BLE IoT Inventory Management For Structural Components Manufacturing (Case Study)

Why BLE/IoT Inventory Management is Better Than Barcode / QR Code Scanning

QR code or barcode scanning is an effective, low cost way of managing inventory. It speeds up the process and makes it more accurate than manual inventory tracking methods.

However, QR code or barcode scanning inventory management still requires some manual work. An employee needs to physically locate, scan and record each individual item. For the high-volume, fast-moving inventory businesses may require inventory management process with a higher degree of automation.

BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) IoT-based inventory management is a 100% automated system that works on its own 24/7 without requiring any employee participation. BLE tags continuously broadcast their presence, allowing inventory to be monitored by IoT gateways without requiring manual scans. Businesses get real-time visibility into inventory location and movement history, while reducing labor costs and improving accuracy.

BLE / IoT inventory management system provides continuous, hands-free tracking, making it ideal for environments where inventory moves frequently, such as warehouses, construction sites, and service vehicles. In addition to real time location tracking, IoT system can provide 24/7 inventory conditions monitoring. The system instantly alerts you on temperature or humidity changes that can negatively affect inventory items, preventing waste and spoilage.

These capabilities make IoT-based inventory management an essential tool for industries that require a fully automated process, accurate inventory data and where environmental factors play an important role.

Challenges Of IoT Inventory Management Vs Asset Tracking

While IoT-based asset tracking and inventory management share similarities, inventory management presents unique challenges that make implementation more complex. There are two main challenges that need to be solved.

Accurately Tracking Inventory Quantity

Accurately calculating inventory quantity in a BLE IoT system presents a unique challenge. Unlike asset tracking, where each tag corresponds to a single, distinct item, in the inventory management system multiple items have the same SKU and are identical, but have different BLE tag IDs.

The BLE inventory system must aggregate counts for identical SKUs, while ensuring that duplicate tag reads do not inflate the total. Since BLE signals are continuously detected, the same tag may be recorded multiple times while the item remains within range, leading to potential miscounts. The system must intelligently filter duplicate readings, recognizing when an item has truly entered or exited a location, and when the system received a duplicate signal from the BLE tag.

Reusing BLE Tags

Asset tracking typically involves long-term monitoring of fixed or high-value items, such as equipment, tools, or vehicles, where each asset retains a dedicated BLE tag throughout its lifecycle. In contrast, inventory management requires handling large quantities of items that move quickly through different stages, such as received, stored, used, or shipped. It means that BLE tags must be reassigned frequently without causing tracking errors.

The system needs a reliable method to release tags from used or shipped items and securely reassign them to new inventory without confusion.

Managing a large volume of constantly changing items requires robust data handling to prevent duplicate records, mismatched BLE tag assignments, or tracking gaps. Despite these challenges, with the right approach BLE-based inventory management can provide an efficient, automated solution that surpasses traditional barcode scanning methods.

Lumber Inventory Management With BLE Tags And IoT Gateways - Structure Craft Case Study

This case study describes IoT inventory management of lumber lifts as they are received, are moved between storage yards and are used in production. The system is a combo of automated IoT tracking with gateways and a mobile app for operations that require user input.

What We Were Trying To Accomplish

The process involves:

• Lumber receiving in intake location, allocation for a job
• Lumber movement between the storage yards
• Lumber lift pick up from the closest yard for use in production

The goal was to accurately track lumber inventory as it moves through the process, be able to allocate inventory for the jobs, re-allocate if necessary, and ensure that the right lumber is used for each job. We started with QR code based tracking, and then automated the process by incorporating BLE tags and IoT gateways into the system. We used IoT gateways based on Android tablets, and BLE tags with replaceable batteries.

What BLE Tracking Options We Considered

Option 1 – Continuous Tracking Across the Entire Lumber Yard

This approach involves installing multiple BLE gateways throughout the lumber yard to provide full coverage. In open spaces, an Android tablet or iPad-based gateway can typically detect BLE signals within a 200-meter radius, though obstacles can reduce this range.

The key advantage of this method is continuous real-time tracking - if a BLE tag is missed during one scan, it will be picked up on the next one. This redundancy ensures a high level of accuracy, eliminating the risk of lost inventory data.

