Soft-Drink Manufacturer Finds Myriad Benefits From RFID Solution
Swire Coca-Cola HK employs the technology to track cylinders and tanks within its facilities and at customer sites.
By Bob Violino
Oct. 10, 2011—Swire Coca-Cola HK, a soft-drink manufacturer located in Hong Kong, faced several daunting inventory-management challenges. Each day, the company delivers approximately 10,000 carbon dioxide cylinders and soft-drink post-mix (PM) tanks—which contain syrup to be mixed to create beverages—to roughly 3,000 customers, including major dining chains McDonald's, Fairwood and Maxim's Group. The company found it difficult to track all the cylinders and tanks as they circulated throughout the city.
The process of tracking container deliveries to customers, as well as returns to Swire's warehouse, was performed manually, with operators recording the containers' status on paper documents. This often led to inaccurate status reports due to human error, and did not provide the company with real-time visibility into its inventory's whereabouts. Swire estimates it lost 500 tanks and cylinders annually.
There were also issues related to food safety. Because Swire could not trace specific containers, the firm had to recall all containers from customers in the event that an ingredient posed a potential safety concern.
Oct. 10, 2011—Swire Coca-Cola HK, a soft-drink manufacturer located in Hong Kong, faced several daunting inventory-management challenges. Each day, the company delivers approximately 10,000 carbon dioxide cylinders and soft-drink post-mix (PM) tanks—which contain syrup to be mixed to create beverages—to roughly 3,000 customers, including major dining chains McDonald's, Fairwood and Maxim's Group. The company found it difficult to track all the cylinders and tanks as they circulated throughout the city.
The process of tracking container deliveries to customers, as well as returns to Swire's warehouse, was performed manually, with operators recording the containers' status on paper documents. This often led to inaccurate status reports due to human error, and did not provide the company with real-time visibility into its inventory's whereabouts. Swire estimates it lost 500 tanks and cylinders annually.
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| A CO2 tank with a UHF RFID tag attached. |
There were also issues related to food safety. Because Swire could not trace specific containers, the firm had to recall all containers from customers in the event that an ingredient posed a potential safety concern.
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