Commissioning Tags – during picking, the RedPrairie warehouse management solution, DLx® Warehouse, will commission the RFID tags that are required for each item on the order. DLx Warehouse will generate the EPC numbers for each case and pallet in the correct format and will relate them to a bar-coded license plate number, if necessary. These RFID-enabled labels will be applied to the appropriate cartons on the pallet. Similarly, an RFID-enabled pallet label will be generated.

Tag Aggregation – RedPrairie solutions aggregate case-level tag information for each case on a pallet and associate it with the pallet-level tag. This helps to reduce the amount of data that needs to be read at the reader portals. By reading the pallet tag and a definable number of case tags, the user can get a positive confirmation when moving pallets in the warehouse. This aggregation of tag list data is also passed in standard EPCIS format to the database that is shared with the retailer for data analysis. This analysis capability benefits both Unilever and the retailers.

Shipping Verification – At shipping, DLx Warehouse will physically read the tags that move through the reader portal at the shipping dock. The GLN (Global Location Number) will be assigned to the pallet depicting the pallet’s site location. This is the final step in capturing the tag list data and ensuring that the order was identified correctly.

“By replacing manually intensive data exchange tasks with automated processes, more time is available for analysis and value creation,” said Simon Ellis, Supply Chain Director at Unilever. “As RFID begins to proliferate, EPCIS will serve as the foundation for manufacturers like Unilever to gain valuable insight, predict needs and problems before they occur, and improve our business operations and responsiveness to each of our partners within the supply chain.”

Comments Tom Kozenski, RedPrairie Vice President, “Manufacturers and Retailers can share vast amounts of item data by accurately tracking RIFD tagged products. RedPrairie’s RFID capabilities help Unilever sift through the raw data and analyze store level promotional success within their EPCIS business analytics.”

Source: Red Prarie

The new organization will provide integrated real-time information solutions and services for securing and managing global supply chains. Vic Verma, previous chief executive officer of Savi Technology, acquired by Lockheed Martin in June, will lead the new group and serve as chief executive officer of Savi Networks. Verma highlighted that the newly formed Savi Group will leverage its expertise to address the development and delivery of integrated ITV, Cargo Security and Mobile Asset Management solutions for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Defense (including the U.S. Transportation Command and the Defense Logistics Agency), as well as other government agencies, port and terminal operators, and commercial customers.

“We will offer customers complete, integrated solutions, including powerful analysis tools that will enhance their situational awareness, security, and decision making in tracking and managing shipments every step along the way as they move through global supply chains from point of origin to destination,” Verma said. “To meet these significant challenges for our customers, Savi Group is being ‘turbocharged’ with Lockheed Martin resources, technical expertise and seasoned leadership in managing large complex systems integration projects.”

An important charter of the Savi Group will be to leverage the Savi Networks joint venture between Savi Technology and Hutchison Port Holdings, the world’s largest port operator. Savi Networks provides information services based on wireless data transmissions on the location, security and condition of cargo shipments as they are transported end-to-end throughout the global supply chain.

The Group will also support corporate initiatives for Secure Freight and Logistics. “We are actively participating in Lockheed Martin-wide efforts to offer the best integrated solutions to address our customers’ significant and complex asset management and security challenges,” Verma said.

Logistics Management has a new article titled – How does your warehouse stack up? by Maida Napolitano. The survey was conducted jointly by Logistics Management and Gross & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in materials handling and logistics – First Annual Warehousing Trends Survey.

The survey was designed to help today’s warehouse managers get a clearer picture of the challenges they face today and give them an opportunity to see how their warehouse operations compare with the industry average.

The composition of the survey involved:

The results of the Warehouse & DC Trends Study are based on the responses of 485 participants involved in making warehouse-operations decisions at North American companies.

