Warehouse Management and OperationsRFID in

Warehouse Management and Operations

By Sopagna, Sambath, Sukanya

Acc.Prof.Dr.Parthana Parthanadee

I. Introduction• RFID(Radio Frequency Identification) : a smart

tracking system to be used in most factors in supply chain network.

ContentI. IntroductionII. Application III.BenefitsIV.RFID Designation for Warehouse

OperationV. RFID in order-pickingVI.Future TrendVII.Conclusion

II. Application of RFID in warehousing operations

1. Warehousing operations In receiving, items, cases and/or pallets

traditionally used barcodes, which workers had to scan one by one. With RFID, those items can be read all at once by a portal reader placed at the dock door as they are unloaded from the truck.

II. Application of RFID in warehousing operations2. Inventory/storage management

Unloading an inbound container, for instance, which may take about two and a half hours to individually scan, sort, and count cartons, may now take less than half an hour with RFID-tagged cartons

II. Application of RFID in warehousing operations

3. Warehouse management systems (WMS)Using a WMS (warehouse management system), items

can be cross docked for immediate transport or staged and stored.

II. Application of RFID in warehousing operations

4. MHE managementRFID used for tracking and routing MHE(Material

Handling Equipment) in the warehouse facility such as used ultra wideband RFID system on forklift trucks to collect information, applied WiFi-based RFID system on the floor aisles to track cargo and MHE in real time.

III. Benefits of RFID in Warehouse Processes1. Reduce labor costs

- Decrease primary warehouse worker functions including everything from inventory to pick/pack/ship to put away.

2. Increase inventory accuracy- Improve receiving efficiency and accuracy as

well as picking and ordering accuracy.

III. Benefits of RFID in Warehouse Processes3. Reduce inventory stock levels

- Improve stock and demand generation visibility.

4. Reduce unsaleable and out-of-stock items- Leaner and lower levels of inventory mean

faster inventory turns and less stagnant stock.

5. Improve customer satisfaction- Ensure the right goods reach the right

customer at the right time.

IV. RFID Design in Warehouse• Tired 1 Data collection

• The forklifts need to travel along the path to visit the aisles to collect the data from RFID code on the side the pallet or on the carton.

• All data are transfer by wireless connection

• Tired 2 Data storage• All data collected from tired 1 is

sent to centralized database• The database will do the query

optimization • Tired 3 Data management

• Model 1 selection of material handling equipment

• Model 2 Identification of resource locations

• Model 3 Formulation of shortest route for order picking

Tier 1: Data collection

IP address from RFID reader and

its coordination

• RFID passive tag • Pallet or Rack• Material handling equipment

• The display of RFID system• The wireless connection• High speed computer to store

and operate the database

Equipment

V. RFID order-picking • Handling Equipment Decision in Tier 3: cluster in

case based repository(SKU type, weight, dimension, shape)

V. RFID order-picking • Shortest path detection:•Location of resource between RFID reader to object (forklift) recorded to centralized data base

•Find shortest path from handling equipment to items in picking list.

Future trends1. Open systems• Can help practitioners to see more value that can

be success by collaborating with supply chain partners and the potential to reduce the overall cost of RFID investment.

Future trends2. Data sharing• The benefit of RFID is connected to data sharing

is exception management. • Sharing data about stock between warehouses

and supply chain partners helps to reduce and avoid high inventory levels.

Future trends3. Integration with other technologies

• Now, RFID are integrations with Wi-Fi, GPS and infrared for various applications.

• Future trends of RFID is integrating different technologies should be explored in warehousing facilities in order to maximize operational efficiency.

Future trends4. The Internet of Things• RFID can use in network as a means of

communication and data provider, such as data interchange mechanisms, compatibility between different systems.

VII. Conclusion• RFID is a Smart Technology to use in

supply chain network or in big industrial warehouse management that makes system under control, however, costing of equipment installation is critical for the firm while more implementation should be made as future trend

Reference Papers• Ming K.Lim , WitoldBahr,1,StephenC.H.Leung, 2013. RFID

inthewarehouse:Aliteratureanalysis(1995–2010)ofits applications, benefits, challenges and future trends

• Harry K.H. Chowa, King Lun Choya,*, W.B. Leea, K.C. Laub, 2006. Design of a RFID case-based resource management system for warehouse operations

• T.C. Poon a,*, K.L. Choy a,1, Harry K.H. Chow a,2, Henry C.W. Lau a,3, Felix T.S. Chan b,4, K.C. Ho c,5, 2009. A RFID case-based logistics resource management system for managing order-picking operations in warehouses

• Francisco Ballestín a,⇑, Ángeles Pérez , Pilar Lino , Sacramento Quintanilla a, Vicente Valls, 2013. Static and dynamic policies with RFID for the scheduling of retrieval

• and storage warehouse operations.