Satellite IoT connectivity promises to lower the cost and extend the reach of wireless connectivity to the entire planet, enabling new global use cases and applications, writes Martin Lesund, Technical Product Manager – Cellular IoT, Nordic Semiconductor. The Internet of Things was originally conceived as an idea to resolve supply chain issues by having goods in transit and sensors automatically share data with each other. That idea snowballed into a grander objective to make the physical world of homes, factories and cities all smart by embedding sensing, networking, and computing into everyday objects, but the IoT has never lost its original links with supply chain management. In 2024, the supply chain IoT market was valued at $21.36 billion, and is expected to reach $55.58 billion by 2031[1]. This growth is being fuelled by the need to establish intelligent, interconnected supply chains that can enhance productivity and cost savings for the provider, as well as customer demand for transparency and traceability. Ultimately getting the right product to the right place, at the right time, in the right condition, at the right cost is non-negotiable, and that can only happen if it’s underpinned by failsafe IoT technology. Transforming supply chains Cellular IoT has become a major driver of transformation in supply chain management by bringing new levels of visibility, efficiency, and responsiveness to what was once a largely opaque process. Before cellular IoT, supply chains were often slow, fragmented, and heavily dependent on manual record-keeping. Companies tracked shipments with paper documents, phone calls, and periodic updates, which created significant blind spots. Documents moved with the goods themselves, meaning visibility only existed at certain checkpoints—such as when a container left a port or arrived at a warehouse. Cellular IoT has transformed this picture by bringing real-time visibility and continuous data flow into supply