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Italian RFID Lab Gets Fashion-Forward
The technology test utilized UPM Raflatac's DogBone EPC Gen 2 tags to automate the receipt of a small shipment of tagged bags and shoes as they pass through a read zone on a conveyor belt moving at two speeds—0.192 meters (7.6 inches) per second, which is the speed at which products are commonly received at the Coccinelle distribution centers, and 0.086 meters (3.4 inches) per second. An Impinj RFID reader was mounted over the conveyor with four linked antennas.
The results were positive, Montanari says, with 100 percent read rates achieved for most shipments at the slower speed, with the exception of the largest shipment of shoes—18 pairs—and one large box of 53 purses, which saw respective read rates of 99.6 and 94.7 percent. For the tests with the conveyor at 0.192 meters per second, the purses were packed differently and able to achieve 100 percent reads. The footwear shipments were reduced to a maximum of 12 pairs to achieve full readability.
For the feasibility study, Coccinelle partnered with the lab to estimate the infrastructure investment, operating expenses and cost of consumables (tags) to put forth a company-wide tagging project, wherein goods are tagged at the point of manufacture. It then compared this information with the labor efficiency and other expected benefits of using the technology.
The study predicted Coccinelle's RFID deployment would yield a 9 percent return on investment (ROI) in less than four years, with an internal rate of return of more than 12 percent during the same time period. But this projection was just for the distribution centers, Montanari notes, and did not factor in the expected business process improvements the company would see at the store level and along its supply chain.
According to Montanari, Coccinelle is currently studying the results of the two tests and determining its next steps.
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The results were positive, Montanari says, with 100 percent read rates achieved for most shipments at the slower speed, with the exception of the largest shipment of shoes—18 pairs—and one large box of 53 purses, which saw respective read rates of 99.6 and 94.7 percent. For the tests with the conveyor at 0.192 meters per second, the purses were packed differently and able to achieve 100 percent reads. The footwear shipments were reduced to a maximum of 12 pairs to achieve full readability.
For the feasibility study, Coccinelle partnered with the lab to estimate the infrastructure investment, operating expenses and cost of consumables (tags) to put forth a company-wide tagging project, wherein goods are tagged at the point of manufacture. It then compared this information with the labor efficiency and other expected benefits of using the technology.
The study predicted Coccinelle's RFID deployment would yield a 9 percent return on investment (ROI) in less than four years, with an internal rate of return of more than 12 percent during the same time period. But this projection was just for the distribution centers, Montanari notes, and did not factor in the expected business process improvements the company would see at the store level and along its supply chain.
According to Montanari, Coccinelle is currently studying the results of the two tests and determining its next steps.
