trans. Res. Procedia, vol. 27, pp. 1187–1194, [74] E. Husni, Kuspriyanto, N. Basjaruddin, T. Purboyo, S. Purwantoro,
Dec. 2017. and H. Ubaya, “Efficient tag-to-tag near field communication (NFC)
[48] B. Dorsemaine, J. Gaulier, J. Wary, N. Kheir, and P. Urien, “Internet of protocol for secure mobile payment,” in Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. Instrum.
Things: A definition & taxonomy,” in Proc. 9th Int. Conf. Next Gener. Commun. Inf. Technol. Biomed. Eng., Bandung, Indonesia, Nov. 2011,
Mobile Appl. Service Technol., Cambridge, U.K., Sep. 2015, pp. 72–77. pp. 97–101.
[49] D. Uckelmann, M. Harrison, and F. Michahelles, “An architectural [75] T. Kumar and P. Mane, “ZigBee topology: A survey,” in Proc. Int. Conf.
approach towards the future Internet of Things,” in Architecting the Control Instrum. Commun. Comput. Technol. (ICCICCT), Kumaracoil,
Internet of Things. Berlin, Germany: Springer, Mar. 2011, pp. 1–24. India, Dec. 2016, pp. 164–166.
[50] D. Giusto, A. Iera, G. Morabito, and L. Atzori, The Internet of [76] D. Gislason, ZigBee Wireless Networking. Burlington, MA, USA:
Things: 20th Tyrrhenian Workshop on Digital Communications. Berlin, Newnes, 2008.
Germany: Springer, 2010. [77] ZigBee Specification FAQ, ZigBee Alliance, Davis, CA, USA,
[51] N. Luong, D. Hoang, P. Wang, D. Niyato, D. Kim, and Z. Han, 2018. [Online]. Available: http://www.zigbee.org/Specifications/
“Data collection and wireless communication in Internet of Things ZigBee/FAQ.aspx
(IoT) using economic analysis and pricing models: A survey,” IEEE [78] R. Ratasuk, B. Vejlgaard, N. Mangalvedhe, and A. Ghosh, “NB-IoT
Commun. Surveys Tuts., vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 2546–2590, 4th Quart., system for M2M communication,” in Proc. IEEE Wireless Commun.
2016. Netw. Conf., Doha, Qatar, Apr. 2016, pp. 1–5.
[52] L. Castro and S. Wamba, “An inside look at RFID tchnology,” J. [79] A. Augustin, J. Yi, T. Clausen, and W. Townsley, “A study of LoRa:
Technol. Manag. Innovat., vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 128–139, Jan. 2007. Long range & low power networks for the Internet of Things,” Sensors,
[53] R. Want, “An introduction to RFID technology,” IEEE Pervasive vol. 16, no. 9, pp. 1–18, Sep. 2016.
Comput., vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 25–33, Jan.–Mar. 2006. [80] A. Wixted, P. Kinnaird, H. Larijani, A. Tait, A. Ahmadinia, and
[54] R. Floyd, “RFID in animal-tracking applications,” IEEE Potentials, N. Strachan, “Evaluation of LoRa and LoRaWAN for wireless sen-
vol. 34, no. 5, pp. 32–33, Sep./Oct. 2015. sor networks,” in Proc. IEEE Sensors, Orlando, FL, USA, Oct. 2016,
[55] B. Hameed, I. Khan, F. Dürr, and K. Rothermel, “An RFID based pp. 1–3.
consistency management framework for production monitoring in a [81] M. Lauridsen, B. Vejlgaard, I. Kovács, H. Nguyen, and P. Mogensen,
smart real-time factory,” in Proc. Internet Things (IoT), Tokyo, Japan, “Interference measurements in the European 868 MHz ISM band with
Nov. 2010, pp. 1–8. focus on LoRa and SigFox,” in Proc. IEEE Wireless Commun. Netw.
[56] R. Verdult, F. Garcia, and B. Ege, “Dismantling megamos crypto: Conf. (WCNC), San Francisco, CA, USA, Mar. 2017, pp. 1–6.
Wirelessly lockpicking a vehicle immobilizer,” in Proc. 22nd USENIX [82] M. Aernouts, R. Berkvens, K. Vlaenderen, and M. Weyn, “Sigfox and
Security Symp. (Supplement to USENIX Security), Aug. 2015, LoRaWAN datasets for fingerprint localization in large urban and rural
pp. 703–718. areas,” Data, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 1–15, Apr. 2018.
[57] K. Finkenzeller, RFID Handbook: Fundamentals and Applications in [83] R. Iborra and M. Cano, “State of the art in LP-WAN solutions for
Contactless Smart Cards. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley, 2010. industrial IoT services,” Sensor, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 1–14, May 2016.
[58] L. Lee and K. Tsang, “An active RFID system for railway vehicle iden- [84] H. Dhillon, H. Huang, and H. Viswanathan, “Wide-area wireless com-
tification and positioning,” in Proc. Int. Conf. Railway Eng. Challenges munication challenges for the Internet of Things,” IEEE Commun.
Railway Transp. Inf. Age, Hong Kong, China, Mar. 2008, pp. 1–4. Mag., vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 168–174, Feb. 2017.
