RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is an asset tracking tool now mandated by Wal*Mart and the United States Department of Defense to improve supply chain management. RFID is a valuable
warehouse management tool since RFID improves compliance labeling for
fulfillment,
asset tracking, and automation processes for general goods, finished and
food ingredients, and even for tracking the movement and storage of
Hazardous Materials.
In 2005, the director of logistics for the Defense Logistics Agency reported that a full 97% of pallets bound for Iraq are shipped with RFID tags. Defense suppliers have been required to make the addition to RFID for pallets delivered to the Department of Defense depots across the country.
Wal-Mart and Sam's Club, have also moved in this direction. Since January 2005, Wal-Mart has required its top 100 suppliers to apply RFID labels to all shipments. To meet this requirement, vendors use RFID printer/encoders to label cases and pallets that require EPC tags for Wal-Mart. These smart labels are produced by embedding RFID inlays inside the label material, and then printing bar code and other visible information on the surface of the label. Sam’s Club sent letters dated Jan. 7, 2008 to its suppliers, stating that by Jan. 31, 2008, every full single-item pallet shipped to its distribution center in DeSoto, Texas, or directly to one of its stores served by that DC, must bear an EPC Gen 2 RFID tag. Suppliers failing to comply will be charged a service fee.
With these government and retailer mandates requiring compliance over a relatively short period of time, the improvement of RFID technology has been exponential. Fresh Warehousing & Fulfillment has supported the efforts of EPCglobal, a not-for-profit group setting industry protocols and specifications for the Electronic Product Code, the next generation in product identification. EPCglobal leads the development of industry-driven standards for the Electronic Product Code (EPC) to support the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in today’s fast-moving, information rich, trading networks.
Fresh Warehousing & Fulfillment is providing the latest RFID field tested systems to provide savings at each step of the
logistics and fulfillment process. Savings which impact your
budget are derived from expedited
picking and cross-docking, reduced shrinkage, and efficient
transportation due to shorter load and unload times.
The ROI (Return on Investment) for RFID systems has been realized by Fresh Warehousing & Fulfillment as well as by those customers using RFID warehouse management technology. In addition to a favorable short-run ROI the projections for future capabilities for our customers is substantial, with RFID new features including failsafe proof of delivery, counterfeit reduction for high ticket or proprietary products, the ability to track and trace products within a corporation after delivery, and cost reductions for implementing and managing RFID.
RFID CLASSES
There are essentially four (4) classes of RFID technology. Each has a strength and weakness, and a different price tag. Each also has specific applicability throughout the different industries.
Class 1
Short range Passive for Slap and Ship Logistics. Good for high volume retain applications where the cost of the tag should be very low.
Class 2
Same as Class 1, but the tag has on board memory. This may provide additional shipping (customer) information, other than the simply ID number provided by a Class 1 RFID tag.
Class 3
Battery Assisted Passive for long range asset tracking and real-time location management. These tags typically cost in the $5-$10 range and are designed for Asset Management of equipment. Typically, these systems are used by manufacturers to track expensive product or tooling. They have long range (up to 300m) and have a long battery life.
Class 4
Active Battery with active transmitter. These are the most expensive class of tags and systems. The tags constantly transmit a signal, and as a result have short battery life spans. They are used for very high value logistics items.
RFID is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders.
An RFID tag is an object that can be applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader.
Most RFID tags contain at least two parts. One is an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, modulating and demodulating a (RF) signal, and other specialized functions. The second is an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal. Chipless RFID allows for discrete identification of tags without an integrated circuit, thereby allowing tags to be printed directly onto assets at a lower cost than traditional tags.
Today, RFID is used in enterprise supply chain management to improve the efficiency of inventory tracking and management. However, growth and adoption in the enterprise supply chain market is limited because current commercial technology does not link the indoor tracking to the overall end-to-end supply chain visibility. Coupled with fair cost-sharing mechanisms, rational motives and justified returns from RFID technology investments are the key ingredients to achieve long-term and sustainable RFID technology adoption [1].
Logistics & Transportation is a major area of implementation for RFID technology. For example, Yard Management, Shipping & Freight and Distribution Centers are some areas where RFID tracking technology is used. Transportation companies around the world value RFID technology due to its impact on the business value and efficiency.
RFID Visibility solutions enables distribution centers and warehouses whether indoors or outdoors to constantly monitor inventory levels, capacity, arrival and departure of assets to the site. This improves the overall efficiency and quality of service.
BGN has launched two fully automated Smartstores that combine item-level RFID tagging and SOA to deliver an integrated supply chain, from warehouse to consumer.
UHF, Ultra-HighFID or UHFID tags are commonly used commercially in case, pallet, and shipping container tracking, and truck and trailer tracking in shipping yards.
Inventory systems
An advanced automatic identification technology such as the Auto-ID system based on the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has significant value for inventory systems. Notably, the technology provides an accurate knowledge of the current inventory. In an academic study[20] performed at Wal-Mart, RFID reduced Out-of-Stocks by 30 percent for products selling between 0.1 and 15 units a day. Other benefits of using RFID include the reduction of labor costs, the simplification of business processes, and the reduction of inventory inaccuracies.
In 2004, Boeing integrated the use of RFID technology to help reduce maintenance and inventory costs on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. With the high costs of aircraft parts, RFID technology allowed Boeing to keep track of inventory despite the unique sizes, shapes and environmental concerns. During the first six months after integration, the company was able to save $29,000 in just labor.[21]
[edit] RFID mandates
Wal-Mart and the United States Department of Defense have published requirements that their vendors place RFID tags on all shipments to improve supply chain management. Due to the size of these two organizations, their RFID mandates impact thousands of companies worldwide. The deadlines have been extended several times because many vendors face significant difficulties implementing RFID systems. In practice, the successful read rates currently run only 80%, due to radio wave attenuation caused by the products and packaging. In time it is expected that even small companies will be able to place RFID tags on their outbound shipments.
Since January 2005, Wal-Mart has required its top 100 suppliers to apply RFID labels to all shipments. To meet this requirement, vendors use RFID printer/encoders to label cases and pallets that require EPC tags for Wal-Mart. These smart labels are produced by embedding RFID inlays inside the label material, and then printing bar code and other visible information on the surface of the label.
[22]
RFID Defined
RFID is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders.
An RFID tag is an object that can be applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader.
Most RFID tags contain at least two parts. One is an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, modulating and demodulating a (RF) signal, and other specialized functions. The second is an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal. Chipless RFID allows for discrete identification of tags without an integrated circuit, thereby allowing tags to be printed directly onto assets at a lower cost than traditional tags.
Today, RFID is used in enterprise supply chain management to improve the efficiency of inventory tracking and management. However, growth and adoption in the enterprise supply chain market is limited because current commercial technology does not link the indoor tracking to the overall end-to-end supply chain visibility. Coupled with fair cost-sharing mechanisms, rational motives and justified returns from RFID technology investments are the key ingredients to achieve long-term and sustainable RFID technology adoption [1].
