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Radio Frequency is everywhere.
We use it to open the garage
door, pay tolls, and turn up
the music. It enables
wireless scanners and
cable-less Local Area Networks
out in the warehouse.
Radio Frequency
Identification brings a
new twist. RFID uses a
reader and antenna to read an
RFID tag, which contains
identification data for that particular
carton or pallet or individual
item.
An
Electronic Product Code (EPC)
is the string of data that
both identifies that
particular instance (item or
case) and directs the
data out over the public
network - the internet.
First generation EPC and RFID
systems will allow us to pick,
pack, ship, receive and manage
inventory at the carton and
pallet level, within our own
four walls and between Trading
Partners. But the
sky's the limit when RFID
reaches its full potential.
Things talking to things -
boxes, dock doors, trucks,
fork lifts, shelves,
re-cycle bins, pallets.....
"That DVD is on the wrong
shelf - put it back where it
belongs." "This game is
sold out in the store, but
there are more in the back
room."
If
you are interested in
workshops or webinars on RFID,
please let us know.
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What?
Which GTIN is this - that is,
what is the part number of the
product in this carton or pallet
or logistics unit. We
will get the same data we get
today when we scan Global
Trade Item
Numbers and Serial
Shipping
Container Codes, only it will
be faster and we
will be able to "see"
all of the items inside the
cartons and containers. |
How Many?
How many of each part number do we
have? To determine the
quantity of each
GTIN we will give every item an individual serial
number so we can read them all,
know when we have read them
all, and count the number of
serial numbers for each
GTIN.
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Which One?
Which item is this particular
item and where has it been?
Where is this one going?
Who manufactured it?
When?
Sophisticated systems
will track movement
of individual cases and
pallets. We will have to
satisfy
the consumer's request
for personal privacy before we
attach RFID tags to individual
items.
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Where?
Knowing it's in the warehouse
and where it is in the
warehouse are two different
things. We will be able
to use RFID Shelves and
multiple readers to
"triangulate" the location of
an item. Expensive items
will justify Global
Positioning Systems. These are
also known as Real Time
Locator Systems. |
