RFID in warehousing
/ By Karan Mudliar / Blog • Uncategorized/ • • • • / 0 Comments

RFID in warehousing

As an efficient and effective method of tracking items and transferring data, it is not surprising that RFID (radio frequency identification) has gained prominence across several industries, though more notably within warehousing.

As demand for warehousing has increased, many businesses, globally, but specifically in the US and Canada, require services ranging from brief import housing to long-term storage of their products.

Over time and through technological advancements, businesses have required additional tools to deal with increased customer demands. Previously, barcodes were used within warehouses. These helped to tag, dock, and store stock and barcode readers were used to identify stock that came in and went out in a structured and organized manner. This worked well when single sources came in as barcode items were individually scanned one at a time. However, this was still a labor-intensive and time consuming task and required a significant amount of paperwork, tracking, and could easily lead to mistakes.

As warehouses grew in size, reaching up to many thousands of square feet of stock and storage space, the use of barcoding became less feasible. Coupled with this was also the increased competition within the sector as well as the rise of more discerning customers who demanded immediate benefits with less thought about loyalty. Businesses had to adopt to address speed, delivery/time, and cost, especially within their just-in-time inventory. Additionally, the cost of labor was also rising and was error-prone. Thus, a new and improved technology was the need of the hour.

Given this, RFID brought in a paradigm to the sector. One of its main benefits was being able to store up to “100 times the data of barcodes” and can keep track of all inventory data such as “lot and serial number, size, manufacturer, vendor, expiration date, user, location on production line, etc.”

RFID in warehousing

This is very beneficial when dealing with multiple functions such as order-picking and receiving, pick-and-pack sorting, distribution, trans-loading, promotional packing, and cross-docking.

So what is RFID? Many observers have named it the smart barcode because it is layered on top of a traditional barcode and can complete more complex functions. In essence, RFID (a form of Auto ID technology) is “a system that transmits identity in the form of a unique serial number of a product wirelessly.” Just like many other smart products such as TVs, other electronic appliances or household products, RFID tags consist of “a microchip attached to a radio antenna mounted on a substrate.” The use of this technology “connects products to the Internet for tracking purposes so that information can be shared [with businesses] across the supply chain.”

Of course, such technology can enable many varied uses and also helps to reduce time, improve real-time data accuracy, and lessen the burden on human labor involved.

Within the warehousing industry there are two types of RFID systems that are commonly used – active and passive. Passive RFID tags “do not have transmitters and simply reflect back radio waves that originate at the reader antenna,” whereas Active RFID transponders (a microchip with an antenna) “are placed on products [through which] information is accessed using a reader to pass the information to a computer.”

In terms of direct use, active RFID tags are typically used for “large assets, including cargo containers, rail cars and containers that are transported over long distances.” Passive RFID tags, are less expensive and require less maintenance though lack power sources and transmitters, ensuring their use is more limited.

The benefits of RFID within warehouses are significant. With their use, stocks can now be tagged through RFID portal readers all at once rather than individually. This is a huge bonus as it can greatly reduce time and effort and improve efficiency and accuracy, owning to the exclusion of manual processes. Further, stock can now be tracked and monitored not only within the warehouse but anywhere across the supply chain, in any location. Further, along with web tools and information about stocks, inventory can be made available in real-time and 24×7.

Another significant advantage is that RFID can be integrated with any warehouse management system that has already been deployed or is currently in use. This means there is less time and effort spent in updating or upgrading to a newer technology and limited lag-time in terms of business processes.

As mentioned earlier, RFID use also provides a much higher level of accuracy as well as an immediacy of information of inventory levels. This means that decision-making concerning replenishment of stocks can be taken with less planning and ‘on the fly’. Also, other decisions can be taken to improve the storage capacity utilization of a warehouse so as to ensure better efficiency and to improve profitability.

Due to the tracking and ‘smart’ advantage, RFIDs can help customers track and follow their goods’ journeys in real-time. Such web-based RFID systems can provide this information and help improve customer satisfaction levels. This is especially critical when precious, high-value goods are stored and being transported and can greatly help to reduce and alleviate the associated risks. Given that the monitoring process is so clear the possibility of theft can be diminished and a safer passageway of transportation could be cleared.

Finally, for both labor and cost there are clear gains given the fact that inventories can be leaner, thus, improving savings. The introduction of RFID tags can also help reduce labor costs, given that the manual work of barcode entry has been removed and humans can focus more on specialized tasks within the warehouse rather than solely on the scanning of each and every item.

As demonstrated, it is evident that RFID tags have revolutionized the warehousing sector and have pushed the associated technology further into the mainstream. Given the impetus they have provided many businesses are now looking at newer ways of using employees for more specialized tasks within warehouses, which cannot be replicated by technology. Thus, the introduction of technology within the warehousing sector is also playing a role in creating a human revolution within the workplace.