[59] X. Zhang and M. Tentzeris, “Applications of fast-moving RFID tags [85] I. Parvez, A. Rahmati, I. Guvenc, A. Sarwat, and H. Dai, “A survey
in high-speed railway systems,” Int. J. Eng. Bus. Manag., vol. 3, on low latency towards 5G: RAN, core network and caching solu-
pp. 27–31, Jan. 2011. tions,” IEEE Commun. Surveys Tuts., vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 3098–3130,
[60] Y. Zhou, C. Law, and J. Xia, “Ultra low-power RFID tag with precision 4th Quart., 2018.
localization using IR-UWB,” in Proc. IEEE MTT-S Int. Microw. Symp., [86] G. Liu, F. R. Yu, H. Ji, V. C. M. Leung, and X. Li, “In-band full-duplex
Baltimore, MD, USA, Jun. 2011, pp. 1–4. relaying for 5G cellular networks with wireless virtualization,” IEEE
[61] D. Sen, P. Sen, and A. Das, RFID for Energy & Utility Industries. Netw., vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 54–61, Nov./Dec. 2015.
Tulsa, OK, USA: PennWell, 2009. [87] “IMT vision—‘Framework and overall objectives of the future
[62] C. Roberts, “Radio frequency identification (RFID),” Comput. Security, development of IMT for 2020 and beyond,”’ ITU, Geneva,
vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 18–26, Feb. 2006. Switzerland, ITU-Recommendation M.2083, 2020. [Online]. Available:
[63] L. Borges, F. Velez, and A. Lebres, “Survey on the characterization and https://www.itu.int/dms_pubrec/itu-r/rec/m/R-REC-M.2083-0-201509-
classification of wireless sensor network applications,” IEEE Commun. I!!PDF-E.pdf
Surveys Tuts., vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 1860–1890, 4th Quart., 2014. [88] A. Ngu, M. Gutierrez, V. Metsis, S. Nepal, and Q. Sheng, “IoT mid-
[64] K. Romer and F. Mattern, “The design space of wireless sen- dleware: A survey on issues and enabling technologies,” IEEE Internet
sor networks,” IEEE Wireless Commun., vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 54–61, Things J., vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 1–20, Feb. 2017.
Dec. 2004. [89] B. Soma, S. Munmun, M. Souvik, and D. Subhajit, “A survey of mid-
[65] J. Stankovic, “Wireless sensor networks,” Computer, vol. 41, no. 10, dleware for Internet of Things,” in Proc. Recent Trends Wireless Mobile
pp. 92–95, Oct. 2008. Networks, vol. 162, Jun. 2011, pp. 288–296.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
SONG et al.: APPLICATIONS OF IoT IN SMART LOGISTICS: COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY 4271

[90] P. Mell and T. Grance, The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing, doc- [115] B. Xue, M. Zhang, W. Browne, and X. Yao, “A survey on evolution-
ument SP 800-145, NIST U.S. Dept. Commerce, Gaithersburg, MA, ary computation approaches to feature selection,” IEEE Trans. Evol.
USA, Sep. 2011. Comput., vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 606–626, Aug. 2016.
[91] K. Nowicka, “Smart city logistics on cloud computing model,” in [116] A. Pandian, “Artificial intelligence application in smart warehousing
Proc. 1st Int. Conf. Green Cities Green Logistics Greener Cities, environment for automated logistics,” J. Artif. Intell. Capsule Netw.,
vol. 151, Oct. 2014, pp. 266–281. vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 63–72, Dec. 2019.
[92] S. Arne, H. Karl, G. Dirk, T. Klaus-Dieter, and H. Otthein, “Cloud com- [117] S. Lee, G. Tewolde, and J. Kwon, “Design and implementation of vehi-
puting for autonomous control in logistics,” in Proc. INFORMATIK cle tracking system using GPS/GSM/GPRS technology and smartphone
Serv. Sci. Neue Perspektiven fur die Informatik. Band 1, 2010, application,” in Proc. IEEE World Forum Internet Things (WF-IoT),
pp. 305–310. Seoul, South Korea, Mar. 2014, pp. 353–358.
[93] N. Subramanian, M. Abdulrahman, and X. Zhou, “Integration of logis- [118] J. Prinsloo and R. Malekian, “Accurate vehicle location system using
tics and cloud computing service providers: Cost and green benefits in RFID, an Internet of Things approach,” Sensors, vol. 16, no. 6, p. 825,
the Chinese context,” Transp. Rev. E, Logistics Transp. Rev., vol. 70, Jun. 2016.
pp. 86–98, Oct. 2014. [119] S. Sukode and S. Gite, “Vehicle traffic congestion control & monitoring
[94] Y. Wu, “Research on cloud service architecture and dynamic distri- system in IoT,” Int. J. Appl. Eng. Res., vol. 10, no. 8, pp. 19513–19523,
bution of cold chain logistics,” M.S. thesis, Inst. Inf. Technol. Eng. Oct. 2015.
Manag., Hefei Univ. Technol., Hefei, China, 2016. [120] Y. Yan, “Research on the innovation path of logistics formats based on
[95] M. Chen, S. Mao, and Y. Liu, “Big data: A survey,” Mobile Netw. 5G technology,” Sci. Res., vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 1936–1942, Oct. 2019.
