U.S. cold chain logistics company uses UHF RFID technology to track frozen pallets
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Eskimo Cold Storage is a refrigerated food storage company in Gainesville, Georgia. The company has saved US$100,000 in expenses since adopting the RFID solution four months ago and predicts that it will save US$233,000 in annual expenses.The company has installed 20 corridors in its warehouse
RFID
Reader to achieve accurate positioning of thousands of pallets. The RFID solution saves the labor of pallet statistics by realizing the rapid positioning of the shipping pallets, and at the same time, ensures the number of shipments to customers. In this solution, the RFID reader reads the tag data on the pallet and forwards the data to the company’s warehouse management system (WMS). The RFID solution is provided by Jamison RFID company.
Eskimo cold chain logistics company provides refrigeration, storage and transportation services for food production enterprises, mainly including frozen chicken and seafood products. It is refrigerated for 24 hours. The area spans 10.9 million cubic feet. A total of 32,000 pallets are divided into seven layers and 50 different channels ( 600 pallets are placed in each channel), and about 20 trucks are required to receive, store and transport 480 pallets.
When the food production enterprise delivers the food to the refrigeration company, the food must be refrigerated and stored, and another refrigerated truck will transport the product 1-2 days later. The two largest customers of Eskimo Cold Chain Logistics have particularly tight requirements on the turnaround time for loading and unloading. They are required to reprint similar products that have been refrigerated after they are unloaded.
In order to meet the above requirements, Eskimo cold chain logistics company uses the Datex warehouse management system to track the position of the pallets according to the positioning of the shelves and passages in the storage area. The logistics company uses a handheld reader to scan the barcode on the pallet label and feed the information back to the warehouse management system. If the pallet position moves, the ID code on the shelf and aisle is entered into the system.
The above work takes 97-98% of the time. If the tray is positioned in this way, it is extremely likely to miss the mark. If something goes wrong, 2-6 employees are required to rescan all the food in the warehouse. This process takes several days. If it cannot be found, the logistics company will fully compensate the food costs and freight.
The accuracy of the pallet positioning data is quite high, and Eskimo Cold Chain Logistics has made improvements on the basis of the existing system. Jamison RFID installed a Motorola FX7400 fixed reader and four Motorola AN480 antennas at the entrance of the passage. 10 units installed in the summer of 2013Reader, More than 10 units were installed this summer. Each reader is connected to the background database through a wired network to read the ID code of the tag. Among them, the tags are installed on the tray and are UHF RFID tags that comply with the EPC Gen 2 standard. The label size is 4*6 inches, using Alien inlay, printed and coded by Mid South RFID company. Jamison RFID chooses Mid South RFID to provide tags because the latter provides tags with better low-temperature environment adaptability, and the tag performance is excellent in low-temperature environments.
Paste RFID tags on pallets
After receiving the goods, Eskimo Cold Chain Logistics first installs RFID tags on its pallets. The ID code and associated customer and product information are entered into Datex’s warehouse management system. The pallet enters the warehouse after being quick-frozen, and when it passes through the passageway, the RFID reader reads the ID code of the tag. Of course, the staff can scan the barcode printed on the label to record the tray information. When the pallet is removed, the reader reads and writes the RFID tag again, and the storage system updates the pallet record.
When a pallet is lost, the staff can use a barcode scanner to locate it, and only need to search for 600 locations. The reason why the company continues to use barcode scanners instead of UHF RFID readers is that the channel is narrow and it is difficult to locate the direction of the RFID signal.
Since the RFID solution was fully implemented four months ago, it has saved the company US$100,000 and is expected to save US$233,000 per year. The cost is mainly saved in labor costs and losses caused by the loss of pallets. After the RFID solution is installed, the loss rate of pallets is greatly reduced.
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