Warehouse Management Systems (RFID)

The objective of a Warehouse Management Systems(WMS) is to provide a method to automatically receive inventory, process orders and handle returns within a single overall application "umbrella''. It is a key part of the supply chain and primarily aim to control the movement and storage of materials within a warehouse and process the associated transactions:

• shipping
• receiving
• putaway
• picking

RFID

1. Can provide large amounts of information



2. Virtually no labour cost to read the RFID tag



3. Can read and write information from tag



4. Long read/write range



5. Radiowaves can pass through obstructions between tag and transponder



6. Costly but efficient
   
   
7. Does not get damaged easily
   

Barcodes

1. Barcodes only provide limited information



2. Labor cost of approximately 7 cents per scan



3. Short range range



4. Requires line-of-sight (barcode and barcode reader)



5. Cheap but not cost effective



6. Can be damage very easily

• Class 1

Read only (the RFID tag can only be read by a reader)

• Class 2

Read, write once (information can be written into the tag once)

• Class 3

Class 2 capabilities plus a power source to provide increasd range or advanced functionality

• Class 4

Class 3 capabilities plus active communication and abilty to communicate with other tags

• Class 5

Class 4 capabilities plus the ability to communicate with passive tags as well. Below shows a typical class 5 RFID tag

Tags

The lower-cost tags generally are passive (meaning they have no internal power source),
have limited data storage capacity (typically 32 to 128 bits), are read-only (not rewriteable),
and have limited read range. Like bar codes, they are usually used as "license
RFID Technology for Warehouse and Distribution Operations
plate" identifiers, i.e., they hold little actual data but serve to identify the object to a
database containing larger amounts of information. For example, a tag attached to a
product in a work-in-process application would uniquely identify the product each time it
passed by a reader. The reading, and any work performed on the assembly, would be
recorded in a database. In turn, a conveyor-based sortation system could identify the item
and receive routing instructions from a database application, allowing products to reach
their loading destination without human intervention.
Higher-cost tags are available for many more complicated longer read applications. They
often have their own power source (these are known as active tags), making them heavier
than passive tags, and large data storage capacities (upwards of 1M), making them
essentially self-contained databases. These higher-capacity tags could, for example,
monitor temperature through a process or give operational instructions to a robotic
workstation when they arrive attached to their item, then have updated status information
appended to the tag when the task is complete. This flexibility does have a cost, however;
the internal power source can burn out, giving these tags a life span of 5-10 years.

Two main types of RFID tags

Passive RFID Tags

Passive RFID tags have no internal power supply. The minute electrical current induced in theantenna by the incoming radio frequency signal provides just enough power for the CMOS integrated circuit in the tag to power up and transmit a response. The lack of an onboard power supply means that the device can be quite small: commercially available products exist that can be embedded in a sticker, or under the skin.


As of 2006, the smallest such devices measured 0.15 mm × 0.15 mm, and are thinner than a sheet of paper (7.5 micrometers). Passive tags have practical read distances ranging from about 10 cm to up to a few meters depending on the chosen radio frequency and antenna design/size. Due to their simplicity in design they are also suitable for manufacture with a printing process for the antennas.Non-silicon tags made from polymer semiconductors are currently being developed by several companies globally.

If successfully commercialized, polymer tags will be roll printable, like a magazine, and much less expensive than silicon-based tags. The end game for most item level tagging over the next few decades may be that RFID tags will be wholly printed - the same way a barcode is today - and be virtually free, like a barcode. However, substantial technical and economic hurdles must be surmounted to accomplish such an end: hundreds of billions of dollars have been invested over the last three decades in silicon processing, resulting in a per-feature cost which is actually less than that of conventional printing.


In 2007, the Danish Company RFIDsec developed a passive RFID with privacy enhancing technologies built-in including built-in firewall access controls, communication encryption and a silent mode ensuring that the consumer at point of sales can get exclusive control of the key to control the RFID. The RFID will not respond unless the consumer authorizes it, the consumer can validate presence of a specific RFID without leaking identifiers and therefore the consumer can make use of the RFID without being trackable or otherwise leak information that represents a threat to consumer privacy.