Appl., vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 171–209, Apr. 2014. [121] L. Zhou and C. Lou, “Intelligent cargo tracking system based on the
[96] S. Sagiroglu and D. Sinanc, “Big data: A review,” in Proc. Int. Internet of Things,” in Proc. 15th Int. Conf. Netw. Based Inf. Syst.,
Conf. Collab. Technol. Syst. (CTS), San Diego, CA, USA, May 2013, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, Sep. 2012, pp. 489–493.
pp. 42–47. [122] W. Liu, A. Zheng, H. Li, M. Qian, and R. Wang, “Dangerous goods
[97] M. Hilbert, “Big data for development: A review of promises and chal- dynamic monitoring and controlling system based on IoT and RFID,”
lenges,” Develop. Policy Rev., vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 135–174, Jan. 2016. in Proc. 24th Chin. Control Decis. Conf. (CCDC), Taiyuan, China,
[98] Y. He, F. R. Yu, N. Zhao, V. C. M. Leung, and H. Yin, “Software- May 2012, pp. 4171–4175.
defined networks with mobile edge computing and caching for smart [123] M. Forcolin, E. Fracasso, F. Tumanischvili, and P. Lupieri,
cities: A big data deep reinforcement learning approach,” IEEE “EURIDICE—IoT applied to logistics using the intelligent cargo con-
Commun. Mag., vol. 55, no. 12, pp. 31–37, Dec. 2017. cept,” in Proc. 17th Int. Conf. Concurrent Enterprising, Aachen,
[99] L. Zhu, F. R. Yu, Y. Wang, B. Ning, and T. Tang, “Big data analytics Germany, Jun. 2011, pp. 1–9.
in intelligent transportation systems: A survey,” IEEE Trans. Intell. [124] S. Choudhari and V. Giripunje, “Remote healthcare monitoring system
Transp. Syst., vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 383–398, Jan. 2019. for drivers community based on IoT,” Int. J. Emerg. Technol. Eng. Res.,
[100] K. Govindan, T. Cheng, N. Mishra, and N. Shukla, “Big data analytics vol. 4, no. 7, pp. 118–121, Jul. 2016.
and application for logistics and supply chain management,” Transp. [125] M. Aazam and X. Fernando, “Fog assisted driver behavior monitoring
Rev. E, Logistics Transp. Rev., vol. 114, pp. 343–349, Jun. 2018. for intelligent transportation system,” in Proc. IEEE 86th Veh. Technol.
Conf. (VTC-Fall), Toronto, ON, Canada, Sep. 2017, pp. 1–5.
[101] D. Ghosh, “Big data in logistics and supply chain management—A
rethinking step,” in Proc. Int. Symp. Adv. Comput. Commun. (ISACC), [126] C. Boja, P. Paul, and I. Bogdan, “Service architecture for driver behav-
Silchar, India, Sep. 2015, pp. 168–173. ior analysis in an IoT vehicular environment,” in Proc. 15th Int. Conf.
Informat. Econ. (IE), Mar. 2018, pp. 114–119.
[102] A. Ayed, M. Halima, and A. Alimi, “Big data analytics for logistics and
[127] B. Jachimczyk, D. Dziak, J. Czapla, P. Damps, and W. Kulesza, “IoT
transportation,” in Proc. 4th Int. Conf. Adv. Logistics Transp. (ICALT),
on-board system for driving style assessment,” Sensors, vol. 18, no. 4,
Valenciennes, France, May 2015, pp. 311–316.
pp. 1–22, Apr. 2018.
[103] L. Karim, A. Boulmakoul, and A. Lbath, “Near real-time big data
[128] L. Liu, C. Chen, Q. Pei, S. Maharjan, and Y. Zhang, “Vehicular
analytics for NFC-enabled logistics trajectories,” in Proc. 3rd Int. Conf.
edge computing and networking: A survey,” Mobile Netw. Appl., early
Logistics Oper. Manag. (GOL), Fez, Morocco, May 2016, pp. 1–7.
access, Jul. 2020, doi: 10.1007/s11036-020-01624-1.
[104] G. Wang, A. Gunasekaran, and E. Ngai, “Distribution network
[129] Y. Song, Y. Fu, F. R. Yu, and L. Zhou, “Blockchain-enabled Internet
design with big data: Model and analysis,” Ann Oper. Res., vol. 270,
of vehicles with cooperative positioning: A deep neural network
pp. 539–551, Nov. 2018.
approach,” IEEE Internet Things J., vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 3485–3498,
[105] H. Kaur and S. Singh, “Heuristic modeling for sustainable procurement Apr. 2020.
and logistics in a supply chain using big data,” Comput. Oper. Res., [130] S. Trab, E. Bajic, A. Zouinkhi, M. Abdelkrim, and H. Cheki, “RFID
vol. 98, pp. 301–321, Oct. 2018. IoT-enabled warehouse for safety management using product class-
[106] A. Kaplan and M. Haenlein, “Siri, Siri, in my hand: Who’s the based storage and potential fields methods,” Int. J. Embedded Syst.,
fairest in the land? on the interpretations, illustrations, and implica- vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 71–88, 2018.
tions of artificial intelligence,” Bus. Horizons, vol. 62, no. 1, pp. 15–25, [131] S. Nissanka, M. Senevirathna, and M. Dharmawardana, “IoT based
Jan./Feb. 2019. automatic storing and retrieval system,” in Proc. Manuf. Ind. Eng.
