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Sony Europe Implements Video-RFID Tracking System
When employees pick orders from warehouse shelves for specific retailer customers, these orders—individual boxes containing DVD players or cameras, for instance—are currently marked with a delivery label displaying a delivery address, a unique parcel number and a bar code. When the new system is up and running in March, however, workers will perform the same task but use a paper label containing an RFID inlay. The system will use EPC Class 1 Gen 2 tags from Raflatac, interrogators from Symbol Technologies and RFID interrogator networking devices from Reva Systems.
The application will first be utilized for goods sold to retailers in Germany, and only the cardboard packaging of consumer electronics will be tagged. Sony Europe expects to require 2.5 million tags per year, and to install a total of 14 readers for the project.
During the second step of order fulfillment, the already-tagged boxes of electronics will be brought to a designated sorting area to be separated out by customer order. Workers will stack the boxes (about 100 to 130) on an RFID-tagged pallet, then use a forklift to move the pallet through a portal interrogator. At this juncture, the system will read all tags, transmitting tag numbers to the warehouse management system, which keeps a record of all the boxes stacked on each pallet.
"The new system will already save time at this point by eliminating manual scanning. This speeds up the process," says Schönfeld.
In the next step, as customer pallets are wrapped in plastic film, the video component comes into play. Wrapping stations are equipped with an RFID interrogator and a closed-circuit camera provided by Griffid, a manufacturer of digital surveillance systems. With the cameras watching, the interrogator will read the RFID tags on the pallet and boxes. The wrapped pallets will then move to a loading station. As they pass through the dock door, a portal interrogator will read the tags one final time.
Sony Europe will create a short video showing each pallet being wrapped and placed on a truck. The RFID reads will be burned into the movie to prove the identification of the pallet, Schönfeld explains. The computer system will save the video, and if a customer raises a question, claims handlers can search a database for a specific tagged box or tagged pallet number, pulling up the related video. Sony Europe will then be able to send the customer the video file, either electronically or—if the file size is too large—on a CD.
"To have data is not special. Data is not really legal proof. Video is better proof to customers, forwarders or third-party service providers that goods were packed and shipped," Schönfeld says, adding, "It's a Big Brother system for our boxes."
Schönfeld stressed that the system will not invade the privacy of consumers in any way. The RFID label will be placed on the item's box, not on the item itself, and will be attached with a type of glue one can easily remove without damaging the packaging. The label will include text explaining to the purchaser that the box is labeled with an RFID tag, and that the tag carries only a random identification number, with no product details.
According to Schönfeld, the system is expected to provide a quick ROI, given Sony Europe's large numbers of daily shipments and the high value of its products.
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The application will first be utilized for goods sold to retailers in Germany, and only the cardboard packaging of consumer electronics will be tagged. Sony Europe expects to require 2.5 million tags per year, and to install a total of 14 readers for the project.
During the second step of order fulfillment, the already-tagged boxes of electronics will be brought to a designated sorting area to be separated out by customer order. Workers will stack the boxes (about 100 to 130) on an RFID-tagged pallet, then use a forklift to move the pallet through a portal interrogator. At this juncture, the system will read all tags, transmitting tag numbers to the warehouse management system, which keeps a record of all the boxes stacked on each pallet.
"The new system will already save time at this point by eliminating manual scanning. This speeds up the process," says Schönfeld.
In the next step, as customer pallets are wrapped in plastic film, the video component comes into play. Wrapping stations are equipped with an RFID interrogator and a closed-circuit camera provided by Griffid, a manufacturer of digital surveillance systems. With the cameras watching, the interrogator will read the RFID tags on the pallet and boxes. The wrapped pallets will then move to a loading station. As they pass through the dock door, a portal interrogator will read the tags one final time.
Sony Europe will create a short video showing each pallet being wrapped and placed on a truck. The RFID reads will be burned into the movie to prove the identification of the pallet, Schönfeld explains. The computer system will save the video, and if a customer raises a question, claims handlers can search a database for a specific tagged box or tagged pallet number, pulling up the related video. Sony Europe will then be able to send the customer the video file, either electronically or—if the file size is too large—on a CD.
"To have data is not special. Data is not really legal proof. Video is better proof to customers, forwarders or third-party service providers that goods were packed and shipped," Schönfeld says, adding, "It's a Big Brother system for our boxes."
According to Schönfeld, the system is expected to provide a quick ROI, given Sony Europe's large numbers of daily shipments and the high value of its products.