Active RFID Tags

Unlike passive RFID tags, active RFID tags have their own internal power source which is used to power any ICs that generate the outgoing signal. Active tags are typically much more reliable (e.g. fewer errors) than passive tags due to the ability for active tags to conduct a "session" with a reader.


Active tags, due to their onboard power supply, also transmit at higher power levels than passive tags, allowing them to be more effective in "RF challenged" environments like water (including humans/cattle, which are mostly water), metal (shipping containers, vehicles), or at longer distances.

Many active tags today have practical ranges of hundreds of meters, and a battery life of up to 10 years. Some active RFID tags include sensors such as temperature logging which have been used to monitor the temperature of perishable goods like fresh produce or certain pharmaceutical products.

Other sensors that have been married with active RFID include humidity, shock/vibration, light, radiation, temperature, and atmospherics like ethylene. Active tags typically have much longer range (approximately 500 m/1500 feet) and larger memories than passive tags, as well as the ability to store additional information sent by the transceiver.

Two Singapore Fashion Retailers Use RFID to Track Inventory
The use of HF tags enables the stores to perform a daily inventory, reduce shrinkage and restock goods in a timely manner.

By Claire Swedberg


ITE College East (Simei) (Retail Training Centre)

Oct. 31, 2007—Two fashion retailers in Singapore are deploying RFID an -based tagging system to manage their inventory, using handheld interrogators to capture ID numbers attached to garments for stocktaking purposes. Bella East Fashion Studio located in central Singapore's Kovan Heartland Mall, and 77th Street Pte. Ltd, at ITE College East in eastern Singapore, are each using the system. Both stores report a reduction in stocking time from 12 hours to 25 minutes.

The deployments began as a pilot in March 2007, in which the retailers used Tracient
Padl-R handheld RFID interrogators to obtain real-time stock visibility by tracking which items were on store shelves and which high-demand items needed to be reordered.

Like other apparel stores in Singapore, the pilot's participants had previously conducted inventory counts using a manual system. Employees had hand-counted items at the front of the store, and in the back room. Because it was so time-consuming, however, they only conducted such inventories a few times per year, says Keton Lee, director of SeeNow, a Singapore-based RFID solutions provider that provided RFID integration services for the pilot. Using SeeNow's "Smart Shop" inventory management system and Tracient's Padl-R interrogators, Lee says, the time needed to complete the process is reduced to a few minutes and can be accomplished on a weekly or daily basis.

The two stores tag each garment with a high-frequency (HF) 13.56 MHz RFID tag complying with the ISO 14443 standard. Each tag's unique identifying number is linked to data related to that garment—such as its type, size and color—stored in the inventory management system by store employees. The Smart Shop system includes point-of-sale (POS), accounting and payroll applications.

http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3721/2/1/

Advancement for RFID in the future:

In the not-so-distant future, RFID and sensor technology could revolutionize the produce supply chain, making it possible for, say, a bag of lettuce to omit a signal if it becomes contaminated during its journey.

By John R. Johnson

From the January 2008 issue

In the not-so-distant future, RFID and sensor technology could revolutionize the produce supply chain, making it possible for, say, a bag of lettuce to omit a signal if it becomes contaminated during its journey. More immediately, RFID is helping suppliers get fruits and vegetables to store shelves more quickly and efficiently.
In a pilot that began late last year, thousands of reusable containers equipped with multi-cycle RFID tags are being used in grower fields in Washington and California. During the trial, testers are monitoring the tags to see how well they stand up to abuse, beginning with exposure to mud, a range of weather conditions, and rough handling in the field.
From there, produce in the containers is shipped to Wal- Mart distribution centers, where it's cleaned. At the DCs, the containers and tags undergo washing, additional handling, refrigeration, and storage before being sent on to retail stores. Eventually, the containers in the pilot test are collapsed and sent back through the supply chain for more cleaning, handling, and storage. Each container is going through a minimum of three cycles of use.At the end of each cycle, the RFID tags are tested for viability and then re-encoded for the next cycle. The sixmonth field trial should end this spring.

