CHEP Tracks Auto-Part Containers in Europe

The implementation of the RFID application was managed in house by CHEP, with help from systems integrator Infosys, which wrote code for the software used in the application, based on Microsoft's BizTalk and SAP's Auto ID Infrastructure (AII) and Event Management (EM) software. The next challenge for the application, Kleijn says, involves expanding it to its customers' premises.

By doing so, CHEP could provide suppliers with real-time information regarding the location of their goods in the supply chain, thereby helping those companies reduce their inventory. Such data could also be valuable if a firm needed to switch from building one model of a vehicle to another on short notice.

"Right now we track the container ID when it leaves, and when it comes back to CHEP facilities," Kleijn says. "We know how long it is in the field. But if a customer associated the contents of the container with the container ID, it could use the software to know where specific parts are in the supply chain. With the system we have in place today, we can now approach the customer to work with us to build the association between the part number and the container ID."

CHEP was presented with an eLogistics Award from AKJ Automotive, an association of automotive manufacturers. The award was for the largest cross-border RFID application for automotive containers in Europe. In its press release, AKJ noted, "CHEP's RFID initiative will provide significant benefits to the automotive industry, delivering control, cost savings and improving the efficiency of the supply chain."

Kleijn states, "We are very pleased that the system is working well, and is already demonstrating the positive benefits that RFID can deliver across the automotive supply chain."