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Marigold Industrial Gets a Better Grip on Glove Production, Inventory
This problem was most acute when attempting to read cases filled with cotton liners used to make gloves, since the liners were packed so densely into the cases. Because liners make up approximately 60 percent of the warehouse's stock, this has become a significant problem, as workers have been achieving only a 90 percent read rate on these items using the handheld interrogator. But by positioning the cases on pallets so that the RFID labels face outward, and by using an Alien reader mounted onto a forklift and linked to four separate antennas, Roxo believes the company will be able to greatly improve read rates—enough to match the near-100 percent read rates of the remaining 40 percent of warehouse stock.
Marigold is also utilizing the RFID system to track its manufacturing and shipping processes. When the factory receives a glove order from one of its customers or distributors, the software directs workers to pull the boxes of materials and components necessary to fill that order. The RFID labels on those boxes are read as they pass through a portal reader located between the warehouse and production area, and the software tracks this movement so that managers can see how many boxes of a given material are being used in production, and can calculate the number remaining in storage at any particular time.
Once the materials are made into gloves, the finished products are placed in boxes (with a standard quantity of each product per box) that are tagged and tracked using RFID, in a manner similar to how the materials are tracked. A worker logs into the ERP software and pulls the current order information, then associates that data with the type and quantity of product that has just been produced. RFID-enabled shipping labels are then printed, through Backoffice, for each case of finished goods. A unique ID number is created and encoded to each inlay, and associated with the customer's order.
The tagged cases are then brought directly to the shipping dock, where they are placed on pallets for shipment. Distributors that purchase Marigold Industrial's goods and sell them through various channels pick up some of the finished product. The remaining orders are shipped to a distribution center (DC) operated by Marigold, which the company uses to stage orders before they are shipped to customers.
Before being placed on a truck, each pallet is placed on a shrink-wrap machine, where it rotates as the film is applied over the cases, in order to ensure that the pallet is secured during shipment. While the case rotates, an RFID reader mounted nearby captures the ID numbers of the RFID tags on all cases.
Backoffice than compares the tag ID numbers and its associated product information with the packing list, to ensure that all of the products required to fulfill the order are present, and in the correct quantities.
At this time, Roxo indicates, the RFID tags are used only for internal purposes at Marigold's Poiares factory, though he says his company eventually hopes to install interrogators at its DC, so that the RFID labels can be utilized for identifying and tracking the orders coming into and out of that facility.
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Marigold is also utilizing the RFID system to track its manufacturing and shipping processes. When the factory receives a glove order from one of its customers or distributors, the software directs workers to pull the boxes of materials and components necessary to fill that order. The RFID labels on those boxes are read as they pass through a portal reader located between the warehouse and production area, and the software tracks this movement so that managers can see how many boxes of a given material are being used in production, and can calculate the number remaining in storage at any particular time.
Once the materials are made into gloves, the finished products are placed in boxes (with a standard quantity of each product per box) that are tagged and tracked using RFID, in a manner similar to how the materials are tracked. A worker logs into the ERP software and pulls the current order information, then associates that data with the type and quantity of product that has just been produced. RFID-enabled shipping labels are then printed, through Backoffice, for each case of finished goods. A unique ID number is created and encoded to each inlay, and associated with the customer's order.
The tagged cases are then brought directly to the shipping dock, where they are placed on pallets for shipment. Distributors that purchase Marigold Industrial's goods and sell them through various channels pick up some of the finished product. The remaining orders are shipped to a distribution center (DC) operated by Marigold, which the company uses to stage orders before they are shipped to customers.
Before being placed on a truck, each pallet is placed on a shrink-wrap machine, where it rotates as the film is applied over the cases, in order to ensure that the pallet is secured during shipment. While the case rotates, an RFID reader mounted nearby captures the ID numbers of the RFID tags on all cases.
At this time, Roxo indicates, the RFID tags are used only for internal purposes at Marigold's Poiares factory, though he says his company eventually hopes to install interrogators at its DC, so that the RFID labels can be utilized for identifying and tracking the orders coming into and out of that facility.