The key findings of the survey are broken down along the following lines:

Typical Characteristics
-Goals
-Need for speed
-Operations
-Finding a solution
-Technology

Typical Characteristics of an American Warehouse

A typical North American warehouse
-is privately owned (77 percent) with either an end consumer (32 percent) or a manufacturer (26 percent) as its primary customer.
-is less than 250,000 square feet
-receives and ships a wide variety of products, such as electronics, computers and software (25 percent); paper, packaging, and office supplies (24 percent); and chemicals and raw materials (21 percent).
-the most common units handled are pallets (87 percent) and cartons (79 percent), with rack storage (86 percent) as the primary storage module, followed by floor storage (62 percent).
-Over 90 percent of warehouses still pick orders manually using carts and pallet jacks, while 20 percent have evolved to some form of mechanized picking to a conveyor.
-3 percent of warehouses have fully automated picking requiring no human intervention. The typical warehouse uses some form of warehouse management system (WMS).
-Thirty six percent of respondents developed their WMS in-house, 22 percent purchased a stand-alone package, and another 22 percent purchased their WMS as part of an ERP module.
-Surprisingly, 23 percent of all warehouses still have no WMS, relying mostly on spreadsheets and order-pick sheets.
-35 percent of respondents have annual budgets of less than $25,000 for continuous improvement programs and 8 percent don’t even have such a budget.
-Of the warehouse managers who have a budget of less than $100,000 (59 percent of all respondents), 37 percent said they would spend some of it on materials handling equipment, while 23 percent planned to invest in information management systems.
-Warehouse managers with budgets of $1 million or more (7 percent of total respondents) focused more of their spending on IT. Of the respondents in this category, 41 percent reported that they would spend on information management systems, while only 21 percent planned to buy materials handling equipment.

Goals
So what are American warehouse managers’ goals?
-The top objective pursued by warehouse decision-makers this year was increasing customer satisfaction (40 percent).
-Reducing costs came in second at 32 percent, validating the continuing cost-control burden on today’s warehouse manager.
-Only 7 percent of respondents reported that they were expanding their operations,
-1 percent said they primarily focused on maximizing efficiency by buying new equipment and systems.

And what are customer’s expectation of warehouse providers?
-97 percent of respondents said order accuracy was most important.
-On-time delivery came in second at 94 percent,
damage-free shipment was in third place with 91 percent.
-Need for speed

As seen from the above customer expectation where on-time delivery was a key customer demand (94% of the time)
-82 percent can ship orders in one day or less
-an impressive 23 percent said they can ship in less than four hours
4- percent of warehouse managers reported that they are still taking more than one week to ship merchandise
The key differentiator between players who are able to respond fast to orders seems to be technology – WMS, bar coding and RF technology (RFID?)

Operations
When surveyed about operational challenges and issues, the survey was further divided into:

-Receiving and shipping
ability to depend on truckers being at the appropriate dock door when needed-was deemed most critical by 43 percent of respondents
40 percent reported that shipping productivity was another critical issue
-Picking accuracy
the majority of respondents (64 percent) rated order accuracy as a highly critical issue for picking
-Metrics
42 percent of respondents said that they track the percentage of orders with errors
40 percent track the percentage of orders shipped complete
value-added services, such as ticketing and customization, were rated as very critical by only 19 percent of respondents
-Overall issues
warehouse safety was considered most critical by 44 percent of survey respondents,
warehouse security (32 percent)
-Finding a solution

How do warehouse managers plan to solve their problems?
-46 percent of respondents said they had purchased materials handling equipment.
-40 percent purged obsolete/overstock inventory

Technology
So what are the technology issues and solutions high up on a warehouse manager’s list of things?

-Bar coding led the way with 52 percent
-WMS followed closely with 48 percent of respondents

Continuous improvement is also making an appearance in the warehousing space if it hasn’t been there for a while already.
-56 percent of respondents reporting that they have implemented this strategy
-24 percent saying that they are making implementation plans.

Strong interest in relatively new strategies such as “lean” warehousing (34 percent), RFID (33 percent), and Six Sigma certification (30 percent) is apparent, yet few reported implementing these strategies or technologies. Many warehouse managers are adopting a “wait and see” attitude regarding new concepts, and are waiting for further proof of their value for their own warehouses.

I found this survey of warehousing to be quite illuminative in that it highlights what is going well in the warehouse space, the goals that are being formulated and the different programs and technologies employed to meet and/or surpass customer expectations.