"There has never been an RFID-related field trial of this magnitude in the United States with so many key supply chain partners," says Fred Heptinstall, senior vice president and general manager of IFCO Systems' Reusable Plastic Container Division and president of the Reusable Pallet & Container Coalition (RPCC). "The level of cooperation within the industry is truly remarkable. And if the field trial results mirror the data from the laboratory testing, we will prove unequivocally that reusables are the enabler to the cost-effective use of RFID technology."

Lab tests of 230 reusable containers conducted over the last year revealed 100 percent read rates, something that has never before been achieved in the industry. The research, which was conducted at Michigan State University, included more than 160 hours of testing and more than 14,000 tests. The three tags that performed best during the tests are being used in the field trial.

"The durability and readability of the RFID tags during the lab tests were superb," says Pat Kennedy of the Kennedy Group, who is the project leader for the RPCC. "The information gathered from these studies will help businesses make data-driven decisions about the cost effectiveness and feasibility of incorporating reusable containers into their supply chains from an enhanced track and trace perspective."

Introduction

The METRO Future Sotre Initiative in Rheinberg was found as a cooperation project between METRO Group, SAP, OAT systems, Oracle, Intel and IBM as well as other partner companies from the inormation technology and consumer goods industries. They all aim at promoting innovations in retailing on a national and international level. In the the long run the initiative sets the stage for creating or implementing existing standards for retailing that can be implemented on an international scale.

The technologies that the METRO Group Future Sotre Initiative used a test sotre were aimed at making shopping more convenient for consumers through better service and at improving processes in retailing that can be implemented on an international scale. Different combinations of RFID applications were tested in which a completely integrated system was implemented for inventory management, information management, and check out.

We will focus on inventory management.

Inventory Management

The Future Sotre Initiative focuses on the development of new processes in inventory management using RFID technology. Merchandise goods can be tracked at various location as they move from one end of the supply chain to another in the central warehouse and for the delivery and storage of goods and shelf filing. Using the data captured from the RFID tags, goods can be re-ordered according to demand and inventory safety checks.

All goods are sorted on RFID-tagged pallets in a central warehouse before they are delivered to the Future Sore. Data captured from RFID tags are transferred to an electronic RFID merchandies management system, allowing the goods to be registered with the respective inormation in the system. Once registered, the locations of goods can be tracked throughout the entire logistics chain.

When ready, the loaded pallets are moved to the exit zone of the central warehosue, where an electronic gate is installed with an RFID reading device. When passignt his gate, the data in the chips of the tags affixed to the cartons and pallets is transmitted to the merchandise management system.

When goods are received at the Future Store, employees transport the pallets from the truck through an RFID gate at the backsotre entrance. The data of chips of the chips on each pallet and crate are read. Once the merchandise management system is updated, the supermarket employees can compare the received goods with the order to determine if the order was met or if the items were over-shipped, under-shipped or missing.

After the goods are delivered for storage in the back room of the Future Sotre, each storage position is affixed with an RFID tag. When storing the goods, the employees use handheld scanner to read this tag into the system.

When taking goods to the sales room to refill the shelves, the employees pass an RFID gate at the exit of the backstore area, where the data on the RFID chips affixed to the cartons is captured for transmission to the merchandise management system. Cartons that could not be emptied due to a lack of shelf space are returned to the backstore area. As they pass the gate, tag data is updated and then transferred to the system. When the merchandise is emptied from the carton, the RFID tags are deactivated.

Present scene for RFID in the industry:
RFID: Star Potential or Big Bomb?

By René Jones
Jul 1, 2006

RFID is the new hit reality series for the warehousing industry.

