MBA Groupy adopts RFID system to improve the accuracy of order execution
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MBA Groupy provides plastic surgery, neurosurgery, cardiovascular and anesthesia surgery commonly used medical equipment and items for public and private hospitals in Spain, Italy and Portugal. In the past, the staff in the main warehouse of the MBA Group in Spain had to manually check the contents of each container before the goods were shipped. This process is time-consuming and prone to errors. The medical equipment manufacturer now uses an RFID system to manage the incoming and outgoing process of goods to improve the accuracy of order completion.
In April-June 2006, the MBA Group carried out the first stage of RFID testing-the proof-of-concept stage, said Miguel Garcia, business director of BC Biocon, MBA IT Service Department. MBA Groupy’s RFID project “q2dc” is integrated into MBA’s existing ERP system. “q2dc” is an abbreviation of “quién, qué, dónde y cuándo” (person, event, place and time).
After completing this phase, the MBA formally installed the system in May 2007. The first task, Garcia said, is to attach UPM Raflatac EPC Gen 2 RFID tags to every product in the warehouse, including new products shipped from different suppliers-a total of 200,00 goods. So far, MBA has purchased 300,000 RFID tags.
After most items are affixed with RFID tags, BC Biocon installed Intermec IF5 readers on the conveyor belt in the warehouse, and 4 RFID reader antennas were installed around the conveyor belt. MBA then uses software to integrate the reader into the back-end ERP system. “Since mid-October, the system has been used to process orders received in the main warehouse.” Miguel Garcia said.
When the supplier delivers the goods to the MBA warehouse, the staff manually compare the supplier’s delivery documents and the goods. The staff enters the serial number and batch number of each item into the company’s ERP system, and writes the EPC number into the embedded chip of the label; at the same time, a Toshiba printer transfers the product’s bar number, MBA icon and other related The information is printed on the surface of the label. Before being placed on the conveyor belt, the product boxes are affixed with RFID tags. When it passes the RFID reader antenna. The EPC number of the label is read by the reader and corresponds to the product data one-to-one. Then, the staff stored the labeled cartons on the shelves.
Once the order is received, the ordered goods are placed on the labeled pallet, and then placed on the RFID conveyor belt. The reader reads the ID number of the tag, and sends the data to a computer in the warehouse via a local area network connection, indicating the container and pallet where the product is located. In this way, tags can be used to ensure the accuracy of order completion.
The ERP system compares the actual items sent with the items on the purchase order, Garcia said. “The system will display the purpose of each order, the total amount of goods, and the missing or remaining goods.” When the information is confirmed, the RFID system automatically activates the conveyor belt to send the pallets away.
The biggest advantage of the RFID system is that it reduces the time to check the goods during the order confirmation process and ensures that the data on the shipping list and invoice at any time is consistent with the warehouse inventory.
The RFID system helps MBA Group reduce inventory management time and eliminates manual calculation and adjustment time due to inventory loss. These two alone can win return on investment. In addition, the time to prepare orders is reduced, and the processing results are more accurate.
In the next few months, MBA Group will test RFID systems in its three distribution centers in southern Spain, and then install RFID systems in the remaining distribution centers in Spain and Portugal in 2008.
The third phase of MBA RFID application will cover the company’s 23 branches in Spain, Italy and Portugal. The company also plans to provide its customers with Intermec IP4 handheld RFID readers.
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