New Belgium Brewing Rolls Out RFID to Track Kegs

After a pallet is loaded with eight large or 20 small kegs and wrapped in plastic film, it passes through the fixed interrogator portal that reads the unique ID number encoded to each keg tag. Those tag numbers, along with the time and date of the read, are then sent to the Web-based Fluensee AssetTrack software system residing on New Belgium's back-end server. The staff also prints a bar-coded ID number onto an adhesive label and applies it to the pallet's exterior. The pallet ID number is married to the AssetTrack data regarding the kegs loaded onto that pallet.

At a later time, when the loaded pallet is shipped, its bar-code label is scanned, and that ID number is then recorded, along with the kegs' RFID numbers and the time, date and intended destination. In this way, the company retains a record as to which kegs are loaded onto which pallet and, ultimately, where they will be shipped. Other data, including the type of beer with which the keg is filled, is also stored in the system.

After a pallet of filled kegs is wrapped in plastic film, it passes through the fixed interrogator portal that reads the unique ID number encoded to each keg tag.

With this information, New Belgium has a better understanding of which types of beer are in demand, as well as how quickly distributors, restaurants, stores and bars return the kegs, and when.

After it tags all of its kegs and installs readers at the DCs, restaurants, bars and stores, the company intends to track each keg's current location in the supply chain, as well as the length of time the kegs remain at distributors. The system already provides data regarding each keg's cycle time—the period starting at the moment that keg is filled, and ending when it is later refilled.

"The most important piece of info, initially, is the fill-to-fill cycle time," Beers states. "We can then calculate keg efficiency [the number of times the keg completes this cycle in a year]." For the average beer manufacturer, kegs turn around approximately four times per year—a number lower than what New Belgium would like to achieve. "We can also gather data on lost kegs [those that have not yet been returned for refilling]. Those two metrics help us make decisions on future keg purchasing."

Beers calls the initial installation of a fixed RFID reader at its fill line a first step. "It's a long-term project," he explains, "but in the end, we hope to improve our keg turn rate or reduce our keg losses. This RFID system will provide the data to show if this is happening." In either scenario—improved turnaround time or reduced loss—he is confident his company will reduce the quantity of kegs it needs to purchase annually.