Everyone is watching it to some degree — perhaps directly in day-to-day business or at industry events and in trade magazines. And it seems to be something everybody's voting on. Some vote for it to go away while others vote for it to become more widely adopted. No matter how you cast your vote, it's here to stay. This article will help you discover what it means to you, your organization and the electrical industry.

What is RFID? The acronym RFID stands for radio frequency identification. It's the process of communicating wirelessly with unique identifiers from tags (labels) to a reader (RF device). It will allow you to track product as it progresses through your supply chain. Ultimately, it could mean products can arrive at your docks and not have to be detail-received by a warehouse employee.

A reader positioned at dock doors would identify each tag, whether affixed to a case, master pack or pallet, and update your warehouse management software (WMS) system automatically with the correct quantities. This means each case master pack and pallet must be labeled with an RFID tag. Before you think about eliminating your receiving department, let's elaborate on the process.


Not all vendors are in favor of this technology. There is a list of reasons why, but the No. 1 reason is cost. A standard bar-code label costs less than a penny, and the actual cost is probably considerably less depending on the quantity purchased. However, RFID tags can cost between 20 cents and $6 a piece, depending on the amount of memory necessary to store the product data. This data can include product code, quantity, date shipped, the order it needs to fill, customer purchasing history and many other important pieces of information that help track and identify each product pallet or shipment.

There are five different classes of RFID tags:
· Read only.
· Write once read only.
· Read write.
· Read write with board sensors, which have the ability to record temperature, motion, pressure, etc.
· Read write with integrated transmitters, which are able to communicate with other tags without a reader.

Along with the cost and complexity of the tags comes a reader's cost. Simple readers cost as little as a few thousand dollars, and more complex readers can cost tens of thousands of dollars. On top of the expense of the tags and readers come other obvious costs: integration, software, current system upgrade, consultant, training, printers, etc.

You must also consider the difficulty of labeling fittings, pipe and wire for smaller warehouses and not massive distribution centers, where the standard order quantity is not in multiples of the case. And will-call orders are a whole other story. Because of these challenges, it's easy to understand why many electrical distributors and vendors are skeptical about this not-so-new technology.
As a side note, some folks believe this technology is a danger to society and must be adopted with cautious skepticism. For example, in Hoboken, N.J., the traffic department is issuing parking stickers in the form of RFID tags. The police can now walk down the street and their reader will automatically tell them whether a car is permitted to be parked on that street just by reading the RFID tag affixed to the back of the parking permit. It can also tell them the owner's name, the license-plate number, the make and model of the car and any other information stored on the tag — the parking permit in this case — at time of issuance. The concern is with all this information readily available, it won't be long before criminals begin getting readers of their own.

Some people are also concerned about the possibility of viruses being placed on tags and corrupting not only your reader but also your ERP/WMS system. Imagine getting a virus that infiltrates your ERP (enterprise resource planning) system from warehouse boxes. The only thing a distributor wants to be concerned about when it comes to inventory is whether it's turning as fast as it should and the accuracy of records kept. Your concern should not be whether or not it's lethal to your day-to-day operations.

In reality, your warehouse is probably several steps away from being ready for you to even begin thinking about implementing RFID technology in your distribution center. The first step must be addressing your current process and procedural issues. The second step is purchasing and implementing a warehouse management system. Knowing 50 pieces of a particular item came in the back door today does not help the picking department. Nor does it help customer service, because they already have that information every time they get a proof-of-delivery when an item has not been received for several days. Knowing 50 came in the door will not help the pickers find them 30 minutes after they have been received either. RFID technology can provide the data, but what happens to that data is still dependent on your warehouse employees.

Wal-Mart's vendors must comply with its RFID standard. In addition, several other large retailers now mandate this technology, costing inefficient supply chains that do business with them millions — if not billions — of dollars. But the non-RFID portion of what's required — an increase in efficiency, a reduction of data-entry errors, the ability to free up staff — should have been part of the standard operating procedures within these organizations years before Wal-Mart's mandate.