[107] B. Zhang, Y. Wu, J. Lu, and K. Du, “Evolutionary computation and its Symp. (MIES), Colombo, Sri Lanka, Oct. 2016, pp. 1–5.
applications in neural and fuzzy systems,” Appl. Comput. Intell. Soft [132] X. Ma, “Three-dimensional warehouse automated logistics control
Comput., vol. 2011, pp. 1–20, Aug. 2011. system based on ZigBee wireless network,” J. Harbin Univ. Sci.
[108] I. Silva, D. Spatti, R. Flauzino, L. Liboni, and S. Alves, Artificial Technol., vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 67–72, Dec. 2016.
Neural Networks. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2017. [133] A. Fenerciogl, M. Soyaslan, and C. Kozkurt, “Automatic storage and
[109] J. Feng. F. R. Yu, Q. Pei, X. Chu, J. Du, and L. Zhu, “Cooperative retrieval system (AS/RS) based on cartesian robot for liquid food indus-
computation offloading and resource allocation for blockchain-enabled try,” in Proc. 12th Int. Workshop Res. Educ. Mechatronics, Sep. 2011,
mobile-edge computing: A deep reinforcement learning approach,” pp. 283–287.
IEEE Internet Things J., vol. 7, no. 7, pp. 6214–6228, Jul. 2020. [134] T. Liu, J. Liu, and B. Liu, “Design of intelligent warehouse measure
[110] S. Ding, H. Li, C. Su, J. Yu, and F. Jin, “Evolutionary artificial neural and control system based on Zigbee WSN,” in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf.
networks: A review,” Artif. Intell. Rev., vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 251–260, Mechatronics Autom., Xi’an, China, Aug. 2010, pp. 888–893.
Mar. 2013. [135] J. Jiang, D. Yang, and Z. Gao, “Study on application of IoT in the
[111] J. Lee and W. Cheng, “Fuzzy-logic-based clustering approach for cotton warehousing environment,” Int. J. Grid Distrib. Comput., vol. 8,
wireless sensor networks using energy predication,” IEEE Sensors J., no. 4, pp. 91–104, Sep. 2015.
vol. 12, no. 9, pp. 2891–2897, Sep. 2012. [136] X. Yu, M. Zhang, M. Zhu, K. Xu, and Q. Xiang, “Design and
[112] P. Reddy, “Generalized fuzzy logic for incomplete information,” in implementation of automated warehouse monitoring system based
Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Fuzzy Syst. (FUZZ-IEEE), Hyderabad, India, on the Internet of Things,” Appl. Mech. Mater., vols. 543–547,
Jul. 2013, pp. 1–6. pp. 1099–1102, Mar. 2014.
[113] D. Ramot, M. Friedman, G. Langholz, and A. Kandel, “Complex fuzzy [137] S. Chihana, J. Phiri, and D. Kunda, “An IoT based warehouse intru-
logic,” IEEE Trans. Fuzzy Syst., vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 450–461, Aug. 2003. sion detection (E-Perimeter) and grain tracking model for food reserve
[114] D. Fogel, “What is evolutionary computation?” IEEE Spectr., vol. 37, agency,” Int. J. Adv. Comput. Sci. Appl., vol. 9, no. 9, pp. 214–223,
no. 2, pp. 26–32, Feb. 2000. 2018.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
4272 IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL, VOL. 8, NO. 6, MARCH 15, 2021

[138] C. Lee, Y. Lv, K. Ng, W. Ho, and K. Choy, “Design and application [160] M. Maksimović, V. Vujović, and E. Omanović-Mikličanin,
of Internet of Things based warehouse management system for smart “Application of Internet of Things in food packaging and trans-
logistics,” Int. J. Prod. Res., vol. 56, no. 8, pp. 2753–2768, Oct. 2017. portation,” Int. J. Sustain. Agr. Manag. Informat., vol. 1, no. 4,
[139] Z. Zhao, M. Zhang, C. Yang, J. Fang, and G. Huang, “Distributed and pp. 333–350, 2015.
collaborative proactive tandem location tracking of vehicle products [161] R. Lingle. (2015). Smart Packaging Experts See Applications and
for warehouse operations,” Comput. Ind. Eng., vol. 125, pp. 637–648, Opportunity. [Online]. Available: https://www.packagingdigest.
Nov. 2018. com/smart-packaging/smart-packaging-experts-see-applications-
[140] M. Li, S. Gu, G. Chen, and Z. Zhu, “A RFID-based intelligent ware- opportunity1507
house management system design and implementation,” in Proc. IEEE [162] T. Li et al., “A three-dimensional adaptive PSO-based packing algo-
8th Int. Conf. e-Bus. Eng., Beijing, China, Oct. 2011, pp. 178–184. rithm for an IoT-based automated e-fulfillment packaging system,”
[141] X. Jing and P. Tang, “Research and design of the intelligent inventory IEEE Access, vol. 5, pp. 9188–9205, 2017.
management system based on RFID,” in Proc. 6th Int. Symp. Comput. [163] X. Zhang, X. Shan, and J. Wei, “Hybrid flexible smart tempera-
Intell. Design, vol. 2. Hangzhou, China, Oct. 2013, pp. 8–11. ture tag with NFC technology for smart packaging,” in Proc. IEEE
[142] Y. Lee, J. Kim, H. Lee, and K. Moon, “IoT-based data transmit- 19th Electron. Packag. Technol. Conf. (EPTC), Singapore, Dec. 2017,
ting system using a UWB and RFID system in smart warehouse,” in pp. 1–5.
