Qualcomm is planning to roll out a paid cloud software service to help companies track their goods and materials in the supply chain.
The new service, called Qualcomm Aware is a customisable platform designed to provide interoperability with private clouds, industry-specific platforms. It can also be integrated with existing enterprise software tools for enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management, inventory management, and more.Â
It will also work with Qualcomm chips that go into tracking devices for shipping containers, pallets, packages and other parts of supply chains to help companies keep tabs on where their goods and materials are.
While most trackers are made by third parties, Qualcomm makes some devices of its own, including a tilt sensor that reports if utility poles have fallen over during storms. The service will utilise a variety of technologies, including 4G modems and location tracking technologies sourced from Skyhook Wireless and PoLTE. Qualcomm plans to work with third-party hardware manufacturers to develop new devices that work with the Aware service.
Qualcomm’s new service will not replace a customer’s existing enterprise resource management (ERP) platforms but will provide API integrations with existing tools. Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 SaaSy ERP is among the first to sign up, and Qualcomm is engaging with other independent software vendors to add support for the platform.
The Qualcomm Aware service, set to launch later this year, aims to provide virtual dashboards that show a company’s entire inventory at any given moment. Pricing and hardware availability have not yet been announced, but this move represents Qualcomm’s attempt to generate revenue from its chips by charging for cloud-based services using the chip after its sale.
