Companies looking to digitize tanks, IBCs, and other industrial containers should consider more than just sensors when selecting an IoT solution. While reliable tracking of fill levels, temperature, location, and movement provides the necessary foundation, the real value comes from how this data is processed and used.
Powerful software determines whether sensor data is simply displayed on a dashboard or directly integrated into existing processes, triggers automated actions, and supports informed decision-making. This is exactly where Packwise Flow 2.0 comes in. The platform centrally consolidates data from the Packwise Smart Cap, organizes it clearly, and enables seamless integration with existing business systems. This creates a direct connection between physical assets, real-time data, and operational processes.
Key Features at a Glance
- Centralized platform: All relevant sensor data is consolidated in Packwise Flow 2.0.
- Real-time visibility: Monitor fill levels, temperature, location, and movement at all times.
- Seamless integration: APIs and webhooks connect Packwise Flow with existing systems.
- Smart automation: Alerts and rules help reduce manual processes.
- Easy collaboration: Relevant data can be selectively shared with partners.
- Reliable data source: The Smart Cap delivers precise data directly from the asset.
- AI-ready: Structured data provides the foundation for forecasting, anomaly detection, and other AI applications.
Why Does Software Determine the Value of an IoT Solution?
An industrial IoT solution essentially consists of two layers: the sensors on the physical asset and the software that consolidates and processes the collected information. The Packwise Smart Cap measures fill level, temperature, location, and movement. These measurements provide transparency, but their true value is realized only when the data is centrally available and integrated into a company’s business processes.
Packwise Flow 2.0 takes care of exactly that. The software consolidates sensor data in a central environment, visualizes current conditions and trends, and makes the information available to other applications and systems. As a result, companies not only gain visibility into current fill levels but can also use this information immediately for inventory planning, reordering, and other operational processes.
Digital tank monitoring therefore evolves from a simple monitoring solution into a tool for actively managing processes. What matters is no longer just what data is collected, but how efficiently that data can be turned into concrete decisions and actions.
Why a Dashboard Alone Is Not Enough
A central dashboard creates transparency and allows companies to view the status of their tanks and containers from anywhere. However, the benefits of an IoT solution remain limited if employees still have to manually transfer the displayed information into ERP systems, planning tools, or other applications.
Modern industrial IoT software should therefore not function as another isolated system. Instead, it should integrate as seamlessly as possible into a company’s existing IT landscape. Packwise Flow 2.0 follows this approach by not only providing sensor data within the platform but also making it available to existing systems and processes.
This means companies do not have to completely replace their established processes to benefit from IoT data. Instead, additional real-time information can enhance existing applications and be used wherever it is needed to support operational decisions.
API-First: Integrating Sensor Data Into Existing Systems
A platform’s integration capabilities are among the most important criteria when selecting an industrial IoT solution. Companies already rely on ERP, BI, and other business systems to manage core processes and information. An IoT platform should therefore complement this existing infrastructure rather than create another isolated source of data.
To achieve this, Packwise Flow uses an API-first architecture. Data can be exchanged between the platform and existing systems through REST APIs and webhooks. This allows information from the Packwise Smart Cap to be integrated into existing digital processes and automatically processed within those systems.
Integration with Power BI also enables customized analyses and reports. For example, companies can evaluate collected data across multiple locations and combine it with other business data. Individual sensor readings therefore become part of a broader data foundation that can be used far beyond traditional tank monitoring.
From Real-Time Data to Automated Processes
The value of real-time data goes beyond simply being able to view current conditions at any time. It becomes particularly valuable when changes can automatically trigger the appropriate response. This is why automation and rule-based processes play a central role in a modern IoT platform.
With Packwise Flow, companies can define rules and alerts for a variety of use cases. For example, if a fill level reaches a specified threshold or an unusual temperature change occurs, the relevant information can be automatically provided. Based on this data, processes such as reordering, pickups, or warning notifications can be managed more effectively.
As a result, companies no longer need to continuously monitor every individual tank manually. Instead, relevant changes become automatically visible as soon as action is required. Digital tank monitoring therefore supports not only visibility but increasingly the active management of operational processes.
One Central Platform Instead of Multiple Stand-Alone Solutions
In many companies, IoT landscapes develop over time. One solution tracks fill levels, another provides location data, and additional applications are used for reporting, inventory planning, or other tasks. As a result, relevant data is scattered across different systems, making it difficult to share information and creating additional integration and administrative effort.
Packwise takes a holistic approach. The Packwise Smart Cap captures relevant information directly from the asset, while Packwise Flow 2.0 consolidates this data on a central platform and makes it available for downstream processes. This gives companies a unified data foundation for fill levels, temperature, location, and movement instead of forcing them to work with multiple separate sources of information.
This approach becomes especially important for larger deployments. The more tanks, locations, users, and processes are digitized, the more important it becomes to have a software architecture capable of centrally managing growing volumes of data and making that data available for a variety of use cases.
Simplifying Collaboration Across the Supply Chain
Industrial supply chains often involve multiple companies and stakeholders. Manufacturers, suppliers, logistics providers, and customers rely on information that has traditionally been exchanged through email, phone calls, or other manual coordination processes. This creates additional work and can lead to information gaps.
Packwise Flow 2.0 enables selected data to be shared directly with external partners. Using the Invite and Share feature, relevant information can be made available to customers and other stakeholders, allowing multiple parties to work from the same up-to-date data source.
As a result, sensor data can support not only internal processes but also collaboration across the supply chain. When relevant information is available exactly where it is needed, companies can reduce coordination efforts and create more transparent workflows.
Reliable Sensor Technology as the Foundation for Powerful Software
Even the most powerful software depends on reliable input data. Sensor quality therefore remains an essential component of a holistic IoT solution. Inaccurate or incomplete measurements cannot be fully compensated for by a dashboard or downstream analytics.