Distributors should have pushed technology to make them more efficient, drive costs from their supply chains and reduce the number of times product is touched in their warehouses. But the warehousing industry is consistently slow to adopt new technology. Less than 30 percent of warehouses have a WMS system, and less than 30 percent of all warehouses are efficient. That's why I predict less than 30 percent of the warehouses will have RFID systems five years from now.

Who wants to throw good money after bad money? If you have already invested heavily in your warehouse, you will be disappointed with the return on investment if inventory is still inaccurate. After all, receiving sometimes still doesn't get received and put away for days, and you are still processing the same percentage of returns.
Bar coding alone can increase the accuracy within a warehouse to well above 90 percent. RFID tags, because they don't have the same drawbacks as bar-code labels, can pick up where the bar-code labels leave off. But that doesn't mean much if you are not even reaping a WMS system's benefits.


Many distributors parallel the man who sat in front of the stove and said, “Give me heat, and then I will add the wood!” We want the benefits of an effective and efficient warehouse, but we don't want to pay the cost or implement the systems. You need accurate inventory and want customer-service personnel on the phones and not in the warehouse checking inventory. You also want orders in the receiving department to be processed the day they arrive, so you don't have to rummage through the product sitting on the receiving dock to fill important orders.
RFID has the ability to provide:

Reduced shrinkage.
Full visibility of returned items.
Reduced labor costs.
Enhanced customer service.
Increased inventory accuracy.

Ask yourself what are you willing to invest in order to receive these benefits. Are you still waiting for heat (benefits) so you can add the wood (paying the price)? Your warehouse personnel play a big role in your organization's success and failure, and they deserve the systems, processes and disciplines to perform their jobs efficiently.

Putaway

RFID can improve putaway accuracy by automatically associating stored goods with their actual putaway
location, with no operator data entry or bar code scanning required. When cases or pallets are physically
placed into storage, a forklift-mounted RFID reader can be triggered to automatically record the location
code from a permanent tag at the location, plus the case or pallet ID tag, which saves operators the time of
locating, aiming and scanning bar codes, and eliminates the possibility of key-entering the wrong location
code.

Picking

Similar to putaway, RFID builds error-proofing into the picking process. Goods are automatically recorded by a forklift reader or other mobile RFID device as they are picked, and the transaction is checked by the RFID Technology for Warehouse and Distribution Operations LXE Inc. Copyright © June 2006 by LXE Inc. WMS or order management system to confirm the picked item belongs with the order. Tagged goods can also be automatically associated with the pallet they’re placed on, saving data entry time during the palletbuild process. Forklift-mounted readers eliminate the orientation concerns and operator labor time associated with bar code scanning. For many manufacturers, using vehicle-mounted RFID to validate SKUs and quantify cases will allow for the elimination of redundant quality assurance processes.

Shipping

RFID can validate pallet loads and improve shipping accuracy even if it isn’t used as part of the picking
process. A pallet of RFID-tagged cases can be identified through either an unattended portal reader or a vehicle-mounted or handheld device. The order management system or WMS would match the read data against the customer order to validate that no cases were missing and that case quantities were correct.
The read data could also be used to trigger generation of a shipping label for the pallet (which itself may include an RFID tag) and to provide information for an advance ship notice (ASN). A scan at the shipping dock can be used to update information in logistics applications and to record the goods out of inventory.
Lastly, RFID can even be used to validate the trailer if equipped with an RFID tag.

Security/Documentation



The location-reading principle of automated putaway can be modified to provide unattended location monitoring. This application requires a fixed-position reader to monitor a specific location, such as a portal or dedicated storage area. The application is valuable in select situations where there are strong needs for security, item availability or chain-of-custody documentation. For example, full-time RFID monitoring could be installed for a secure storage area to provide theft detection for high-value goods. Fixed-position readers could also provide documentation that perishables were kept in cold storage areas until being removed for shipment.

