RFID Receiver, News | RFID Tracking Adds Value to Forklifts and Reusable Containers

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RFID Tracking Adds Value to Forklifts and Reusable Containers

For any supply chain to succeed, the right infrastructure is needed to store and move materials within the distribution network. And within any distribution system, the basics of supply chain mechanics are built upon reliable lift trucks and containers to transport a wide assortment of goods inter-plant, intra-plant and beyond. In best-in-class supply chain operations, reusable containers are considered and deployed everywhere possible. Why? Because if they can be used cost effectively; it’s good for the environment.
When reusable containers are deployed, there is always a high expectation that they’ll find their way back to the source for re-use, providing the anticipated ROI.
But controlling reusable containers can be thankless, painful and difficult, because the process is littered with problems. You don’t know where the empty containers are, when to expect them back, how they’re being used or what inhospitable storage conditions they’re being subjected to. These challenges can easily eliminate any margins or cost savings tied to reusable container deployments.
Fortunately, there is a straightforward solution: Tracking with RFID. Reusable container tracking is a logical response to your investment and the daily effort to determine where reusable containers are when you need them.
Many companies understand the value of container tracking and have been tracking them for years. The problem is that in the U.S. containers are almost tracked by barcode scans. This human-dependent process is tedious and expensive because of the labor required to scan each empty or full container.
Those who do it often subcontract the tracking to Third Party Logistics (3PL) firms, and even that is problematic. There are numerous significant risks when an organization depends on a workforce to perform an action 100% of the time (e.g., scan a barcode).
Invariably operators miss some scans, so those who depend on accurate and reliable data lose confidence in the reliability of the information. This lack of confidence reduces the value of the information, which leads to less use of the
data. This in turn is seen by the operators as further proof that they don’t really need the barcode scans, and therefore they become less attentive; making the data even more unreliable. The downward spiral is apparent. There is a better way, one with a stronger value proposition that can leverage the best visibility technology to track containers without human intervention and thereby eliminate the recurring barcode scanning costs.
The value proposition is quite simple; equip lift trucks in your supply chain with RFID readers. As RFID-tagged reusable containers transition from one area to another, the movement is automatically read (while performing regular material
movements) and recorded in a database. RFID tracking can define the facility or even more discrete locations within a building.
Additionally, operators can be directed by the system what and where to pick, pack and ship loads. This is similar to pick-to-light but with a twist: The RFID system does all the validation automatically without any human intervention.
Unlike a pick-to-light system that involves responding to a signal and manually keying (or speaking) feedback, the RFID system is self contained. The RFID system monitors itself, validates its own generated feedback and gives rapid and
clear response to operators about the validity of load points. Essentially it is a self-contained non-human intervention system.
To put this system together; you’ll need:
• A database program to track the serialized containers. This repository will accept all the transactions of container movements with location, date, and time; maintain current location; and if desired, even the contents.
• Lift truck RFID readers to read the containers as they are moved. Each truck will have its own identity, so the data reads will know when and where the containers are located. If more discrete location data is needed, additional RFID reference read points can provide location identification as discrete as desired.
• The expertise to choose the right tags and readers to put your system together to ensure the results you need.
• A solid understanding of the business process changes that will drive the ROI.
The real beauty of this without-human-intervention system is that no additional work is required to get status updates on the movements as they occur. And the system provides ease of scalability as confidence in movement-tracking accuracy and volumes increase. The proof point is accurate data as an involuntary response to material movements. As additional nodes appear in your supply
chain, it is quite easy to set up additional fork truck readers and read points.
You can extend the system’s functionality to record near-exact location. This would position directed movements, where an operator would be systemically sent to get product in its last-known location, enhancing the operation’s
movement efficiency to avoid searching.
Benefits of RFID Enabled Reusable Container Visibility:
• Pallet-level visibility throughout supply chain
• Immediate identification of diversions
• No labor used
• Knowledge of who handled each container
• Container utilization knowledge
• Accurate data
• Visibility to replenish the right product to the right place at the right time
• Historical tracking by reads throughout the enterprise and through the RFID enabled supply chain
• Real-time, supply chain-wide inventory visibility by reading the RFID tags
• An awareness of container inventory and location
Where is the ROI in all of this? RFID is an investment like any other warehouse system, such as a WMS or a pick-to-light system. While the press may view ROI as an unattainable goal, if you look at it from the perspective of other warehouse technologies, ROI can be realized quite readily through efficiencies.
Inventory systems dependent upon human-cycle counting or end-of period counting are notoriously inaccurate, sometimes off from 5% to 15%. These inventories represent 25% to 50% of the asset value of any manufacturing firm.
If RFID could offer near-real time accurate management, what would that be worth in terms of time, effort, and SOX compliance? Or safety stock reduction?
Or shrinkage and obsolescence costs? Or even lot pedigree and quality control?
People also tend to do repetitive work to address errors and rework as a matter of course. So for every rework due to misread pick sheets, order changes, etc. The operator’s productivity drops roughly 8% to 12%, and the per-unit cost of labor for that order can double. What could labor savings and efficiencies do for your organization? Or increasing Perfect Order performance metrics? What does that mean to your customer and bottom line?
In conclusion, what are the benefits of tracking RFID-enabled containers? The knowledge of each container’s contents, the history of its travels, the frequency of its use, and the comfort of knowing where your containers are when you need them. You can gain all of these benefits can without additional human interaction or intervention. Reusable RFID enabled containers will save you cost and many sleepless nights.