/ By Karan Mudliar / Blog • Uncategorized/ • • • / 0 Comments

The implications of paperboard packaging replacing plastics

With an increased emphasis on being environmentally-friendly, many governments have reviewed their approach and have moved further in this direction. In the US, cities like Washington D.C (tax on plastic bags), San Francisco (complete ban on plastic bags), and Boston (tax and ban on single-use bags), have implemented their own laws. Around the world, Kenya, Chile, UK, Australia, and China have also enforced their own rules. Additionally, India enforced a ban on single-use plastics in July, 2018.

Most plastic bans include: PE bags, disposable plastic cutlery, disposable thermocol items, plastic wrap used for packaging and storage, non-woven polypropylene bags, plastic pouches for storing liquid, plastic packaging for food items, and plastic and thermocol decorations.

It has been determined that these plastics are the most harmful for the environment as they clog water bodies due to improper disposal, lead to ground water pollution, and disturb soil microbes.

With more and more countries adopting alternatives to plastic, the use of paperboard packaging has been gaining further acceptance. This has also been driven by a retail boom and the introduction and increased use of e-commerce. It is also important to note that paperboard packaging is consumer-friendly, provides excellent product protection, is lightweight, easy to transport and stack, and significantly easy to dispose of. However, the underlying and important aspect is that paperboard packaging is bio-degradable.

Given this it is no wonder that the paper packaging market is growing at a rate of 7.5%. In fact, industry estimates suggest that Amazon and Flipkart — top two players in the $17-billion ecommerce sector — consume between 1,200-1,400 tonnes of paper that goes into making boxes and printing bills.

For other large organizations such as Swedish furniture company IKEA, the switch-over to paperboard has been undertaken very quickly. And, as it is clear, the effects of paperboard packaging replacing plastics can greatly reduce climate impact, businesses are climbing on the sustainable bandwagon to underline their positive appeal for the environment.

 

 

Across the ocean, in the US, tech giant Apple has already outlined its longer-term vision in this matter. Through its October 2017 Paper and Packaging Strategy, it details how it “succeeded in reducing the plastic content of the iPhone 7 packaging by 84 per cent compared with that of the iPhone 6s.” Going forward, it is evident that this strategy is being used extensively with regard to its Apple’s smart speaker, Homepod. Here, “an incredibly complex paperboard construction with closures holds the speaker cord in place and there is also a setup to secure the plug.” And as has been mentioned, “there would be have been no doubt that plastic would have been the material of choice for this even up to 10 years ago.”

However, despite all of this, when it comes to replacing plastics there are still challenges that need to be overcome. Some of these include: the high cost of production caused by inadequate availability, the high cost of raw materials, a limited availability of good fibre, as well as technological obsolescence.

Further, major industries such as fresh and frozen foods, dairy, pharmaceuticals, beverages, snacks, and confectionery, have been severely impacted given their current extensive use of plastic packaging.

It is also evident that both the organized and unorganized sector are engaged in the packaging industry. Within the organized sector, SMEs that have been producing plastic packaging cannot quickly switch to paperboard and require time to do so. Thus, the plastic ban has adversely impacted sales and jobs in this sector. Many enterprises have also had to take up loans even though don’t have easy access to financing and funds. So despite the paper and paperboard markets growing rapidly there are still obstacles issues surrounding expansion of capacity.

Regarding the paper industry, it too has its challenges given the overall fragmentation of the market, which is served by around 500 various-sized mills. Further, the capacity for paper production has slowed down primarily due to a shortage of its key raw material – pulp wood. This is coupled with the rising prices of local waste paper. However, though this has been partially mitigated by renewed agroforestry initiatives, the industry has regularly requested for a policy to be implemented that allows access to degraded forest land for paper mills to raise pulp wood plantations for sustainable development. This, unfortunately, has yet to be undertaken.

In 2017, paper companies did not undertake price hikes due to factors such as competition from imports, stabilization in wood prices lower power, and fuel costs but by FY18, domestic paper prices had risen marginally.

In terms of supply there is a shortage of paperboard packaging and a study suggests that the paperboard segment will face a shortfall of 12.5 lac MT.

However, this supply deficit will mostly help players who are self-sufficient with raw materials and have cost optimization plans. It will also benefit major players in the industry who are using cash whilst adversely affecting the unorganized and SME sectors.

The shortfall in supply will also cause delays and disruptions in distribution and the delivery of goods produced as there is a lag for sufficient quantities of paperboard packaging material to enter the market. However, on the plus side, this may result in opportunistic price rises within paperboard packaging materials, that in turn, will raise the costs of goods overall.

It is clear that as technologies develop and more companies understand the reasons behind omitting plastics and looking towards alternatives, paperboard usage will increase. Though nations have adopted other materials at different rates and speeds, there has been a concerted effort on the part of governments, businesses, and environmental groups to push for steps to move away from plastic usage. It still remains to be seen whether current global conditions have already been too adversely effected to reverse the process but the increased move towards paperboard can only be seen as a positive sign.