solutions in the complex area of SAP Warehouse Management
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Radio-Frequency Identification chips can be either passive or active; passive ones hold data that’s permanently burned onto the chip and can’t be edited or changed in any way. Active tags are more expensive to produce, but allow data contained within to be read, written or changed; including anything from test results and product characteristics to even customer or vendor specific data.
Previously, the cost of RFID tags was a prohibitive barrier to their widespread adoption, but now chips and readers are reaching cost-effective levels. From a software perspective, some Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) such as SAP’s WM and Extended WM solutions have been capable of RFID integration for quite some time, with implementation no longer requiring a total system overhaul.
These factors are leading warehouse managers and manufacturers to view RFID as an attractive option when looking to identify and track goods.
Inventory and production management
RFID tags can hold more information than labels holding 1D, 2D or QR codes. They are also more accurate than any other tracking method, virtually eliminating user error, and can be programmed with an algorithm to protect against counterfeiting.
In conjunction with a fully-integrated software solution, this means that managers can rely on accurate stock levels, allowing for the identification of potential shortfalls in stock which would impact production. Real-time information can also be used by WMS to optimise production through the streamlining of the supply chain process, for instance forecasting demand for raw materials or improving production scheduling based on current stock levels.
The burden on manufacturers can be further reduced if vendors pre-apply tags populated with stock data before parts are sent on to assembly, saving the time of having to enter data such as item details.
Easy access and enhanced traceability
Assembly lines can be a challenging environment for components. Tagging raw materials correctly can ensure a seamless process, where the correct stock is issued at the right time to the right place on the production line.
Once a finished product is manufactured, tags on finished goods can help with track and trace. For instance, large and bulky parts must be housed outdoors and are subject to adverse weather conditions. This means that serial numbers have needed to be etched onto parts, or waterproof labels used. Neither solution has been optimal, with serial numbers linked with minimal information which has traditionally been manually recorded, and waterproof labels being relatively expensive and not completely reliable, being easily damaged.
RFID chips avoid these difficulties and mean that there doesn’t have to be a direct line of sight when scanning information - incredibly useful when receiving and working with large, unwieldy or high volumes of parts. Smaller components can also contain RFID tags; if a case containing 150 items comes into the warehouse, each individual item can be scanned simultaneously, with records accurately updated accordingly.
Farther down the line
The accuracy and amount of data storage made possible by RFID benefits everyone involved in the manufacturing supply chain. With the data contained within an RFID tag, a WMS can utilise Advanced Ship Notices (ASNs), allowing warehouse operatives to receive order and shipment information in one simple, electronic transaction prior to goods receipt.
Even after undergoing partial or full assembly, an item’s status will be updated, meaning that at each stage of the supply chain, the receiver will know ahead of time exactly what it is being delivered. When operating a fixed-line supply chain, this will inevitably lead to enhanced visibility and greater efficiency, a must in the increasingly automated manufacturing business where the biggest hold-up is processing of stock.
Perhaps most exciting for a manufacturer is the potential RFID technology affords for innovation. The ramifications of dynamic data attached to parts and raw materials, information which can be written, re-written and added to, are enormous for the industry.
Companies could begin using such dynamic data to create dynamic supply chains, where for instance information was updated until the moment it passed to the customer without the need to change a label. Customers themselves could then exploit the power of RFID, using the data to accelerate goods receipt and know its origin and content.
RFID is playing a more important role than ever in the industry, but in reality its full potential is yet to be realised. It will be those innovative manufacturers at the leading edge, those maximising the capabilities of RFID, who will gain a significant competitive advantage through the emerging technology.
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E-procurement and manufacturing
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