Option 2 – Tracking Inventory At The Lumber Yard Entrance

With this method, a single BLE gateway is placed at the entrance/exit of the lumber yard, detecting inventory only when it passes through. Unlike continuous tracking, this approach provides a single momentary scan as items move in or out.

The downside is that if a BLE tag is missed at the checkpoint, the inventory movement will go unrecorded, as there are no further opportunities to detect it once the truck has passed. This makes the system more vulnerable to tracking gaps, potentially leading to inventory discrepancies.

Challenges And Solutions

Our initial plan was to implement Option 1, which involved deploying multiple BLE gateways across the entire lumber yard for continuous monitoring. Since lumber yards are largely open spaces, we estimated that 2–3 gateways would be sufficient to cover several acres. This approach was appealing because continuous tracking ensures that if a BLE tag is missed in one scan, it will be detected in the next. In contrast, momentary scanning at entry points carries the risk that a missed scan could result in an inventory discrepancy.

However, our first tests revealed a major challenge - lumber stacks significantly reduced BLE scanning distances, making it impractical to provide full coverage across the entire yard. On the other hand, testing BLE detection at the yard's entrance showed that all tags were consistently detected as inventory passed through the gateway. The risk of missed tags was much lower than anticipated.

As a result, we opted for an entrance-based tracking system. To further reduce the possibility of missed scans, we installed two gateways on either side of the entrance. This setup ensures that if a tag is missed by one gateway, the second will detect it. At the same time, the system was designed to prevent double counting - ensuring that BLE tags are not recorded multiple times if both gateways detect the same tag or if a lumber lift remains near the entrance.

Additionally, we encountered another challenge: the upper lumber yard was too close to the production area, making it difficult to distinguish between the two locations using fixed BLE gateways alone. To address this, we introduced a BLE-scanning mobile app that allows an operator to verify that the scanned tag corresponds to the correct item being used for production. The app calculates the closest BLE tag based on signal strength but gives the operator the final say in confirming the correct item, adding an extra layer of accuracy to the system.

The Final Result - Automated, Real-Time Inventory Tracking

The final system provides end-to-end tracking of lumber lifts - from receiving at the intake area to their use in production. It employs a hybrid approach, combining a mobile app for entering new inventory and recording production usage with Android-based IoT gateways for automated tracking of lumber movement through the yards.

Lumber Intake

An employee uses the mobile app to enter a new lumber lot into the system and associate it with attached BLE tags. The process is fast and straightforward - the technician simply enters the lot number, assigns it to a job, and records the received quantity. The app scans nearby BLE tags and automatically associates them with the entered lot.

If the number of scanned tags does not match the entered quantity, the system displays a list of detected tags, allowing the technician to review and exclude any incorrect ones before finalizing the entry.

Lumber Movement Through the Yards

Once in the system, lumber lifts are automatically tracked by IoT gateways as they move through the lower and upper lumber yards. Two gateways are installed at each entrance/exit, continuously scanning for BLE tags. The second gateway serves as a fail-safe, ensuring that no tags are missed.

For job allocation tracking an operator can assign a job number to a gateway through a web interface. If lumber assigned to a different job is mistakenly moved, the system immediately flags the error, allowing for quick correction.

Sending Lumber Lifts to Production

When a lumber lift is sent to production, an operator scans its BLE tag using the mobile app and records the job number. This action updates stock levels, logs production usage, and releases the BLE tag for reuse with new lumber lifts. If an incorrect lift is scanned, the app generates an error message, allowing the operator to correct the mistake on the spot.

Full Real-Time Inventory Visibility

As a result, Structure Craft now has complete real-time visibility of its lumber inventory, including precise location tracking, movement history, and production records. The entire process is automated and streamlined, requiring minimal employee involvement, significantly improving efficiency and reducing errors.

Ready For The Effective Inventory Management?

If you're ready to move beyond the limitations of traditional inventory management systems, a QR Inventory software is here to help. Let us show you how QR Inventory software can improve your operations, freeing you up to focus on what matters most – growing your business. Contact us today to learn more about QR Inventory software and how it can transform your inventory management process.