Proc. 9th Int. Conf. Ubiquitous Future Netw. (ICUFN), Milan, Italy, [164] K. Biji, C. Ravishankar, C. Mohan, and T. Gopal, “Smart packaging
Jul. 2017, pp. 545–547. systems for food applications: A review,” J. Food Sci. Technol., vol. 52,
no. 10, pp. 6125–6135, Oct. 2015.
[143] R. Khan, A. Bhujbal, and M. Goudar, “IoT enabled automated robotic
[165] A. Chandra and S. Lee, “A method of WSN and sensor cloud system
service for warehouses,” Int. J. Eng. Technol. Sci. Res., vol. 4, no. 5,
to monitor cold chain logistics as part of the IoT technology,” Int. J.
pp. 588–592, May 2017.
Multimedia, vol. 9, no. 10, pp. 145–152, 2014.
[144] L. Armesto, M. Mora, H. Ávaro, and T. Josep, “A client/server tele- [166] G. Yang et al., “A Health-IoT platform based on the integration of intel-
operation application of industrial forklifts,” in Proc. 7th IFAC Symp. ligent packaging, unobtrusive bio-sensor, and intelligent medicine box,”
Robot Control (SYROCO), vol. 2, Sep. 2003, pp. 515–520. IEEE Trans. Ind. Informat., vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 2180–2191, Nov. 2014.
[145] S. Liawatimena, B. Felix, A. Nugraha, and R. Evans, “A mini forklift [167] Z. Li, G. Liu, L. Liu, and X. Lai, “IoT-based tracking and tracing
robot,” in Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. Next Gener. Inf. Technol., Gyeongju, platform for prepackaged food supply chain,” Ind. Manag. Data Syst.,
South Korea, Jun. 2011, pp. 127–131. vol. 117, no. 9, pp. 1906–1916, Mar. 2017.
[146] M. Walter et al., “A situationally aware voice-commandable robotic [168] H. Kang et al., “Fully roll-to-roll gravure printable wireless
forklift working alongside people in unstructured outdoor environ- (13.56 MHz) sensor-signage tags for smart packaging,” Sci. Rep.,
ments,” J. Field Robot, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 590–628, May 2015. vol. 23, pp. 1–7, Jun. 2014.
[147] J. Michel, H. Millner, and M. Vossiek, “A novell wireless fork- [169] G. Sharada et al., “Smart food detector and safety monitoring using IoT
lift positioning system for indoor and outdoor use,” in Proc. 5th (Internet of Things),” J. Appl. Sci. Comput., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 25–36,
Workshop Position. Navig. Commun., Hannover, Germany, Mar. 2008, Jan. 2019.
pp. 219–227. [170] A. Nawawi, K. Hasnan, and S. Bareduan, “The application of RFID
[148] J. Hoefinghoff, A. Jungk, W. Knop, and L. Overmeyer, “Using 3D field technology to capture and record product and process data for reverse
simulation for evaluating UHF RFID systems on forklift trucks,” IEEE logistics sorting activity,” in Proc. 12th Int. Conf. QiR (Quality
Trans. Antennas Propag., vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 689–691, Feb. 2011. Research), Jul. 2011, pp. 2091–2095.
[149] R. Estanjini, Y. Lin, K. Li, D. Guo, and I. Paschalidis, “Optimizing [171] L. Shangguan and K. Jamieson, “The design and implementation of a
warehouse forklift dispatching using a sensor network and stochas- mobile RFID tag sorting robot,” in Proc. 14th Annu. Int. Conf. Mobile
tic learning,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Informat., vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 476–486, Syst. Appl. Serv. (MobiSys), Jun. 2016, pp. 31–42.
Aug. 2011. [172] L. Zhi and G. Poobalan, “Development of an intelligent recognition
[150] M. Zhang and K. Yu, “Wireless communication technologies in auto- and sorting system,” South African J. Ind. Eng., vol. 23, pp. 226–236,
mated guided vehicles: Survey and analysis,” in Proc. IEEE 44th Annu. Aug. 2012.
Conf. Ind. Electron. Soc. (IECON), Washington, DC, USA, Oct. 2018, [173] C. Mouli and K. Raju, “A review on wireless embedded system for
pp. 4155–4161. vision guided robot arm for object sorting,” Int. J. Eng. Sci., vol. 4,
[151] S. Lu, C. Xu, R. Zhong, and L. Wang, “A RFID-enabled positioning no. 7, pp. 33–38, Jul. 2013.
system in automated guided vehicle for smart factories,” J. Manuf. [174] U. Asghar, M. Lütjen, A. Rohde, J. Lembke, and M. Freitag, “Wireless
Syst., vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 179–190, Jul. 2017. pick-by-light: Usability of LPWAN to achieve a flexible warehouse
[152] G. Zhang and Z. Pan, “The application research of mobile robots logistics infrastructure,” in Proc. Int. Conf. Dyn. Logistics, Feb. 2018,
and wireless sensor network in laser automatic guided vehicles,” in pp. 273–283.
Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. Meas. Technol. Mechatronics Autom., vol. 3. [175] C. Sun, W. Li, C. Zhou, M. Li, and X. Yan, “Anti-counterfeit system for
Shangshai, China, Jan. 2011, pp. 708–711. agricultural product origin labeling based on GPS data and encrypted
[153] C. Roehrig, A. Heller, D. Hess, and F. Kuenemund, “Global localization chinese-sensible code,” Comput. Electron. Agr., vol. 92, pp. 82–91,
and position tracking of automatic guided vehicles using passive RFID Mar. 2013.
technology,” in Proc. 41st Int. Symp. Robot. (ISR/Robotik), Munich, [176] Y. Xu, Y. Peng, and S. Liu, “Application of NB-IoT technology in
Germany, Jun. 2014, pp. 1–8. Internet of Things label printer,” in Proc. Chin. Autom. Congr. (CAC),
Xi’an, China, Nov. 2018, pp. 1223–1228.
[154] M. Nugraha, P. Ardianto, and D. Darlis, “Design and implementa-
[177] E. Abad, F. Palacio, M. Nuin, A. Zrate, A. Juarros, and J. Marco,
tion of RFID line-follower robot system with color detection capability
“RFID smart tag for traceability and cold chain monitoring of foods:
using fuzzy logic,” in Proc. Int. Conf. Control Electron. Renew. Energy
Demonstration in an intercontinental fresh fish logistic chain,” J. Food
Commun. (ICCEREC), Bandung, Indonesia, Aug. 2015, pp. 75–78.
Eng., vol. 93, no. 4, pp. 394–399, Aug. 2009.
[155] J. Ko, J. Jung, and J. Jeon, “Anti-collision method for AGV using [178] Y. Tsang, K. Choy, C. Wu, G. Ho, H. Lam, and V. Tang, “An intelligent
RFID and ZigBee network,” in Proc. 13th Int. Conf. Control Autom. model for assuring food quality in managing a multi-temperature food
Syst. (ICCAS), Gwangju, South Korea, Oct. 2013, pp. 599–604. distribution centre,” Food Control, vol. 90, pp. 81–97, Aug. 2018.
[156] F. Wu, “Indoor navigation and guidance of an autonomous robot vehi- [179] J. Gao and Y. Tang, “Intelligent distribution system based on IoT
cle by using wireless (ZigBee) cummunication,” Adv. Mater. Res., technology,” in Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. Transp. Eng. (ICTE), 2011,
vols. 463–464, pp. 1634–1637, Feb. 2012. pp. 2211–2216.
[157] G. Wang, H. Wang, X. Zhang, and Y. Li, “Development of field con- [180] Y. Wu and J. Chen, “RFID application in a CVS distribution centre in
trol system of automated guided vehicle based on wireless local area Taiwan: A simulation study,” Int. J. Manuf. Technol. Manag., vol. 10,
network and CAN bus,” Key Eng. Mater., vols. 579–580, pp. 792–797, no. 1, pp. 121–135, 2007.
Sep. 2013. [181] D. Bijwaard, W. Kleunen, P. Havinga, L. Kleiboer, and M. Bijl,
[158] T. Nguyen, V. Duong, H. Nguyen, T. Nguyen, and V. Tran, “Remote “Industry: Using dynamic WSNs in smart logistics for fruits and phar-
discrete-time model reference adaptive control of a two-wheeled mobile macy,” in Proc. 9th ACM Conf. Embedded Netw. Sens. Syst. (SenSys),
robot,” Int. J. Mech. Prod., vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 1325–1334, Aug. 2019. Nov. 2011, pp. 218–231.
[159] J. Sun, Y. Fu, S. Li, and Y. Su, “Automated guided vehicle indoor [182] F. Wang, F. Wang, X. Ma, and J. Liu, “Demystifying the crowd intelli-
positioning method based cellular automata,” in Proc. Chin. Intell. Syst. gence in last mile parcel delivery for smart cities,” IEEE Netw., vol. 19,
Conf., vol. 528, Oct. 2018, pp. 615–629. no. 2, pp. 23–29, Mar./Apr. 2019.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
SONG et al.: APPLICATIONS OF IoT IN SMART LOGISTICS: COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY 4273

[183] W. Lang, R. Jedermann, D. Mrugala, A. Jabbari, B. Krieg-Brückner, [205] Q. Gao, J. Zhang, J. Ma, C. Yang, J. Guo, and Y. Miao, “LIP-PA:
and K. Schill, “The ‘Intelligent Container’—A cognitive sensor A logistics information privacy protection scheme with position and
network for transport management,” IEEE Sensors J., vol. 11, no. 3, attribute-based access control on mobile devices,” Wireless Commun.
pp. 688–698, Mar. 2011. Mobile Comput., vol. 2018, pp. 1–14, Jul. 2018.
[184] P. Dittmer, M. Veigt, B. Scholz-Reiter, N. Heidmann, and S. Paul, [206] A. Kliem and O. Kao, “The Internet of Things resource management
“The intelligent container as a part of the Internet of Things,” in Proc. challenge,” in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Data Sci. Data Intensive Syst.,
IEEE Int. Conf. Cyber Technol. Autom. Control Intell. Syst. (CYBER), Sydney, NSW, Australia, Dec. 2015, pp. 483–490.