Leading high-street retailer Marks & Spencer is hoping to use RFID (radio frequency identification) tags across its network of stores following the success of a pilot supply management scheme.

The company has confirmed that it plans to increase the use of the high-tech supply chain management technology from 42 stores to almost 450 in order to ensure efficiency across its retail operations, reports ComputerWeekly.com.

Marks & Spencer begin the trialling of RFID tags at the start of 2006 and gradually increased the number of tagged items from 25 million to 49 million following positive feedback from management and staff.

Chief executive Stuart Rose explained that the retailer is keen to focus on the new supply chain management approach now, especially on more expensive in-store products.

“RFID had to sit slightly on the sidelines while other things took priority. I am personally very keen on RFID, particularly in high-value items such as suits,” said Mr Rose.

He added: “We are rolling out RFID to a number of other departments too. I think RFID is here to stay.”

RFID enables workers to carry out efficient stock takes using handheld scanning devices without the need to remove each item from the shop display.

AmerisourceBergen Corp. will install IBM’s Track and Trace for Pharma system in its largest distribution center — located in Sacramento, Calif. — to help secure the drug supply chain from theft and tampering.

The system, based on WebSphere middleware, will scan RFID tags now used by pharmaceutical manufacturers for a handful of drugs as cases containing those drugs enter the Sacramento warehouse, said Shay Reid, AmerisourceBergen’s vice president for integrated solutions. As drug orders leave the warehouse, the RFID readers will record the time and location of each unit so the company can build a complete history of all the drugs that are now tagged.

“We’re hoping to establish an electronic chain of custody for each individual unit of drug that is tagged,” Reid said.

AmerisourceBergen hopes to have some components required for the system in place by January and will begin reading RFID tags in March, Reid said. The pilot, which will also use software from VeriSign Inc. to authenticate transactions, will include linking AmerisourceBergen’s track and trace system to those used by five drug manufacturers during the first half of 2007. Reid declined to name the manufacturers or provide details on the cost of the project.

In addition to securing the drugs throughout the supply chain, the system — which will store a product code ID for each RFID tag — can also provide real-time receiving and shipping information to AmerisourceBergen’s manufacturing partners to better track inventory, Reid said.

The system also will allow the company to speed up its “reverse logistics,” or taking in returns from pharmacy clients. “The benefits will come across the board,” Reid said. “There are benefits in being able to track shipments that we can’t currently track.”

AmerisourceBergen plans to expand the use of the track and trace system to other distribution centers but has not formulated a timetable for when it will do so, Reid said.

Heather Havenstein – Computerworld

Initially RFID is used to manage the large amount of goods like pallet and cartoon labels, identification. So RFID tags must have unique serial identifier for each batch of the product at the lading time, on the bill. It makes the less possibility of redundant data entry by scanning the RFID tag. The reason is RFID tag reader can scan many tags during a 1-second period.

There are 2 types of RFID tags: passive and active. When reader reads the passive tag, Reader received the energy through tag’s antenna and transmits the data in the form of energy back. The main reason of widely used passive tags is its low cost.

Active tag uses own power supplies mostly battery and transmit data to the reader. Battery is also used with other devices. For e.g. Active tags may be used with some kind of unpreserved goods that have thermometers to ensure the goods are kept at an acceptable temperature.

It is very difficult to standardize the encoding information on RFID intelligent tags for supply chain management for bar codes.

The standards for basic product information are encoded in RFID chips and standard to manage UPC information in bar codes are presented by EPCglobal Inc.

The entire standard for information passing from RFID readers to other applications and from application to application, in supply chain are established by EPCglobal.

These standards become useful when goods are ship from one company to company in terms of electronic transaction that will occur in between organization’s enterprise resource planning systems. These standards maintain every time when middleware handles data scanned by an RFID reader as goods enter a warehouse and will pass the data to an enterprise application.

On the other hand it includes costs to the supply chain. But the investment in front of good ROI is not matter in case of RFID solutions.

By diana heyden
Published: 11/11/2006