Electronic-Entertainment Distributor Automates Its RFID Tagging

The Accraply device applies the tag on the box as directed by the FAST Tag controller, and an Applied Wireless Identifications (AWID) interrogator reads the tag data. FAST Tag receives the information from the AWID reader and verifies that the correct tag is on each carton, according to the box's order on the conveyor. If the system determines that a tag is missing, incorrect or nonfunctioning, the box is diverted to a reconciliation station, where an RFID label can be encoded and printed using a Zebra R110Xi desktop RFID printer-encoder.

The entire system operates on the FAST Tag In-Motion software suite, which can be integrated with a distributor's in-house warehouse management or ERP system. For other applications, Kuhno explains, the system can also be run as a stand-alone solution.

"We provide software that speaks to the back-end host system, whether it is homegrown or a major WMS package," Kuhno says. "It controls everything—the RFID equipment, conveyor controls and bar-code equipment." Accu-Sort can also provide sourcing assistance for conveyor modifications or work with existing material-handling providers, as was the case with this entertainment-products distributor.

The entertainment-products distributor is using on-pitch RFID tags (that is, converted to labels in the smallest possible form factor). "This allows RFID tags to be spaced closely together—in this case, an 1/8 of an inch—while encoding one tag at a time without affecting adjacent tags," says Kuhno. In addition to encoding the tag, the Accu-Sort system prints the EPCglobal logo and human-readable tag information on each label.

On-pitch tags are cheaper and smaller than traditional 4- by 2-inch RFID labels with the same spacing. The size and spacing of the on-pitch labels provides the potential for applying more tags per minute than traditional RFID labels, Kuhno says. "That was a big selling point for this customer."

This system allows the application of RFID tags on cases at a rate of 30 per minute, or more than 14,000 cartons in an eight-hour shift. According to Kuhno, in addition to lowering tag costs, the system will save the customer $83,000 yearly in labor costs by eliminating the manual encoding and application of tags.