Bangkok, Thailand, May 2012, pp. 209–214. [207] M. Aazam and E. Huh, “Fog computing micro datacenter based
[185] Z. Sun and G. Zhao, “Multi-functional parcel delivery locker system,” dynamic resource estimation and pricing model for IoT,” in Proc. IEEE
in Proc. Int. Conf. Comput. Comput. Sci. (ICCCS), Noida, India, 29th Int. Conf. Adv. Inf. Netw. Appl., Gwangiu, South Korea, Mar. 2015,
Jan. 2015, pp. 207–210. pp. 687–694.
[208] P. Semasinghe, S. Maghsudi, and E. Hossain, “Game theoretic mech-
[186] J. Yu and A. Lam, “Autonomous vehicle logistic system: Joint routing
anisms for resource management in massive wireless IoT systems,”
and charging strategy,” IEEE T. Intell. Transp. Sys., vol. 19, no. 7,
IEEE Commun. Mag., vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 121–127, Feb. 2017.
pp. 2175–2187, Jul. 2018.
[209] H. Malik, H. Pervaiz, M. Alam, Y. Moullec, A. Kuusik, and M. Imran,
[187] H. Song and H. Han, “An adaptation of IoT to improve parcel delivery “Radio resource management scheme in NB-IoT systems,” IEEE
system,” in Proc. Federated Conf. Comput. Sci. Inf. Syst. (FedCSIS), Access, vol. 6, pp. 15051–15064, 2018.
Leipzig, Germany, Sep. 2019, pp. 497–500. [210] J. Wan, B. Chen, M. Imran, F. Tao, D. Li, C. Liu, and S. Ahmad,
[188] Y. Wang, H. Zhu, Z. Wang, H. Li, and G. Li, “A uniform parcel delivery “Toward dynamic resources management for IoT-based manufactur-
system based on IoT,” Adv. Internet Things, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 39–63, ing,” IEEE Commun. Mag., vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 52–59, Feb. 2018.
Oct. 2018. [211] E. Tijan, S. Aksentijevic, K. Ivanic, and M. Jardas, “Blockchain tech-
[189] N. Motlagh, T. Taleb, and O. Arouk, “Low-altitude unmanned aerial nology implementation in logistics,” Sustainability, vol. 11, pp. 1–13,
vehicles-based Internet of Things services: Comprehensive survey and Feb. 2019.
future perspectives,” IEEE Internet Thing J., vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 899–922, [212] J. Xie et al., “A survey of blockchain technology applied to smart
Dec. 2016. cities: Research issues and challenges,” IEEE Commun. Surveys Tuts.,
[190] M. Amico and S. Hadjidimitriou, “Innovative logistics model and con- vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 2794–2930, 3rd Quart., 2019.
tainers solution for efficient last mile delivery,” Procedia Soc. Behav. [213] M. Lewandowski, M. Gath, D. Werthmann, and M. Lawo, “Agent-based
Sci., vol. 48, pp. 1505–1514, Jan. 2012. control for material handling systems in in-house logistics—Towards
[191] C. Verdouw, R. Robbemond, T. Verwaart, J. Wolfert, and A. Beulens, cyber-physical systems in in-house-logistics utilizing real size,” in
“A reference architecture for IoT-based logistic information systems Proc. Eur. Conf. Smart Obj. Syst. Technol. (Smart SysTech), Erlangen,
in agri-food supply chains,” Enterprise Inf. Syst., vol. 12, no. 7, Germany, Jun. 2013, pp. 1–5.
pp. 755–779, Jul. 2018. [214] S. Mohr and O. Khan, “3D printing and its disruptive impacts on supply
[192] S. Liu, G. Zhang, and L. Wang, “IoT-enabled dynamic optimisation chains of the future,” Technol. Innovat. Manag. Rev., vol. 5, no. 11,
for sustainable reverse logistics,” in Proc. 25th CIRP Life Cycle Eng. pp. 20–25, Nov. 2015.
(LCE) Conf., May 2018, pp. 662–667.
[193] S. Chen, Y. Chen, and C. Hsu, “A new approach to integrate Internet- Yanxing Song received the Ph.D. degree in instru-
of-Things and software-as-a-service model for logistic systems: A case ment science and technology from Harbin Institute
study,” Sensors, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 6144–6164, Mar. 2014. of Technology, Harbin, China, in 2009.
She conducted a Postdoctoral Research with
[194] A. Moreno et al., “IVAN: Intelligent van for the distribution of
Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China. She
pharmaceutical drugs,” Sensors, vol. 12, pp. 6587–6609, May 2012.
was a visiting scholar with the Carleton University,
[195] M. Pardal and J. Marques, “Cost model for RFID-based traceability Ottawa, ON, Canada. She is currently an Associate
information systems,” in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. RFID Technol. Appl., Professor with the Information School, Beijing Wuzi
Sitges, Spain, Sep. 2011, pp. 486–493. University, Beijing. Her research interests include
[196] A. Hsu, W. Lee, A. Trappey, C. Trappey, and A. Chang, “Using system intelligent logistics systems and image processing.
dynamics analysis for performance evaluation of IoT enabled one-
stop logistic services,” in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Syst. Man Cybern., F. Richard Yu (Fellow, IEEE) received the Ph.D.