Asset Tracking

Often it’s beneficial to track the shipping container with RFID, if the container is a returnable or reusable asset. By using RFID tags on pallets, drums, racks and other shipping containers to track their movements and associate them with specific customer shipments, organizations build an accurate information foundation to recover more of their assets and manage them more efficiently. For example, leading U.K. retailer Marks & Spencer is tracking more than 4.5 million trays, roll cages, dollies and other returnable containers for its fresh produce logistics operations with RFID tags. Marks & Spencer uses LXE MX5 mobile handheld computers to read RFID tags on its logistics assets as they move in and out six distribution
centers.
By accurately tracking where assets are in the facility and in the supply chain, organizations can
improve planning, reduce buffers and increase utilization, which all add up to real cost savings.
Asset tracking benefits aren’t limited to logistics containers. Forklifts and other capital equipment, machines, tools, supplies and other assets can all be tracked and secured with RFID to improve visibility and availability, reduce losses and provide accurate information for asset management and other software applications. High-value assets and shipping containers are sometimes tracked with active RFID technology, because savings from loss or theft of these high-value items can offset the higher tag costs.

Privacy

How would you like it if, for instance, one day you realized your underwear was reporting on your whereabouts? — California State Senator Debra Bowen, at a 2003 hearing

The use of RFID technology has engendered considerable controversy and even product boycotts by consumer privacy advocates who refer to RFID tags as ‘’spychips’’. The 2 main privacy concerns regarding RFID are:

Since the owner of an item will not necessarily be aware of the presence of a RFID tag and the tag can be read at a distance without the knowledge of the individual, it becomes possible to gather sensitive data about an individual without consent.

If a tagged item is paid for by credit card or in conjunction with use of a loyalty card, then it would be possible to indirectly deduce the identity of the purchaser by reading the globally unique ID of that item (contained in the RFID tag)

Most concerns revolve around the fact that RFID tags affixed to products remain functional even after the products have been purchased and taken home and thus can be used for surveillance and other purposes unrelated to their supply chain inventory functions.

Human implantation

The Food and Drug Administration in the US has approved the use of RFID chips in humans. Some business establishments have also started to chip customers, such as the Baja Beach nightclub in Barcelona. This has provoked concerns into privacy of individuals as they can potentially be tracked wherever they go by an identifier unique to them. There are some concerns this could lead to abuse by an authoritarian government or lead to removal of other freedoms.

Religious opinion

A few critics, mostly conservative Evangelical Christians, believe that RFID tagging could represent the mark of the beast mentioned specifically in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 13:16).

Conclusion

To remain competitive in today's global, we-want-it-now supply chain, it is imperative to
remain open to new technologies and the improvements they can offer your business.
RFID is one useful tool to keep in mind for current and future system design.

Applications are constantly being developed and refined as the technology advances and
the supply chain industry continues to work for the cradle-to-grave data flow that will
streamline the product pipeline. Because of the visibility it can provide, and its newfound cost effectiveness, RFID is emerging as an intriguing option to complement data collection and product identification in the supply chain.

Many hardware and software suppliers are just beginning to explore how RFID
technology can tie into warehouse management systems (WMS) to produce a
warehouse/DC of incredible efficiency. Several WMS providers now support RFID data entry in their software. Here are some potential RFID applications in warehousing and distribution environments:

• Pallet and case tracking, particularly when the pallets are reused within a closed

• Forklift identification. RFID can identify forklift location to allow systems to
monitor activity and assign the closest forklift to those pallets needing moved, and
serve as a permanent asset ID.

• Access control: Chips embedded in ID cards can control locks and prevent
unauthorized entry; chips on products, cases, pallets and equipment can control
item movement and sound alarms in case of unauthorized removal.

• Smart shelves: Retailers are experimenting with readers embedded in stocked
store shelves to keep track of tagged inventory and notify either the back room or
the supplier when stock is low. The application could be modified for use in
warehouses and distribution centers for materials management and inventory
control