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Coca-Cola Bottle Maker Adds RFID to the Mix
The bin is then transported to a warehouse and, from there, on to the blow-molding facility. When the bin is emptied, an employee scans the bar code, effectively deleting the record in Southeastern Container's ERP system that correlates the bin's RFID number with the contents contained within.
After making a few tweaks related to antenna positions and adjusting the reader power settings, Underwood reports, Southeastern Container has gotten consistent, accurate tag reads. "We've looked at RFID a couple of times in the past," he states, "but the technology wasn't at a point where we felt it was reliable, and the higher tag costs back then didn't make the technology a good economical decision." Now, he notes, tags cost well under a dollar, and the bins can be read from any orientation.
According to Underwood, DecisionPoint, through its "experience, taking the time to look at all the different RFID equipment that's available out there, and then running tests on several types of readers and tags," was able to provide Southeaster Container with a plug-and-play system that, he says, "has worked pretty much flawlessly."
Now, Southeastern Container is rolling out the RFID system at two additional injection-molding facilities; first in Bowling Green, Ohio, and then in Winchester, Va. The rollouts are expected to launch in the next month, as Southeastern Container begins receiving the new, specially designed reusable containers. The company expects to achieve a positive return on its investment within two years.
Additionally, Southeastern Container also plans to take advantage of other applications that can leverage the RFID tags and interrogators, including tracking outbound shipments of bins as they leave warehouses, then are in transit, received at blow-molding facilities, emptied and returned. "At all those points, we could have RFID portals so we would know, at any given time, where a bin—and, of course, the products the bin contains—is," Underwood states. While no decisions have been made regarding when to add these applications, he says, the company intends to change its ERP system within the 18 months, "and through that process, we have the opportunity to expand our use of RFID. We have no concrete plans at this time, but we probably will take advantage of that opportunity."
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After making a few tweaks related to antenna positions and adjusting the reader power settings, Underwood reports, Southeastern Container has gotten consistent, accurate tag reads. "We've looked at RFID a couple of times in the past," he states, "but the technology wasn't at a point where we felt it was reliable, and the higher tag costs back then didn't make the technology a good economical decision." Now, he notes, tags cost well under a dollar, and the bins can be read from any orientation.
According to Underwood, DecisionPoint, through its "experience, taking the time to look at all the different RFID equipment that's available out there, and then running tests on several types of readers and tags," was able to provide Southeaster Container with a plug-and-play system that, he says, "has worked pretty much flawlessly."
Additionally, Southeastern Container also plans to take advantage of other applications that can leverage the RFID tags and interrogators, including tracking outbound shipments of bins as they leave warehouses, then are in transit, received at blow-molding facilities, emptied and returned. "At all those points, we could have RFID portals so we would know, at any given time, where a bin—and, of course, the products the bin contains—is," Underwood states. While no decisions have been made regarding when to add these applications, he says, the company intends to change its ERP system within the 18 months, "and through that process, we have the opportunity to expand our use of RFID. We have no concrete plans at this time, but we probably will take advantage of that opportunity."