Kowloon, China, Oct. 2015, pp. 1291–1296. degree in electrical engineering from the University
[197] J. Shi, L. Jin, J. Li, and Z. Fang, “A smart parking system based on of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, in
NB-IoT and third-party payment platform,” in Proc. 17th Int. Symp. 2003.
Commun. Inf. Technol. (ISCIT), Cairns, QLD, Australia, Sep. 2017, From 2002 to 2006, he was with Ericsson, Lund,
pp. 1–5. Sweden, and a start-up in California, USA. He
[198] K. Burow, M. Franke, and K. Thoben, “5G-ready in the industrial joined Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada, in
IoT-environment,” in Proc. IFIP Int. Conf. Adv. Prod. Manag. Syst., 2007, where he is currently a Professor. His research
Aug. 2019, pp. 408–413. interests include connected/autonomous vehicles,
[199] K. Rawlinson. (2014). HP Study Reveals 70 Percent of Internet security, artificial intelligence, distributed ledger
of Things Devices Vulnerable to Attack. [Online]. Available: technology, and wireless cyber–physical systems.
https://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-news/press-release.html?id=1744676#. Prof. Yu received the IEEE TCGCC Best Journal Paper Award in 2019, the
VOTykPnF-ok Distinguished Service Awards in 2019 and 2016, the Outstanding Leadership
[200] E. Bertino, K. Choo, D. Georgakopolous, and S. Nepal, “Internet of Award in 2013, the Carleton Research Achievement Awards in 2012 and 2020,
Things (IoT): Smart and secure service delivery,” ACM Trans. Internet the Ontario Early Researcher Award (formerly, Premiers Research Excellence
Technol., vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 1–7, Dec. 2016. Award) in 2011, the Excellent Contribution Award at IEEE/IFIP TrustCom
2010, the Leadership Opportunity Fund Award from Canada Foundation of
[201] J. Granjal, E. Monteiro, and J. Silva, “Security for the Internet of
Innovation in 2009, and the Best Paper Awards at IEEE ICNC 2018, VTC
Things: A survey of existing protocols and open research issues,” IEEE
2017 Spring, ICC 2014, Globecom 2012, IEEE/IFIP TrustCom 2009, and
Commun. Surveys Tuts., vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 1294–1312, 3rd Quart.,
International Conference on Networking 2005. He serves on the editorial
2015.
boards of several journals, including the Co-Editor-in-Chief for Ad Hoc &
[202] Z. Zhang, M. Cho, C. Wang, C. Hsu, C. Chen, and S. Shieh, “IoT secu- Sensor Wireless Networks, the Lead Series Editor for IEEE T RANSACTIONS
rity: Ongoing challenges and research opportunities,” in Proc. IEEE 7th ON V EHICULAR T ECHNOLOGY , IEEE C OMMUNICATIONS S URVEYS &
Int. Conf. Serv. Oriented Comput. Appl., Matsue, Japan, Nov. 2014, T UTORIALS, and IEEE T RANSACTIONS ON G REEN C OMMUNICATIONS
pp. 230–234. AND N ETWORKING . He has served as the Technical Program Committee Co-
[203] T. Leaute and B. Faltings, “Coordinating logistics operations with pri- Chair of numerous conferences. He has been named in the Clarivate Analytics
vacy guarantees,” in Proc. 22nd Int. Joint Conf. Artif. Intell., Jun. 2011, list of “Highly Cited Researchers” since 2019. He is an IEEE Distinguished
pp. 2482–2487. Lecturer of both Vehicular Technology Society (VTS) and Communications
[204] X. Zhang, H. Li, Y. Yang, G. Sun, and G. Chen, “LIPPS: Logistics Society. He is an Elected Member of the Board of Governors of the IEEE
information privacy protection system based on encrypted QR code,” VTS and an Editor-in-Chief for IEEE VTS Mobile World newsletter. He is a
in Proc. IEEE Trustcom/BigDataSE/ISPA, Tianjin, China, Aug. 2016, Registered Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario, Canada, and a
pp. 996–1000. Fellow of IET and the Engineering Institute of Canada.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
4274 IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL, VOL. 8, NO. 6, MARCH 15, 2021

Li Zhou received the Ph.D. degree in management Zefang He received the Ph.D. degree from Beihang
from Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China, University, Beijing, China, in 2016.
in 2006. She was a Postdoctoral Fellow with Beihang
She is currently a Professor and the Dean of University from 2016 to 2018. She is currently a
the School of Information, Beijing Wuzi University, Lecturer with the Information School, Beijing Wuzi
Beijing, and the Director of the Beijing Intelligent University, Beijing. Her current research interests
Logistics System Cooperative Innovation Center. include machine learning, navigation and position-
Her research interests include intelligent logistics ing, track planning, and block chain application.
systems, optimization theory and methods, and big
data technology and applications.

Xi Yang received the Ph.D. degree from Central

South University, Changsha, China, in 2007.
She is currently an Associate Professor with
the Information School, Beijing Wuzi University,
Beijing, China. Her current research interests include
machine learning, cloud computing, and computa-
tional intelligence.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Carleton University. Downloaded on March 07,2021 at 01:18:34 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.