Gaylene Meyer, Vice President Global Marketing and Communications, Impinj:
Things move quickly in a global marketplace. And in today’s dynamic world, businesses need to stay agile. Manual tracking and barcode scanning can no longer keep pace with the speed of business as they can slow processes and create inaccurate data in warehouse management systems (WMS). Organizations using Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to connect every “thing” in a warehouse—such as boxes, pallets, and assets—bring increased visibility and agility to warehouse management.
RAIN RFID is a powerful IoT technology that enables itemized data collection which dramatically improves the operational capabilities of an organization by ensuring they have exactly the right items, in the right quantities, at the right locations, at the right time. During the pandemic, RAIN RFID solutions have helped retailers, manufacturers, and disrupted supply chains to manage and track the flow of their inventory. By applying tiny, low-cost, battery-free tags to items, organizations can uniquely identify, locate, and authenticate each of those items. RAIN RFID extends the reach of IoT to automatically and wirelessly track all sorts of items.
Here are four ways that RAIN RFID systems enable more efficient warehouse operations:
Virtualizing systems and processes
A RAIN RFID tag attached to a box of goods can track how that box moves, creating data that provides a virtual view of the systems operating in that warehouse. By watching packages moving through the warehouse, businesses can see capacity constraints and identify points of failure. With advances in machine learning and AI, this virtualized system can be modeled and analyzed; and businesses can gain the visibility that drives optimization and enables agility.
Verifying pallet builds
Pallet loading systems enabled with RAIN RFID can identify every box being loaded onto a pallet and provide alerts the moment a box is incorrectly loaded. Operators can also automate outbound quality control operations at the pallet-level to quickly, and easily, ensure the right box is placed on the right pallet without manual inspections.
Verifying inbound and outbound shipments
RAIN RFID can monitor shipments passing through dock doors, providing alerts any time items are being loaded onto the wrong truck. RAIN RFID can also identify the direction the shipment is traveling, distinguishing truck loading from unloading without the need for optical sensors.
Tracking warehouse assets
Track, monitor, and locate assets like forklifts, pallet jacks, tools, returnable transport items, and mobile IT assets throughout a warehouse. RAIN RFID can monitor use, prevent loss or theft, and provide usage information that informs maintenance.
Companies that have deployed RAIN RFID see massive benefits from using the data gathered about their things. For example, Euro Pool System uses RAIN RFID to track 2 million reusable RTIs — or returnable transit items. Euro Pool System is a market leader in the field of reusable packaging in the European fresh supply chain, with a network of over 70 service centers in 15 countries. RAIN RFID helped Euro Pool increase their inventory visibility, strengthen operational efficiency, accelerate turnaround of inbound trucks, and reduce processing costs by 30%. With RAIN RFID, WMS can incorporate real-time data about the things moving in and out of a warehouse, enabling intelligent decision-making and streamlined operations. The return on investment for solutions can be achieved by catching just a few improperly packed or shipped pallets or RTIs per month.
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