The Packwise Smart Cap measures fill level, temperature, location, and movement directly at the asset. For fill-level measurement, Packwise uses radar technology, enabling reliable readings even under demanding industrial conditions. Especially when dealing with foam, buildup, or chemical liquids that are difficult to measure, robust sensor technology provides a critical foundation for further data processing.
That is why sensor technology and software are directly connected within the Packwise solution. While the Packwise Smart Cap generates the necessary real-time data, Packwise Flow 2.0 consolidates this information and makes it actionable for operational processes. Only the combination of both components creates a seamless connection between physical assets and digital business processes.
How Does Packwise Flow Create the Foundation for AI Applications?
As the volume of available sensor data increases, new use cases emerge that go beyond traditional monitoring and rule-based alerts. AI-powered analytics can identify patterns in historical and current data and help companies better anticipate future developments.
In demand forecasting, for example, historical fill-level data can be used to predict future material requirements. Anomaly detection can identify unusual changes in fill level, temperature, or movement, while predictive maintenance can use patterns in sensor data to identify potential maintenance needs at an early stage.
A continuous and structured data foundation is essential for these applications. Packwise Flow 2.0 provides the infrastructure needed to centrally consolidate sensor data and make it available for further analysis. The platform therefore not only supports current monitoring and automation processes but also lays the foundation for future data-driven applications.
What Should Modern Industrial IoT Software Be Able to Do?
When selecting an IoT solution, companies should not focus exclusively on which parameters a sensor can measure. Just as important is how the collected data can be processed and integrated into existing processes.
A powerful industrial IoT platform should centrally consolidate data from different assets, provide information in real time, and enable customized analysis. At the same time, it should offer open interfaces that allow sensor data to be integrated into ERP, BI, and other business systems. Features for alerts, automation, and data sharing also make it possible to turn collected information into concrete actions.
As digital processes and AI applications become increasingly interconnected, scalable data architecture will become even more important. Software should therefore not only meet today’s monitoring requirements but also provide the foundation for future data-driven processes.
Step by Step: How to Evaluate an Industrial IoT Platform
Step 1: Define Business Processes and Requirements
Before comparing individual hardware features, companies should first determine which processes they want to improve with an IoT solution. These may include inventory planning, reordering, cross-site visibility, or collaboration with customers and suppliers. Based on these specific requirements, companies can then determine which data, integrations, and software features they actually need.
Step 2: Evaluate Integration Capabilities
An IoT platform should extend the existing IT landscape rather than create another data silo. Companies should therefore evaluate which APIs, webhooks, and integration options are available and how collected data can be incorporated into existing ERP, BI, and business systems.
Step 3: Consider Automation Opportunities
Beyond displaying information, companies should assess which processes can be automated based on sensor data. The less manual monitoring and data transfer required, the more effectively an IoT platform can support existing workflows and reduce operational effort.
Step 4: Ensure Scalability
A platform should be able to support both small pilot projects and large-scale deployments involving numerous assets, locations, and users. Companies should therefore consider early on how easily additional sensors and tank types can be integrated and whether all relevant information can continue to be managed centrally as operations scale.
Step 5: Assess Future Readiness
Industrial IoT platforms are increasingly evolving from simple monitoring systems into data-driven decision-making platforms. A reliable data foundation, open interfaces, and scalable software architecture are therefore essential prerequisites for integrating automated and AI-powered applications in the future.
Conclusion: Software Determines What You Can Do With Your Data
Digitizing tanks and industrial containers starts with reliable sensor technology, but it does not end there. The real value is created when the collected information can be centrally consolidated, analyzed, and integrated into operational processes.
Packwise Flow 2.0 is therefore at the heart of the Packwise solution. Together with the Packwise Smart Cap, it creates a seamless connection between physical assets and digital business processes. Real-time data on fill level, temperature, location, and movement is not only made visible but can also be used for analysis, integrations, automated workflows, and collaboration across the supply chain.
In this way, Packwise goes beyond traditional fill-level measurement or simple tracking. The Smart Cap provides the data foundation, while Packwise Flow 2.0 turns that data into actionable insights for smarter, more efficient processes.
FAQs: Packwise Flow 2.0 and Industrial IoT Software
What distinguishes an IoT platform from traditional fill-level monitoring?
Traditional fill-level monitoring primarily focuses on collecting and displaying measurements. An IoT platform, on the other hand, centrally consolidates different types of sensor data and enables that data to be analyzed, integrated into existing systems, and used in downstream processes. Individual measurements can therefore be used to trigger alerts, generate analyses, and automate workflows.
What data does Packwise Flow process?
Packwise Flow processes information collected by the Packwise Smart Cap on fill level, temperature, location, and movement. This data is centrally available and can be used for a variety of applications and processes.
Can Packwise Flow be integrated into existing systems?
Yes. Packwise Flow is built on an API-first architecture. Data can be exchanged with existing systems through REST APIs and webhooks and further processed within existing workflows.
Can data be shared with customers and partners?
Yes. Using the Invite and Share feature, selected information can be made available to customers and other partners. This enables different stakeholders across the supply chain to collaborate based on the same up-to-date data.
Why Is Sensor Data Important for AI Applications?
Applications such as demand forecasting, anomaly detection, and predictive maintenance require a continuous and reliable data foundation. Sensors provide information directly from the physical supply chain, while software centrally consolidates that data and makes it available for further analysis.
Get more from your Tank Data!
The Packwise Smart Cap provides reliable data directly from your assets. Packwise Flow 2.0 turns that data into actionable insights, enabling greater visibility and automation while helping reduce costs.
Talk to our experts to discover how Packwise Flow 2.0 connects your tank data with your business processes.