The benefits of RFID in intralogistics – some simple examples of the use cases.
I’m often asked, what is RFID,how does it work and what is the benefit of RFID?
Basically RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is a simplething. The applications, however are almost unlimited. Thereforethe easiest way to describe the benefit of RFID is to concentrateon the specific use case. In this case, the field of logistics. Andto be more focused I’m concentrating on the area ofintralogistics.
RFID supports the delivery and collection of information relatedto an object. An object could be e.g. a product, a package or apallet. But also a fork lift, a truck, an order picking trolley oreven a person.
In intralogistics RFID is mainly about：
> Identification: What kind of an object it is and is this objectknown or not? And what variant of an object is in question.
> Inventory: What do we have in stock?
> Locating: Where is the object at the moment?
> Tracking: To where is the object moving to at the moment orwhere was it moveing in the past?
Condition of the object: What environmental influences affectedthe object (e.g. temperature, pressure)
RFID gives us the opportunity to get above information from adistance without having visual contact to the object and store itin a centralized database to support Industry 4.0. What is thebenefit of that?
For a better understanding below there are some examples:
The possibility to get the information which products do I haveon the pallet or which products I’m currently packing to thepallet, speeds up the process of goods-in/goods-out and reducessources of errors – even if the products are in cartons and inouter packings. I’m also able to get information about the productvariant and the condition up to the level of a serial numberwithout needing to touch the products.
It’s easy to locate a product, a package or object and also toget information about the location very quickly.
The movement of products or objects is documentedelectronically so it’s easy to monitor to which way the productsand objects are moving. For instance I’m able to prevent that thegoods will not be dropped off at a wrong storage area.
I’ll get the information about the environmental influencesthat affected my products.
I can make sure that all the right products are packed for thedelivery.
The accurate stock inventory is easily done.
Easy and fast identification at the gates of subarea. Forinstance a truck is clearly identified with RFID and the accesswill be either permitted or denied. And there is no need to stepout of the truck or to show a keycard in front of a terminal. RFIDis more secure than a visual license plate recognition.
These are only some examples and the list can be endless.
RFID is using a radio technology. Basically every object isequipped with a transponder or tag. A transponder or tag is a smallcomputer chip connected to an antenna. This transponder containsthe information of an object and transmit this information to anRFID reader on demand.
As with any kind of technology there are some technicalrestrictions involved. Therefore the implementation of RFID isalways a project, where you have to analyse your processes and toevaluate the technical possibilities.
If you wish RFID gives the opportunity to first start with smallerprojects and gradually expand to other areas of use. So no need tostart a huge RFID strategy project at once.
If you are integrator, please contact us directly; If you are looking for an entire solution, we can introduce you your local integrator to help you out.
