Gerolsteiner Unbottles ROI From Its RFID Deployment

Altogether, Gerolsteiner has installed 2,500 transponders in its DC's floor. About five transponders are located along each row of warehouse shelves. The area in front of each truck loading space—a marked area on the ground, the size of a large truck—is equipped with 33 transponders, set 1 meter (3.3 feet) apart along the loading space. Gerolsteiner requires this setup so forklift drivers do not have to maneuver vehicles to a particular spot to read at least one of the RFID tags.

Upon moving into the loading area, a delivery truck occupies a specifically assigned parking space. The transponders are embedded in the floor near the marked parking area, covering the area along the side of the truck. Forklift drivers load trucks from the side, passing at least one transponder each time they place a load onto a truck. Each transponder within the same zone carries the same identification number.

An RFID interrogator is attached to the forklift to read the tags in the floor.

A forklift driver receives a load order via a computer screen mounted on a particular delivery vehicle. The computer system notes the ID number of the truck, as well as the specific loading space to which the truck has been assigned, and combines this information with a serialized number used to identify that order. The forklift driver receives a message on his screen instructing him, for example, to put two pallets of apple spritzer and one pallet of mineral water on the truck.

The forklift operator drives to the appropriate warehouse shelves to retrieve the requested pallets. En route, the forklift's interrogator reads the embedded tags, informing the system of the vehicle's whereabouts. If a driver enters the wrong row, a warning message will appear on the screen.