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Israeli Auto Importer Puts RFID Into Operation
With the system in place, Katz says, "Location of a new vehicle in the ports is much quicker and easier than before, as well as shipping management and PDI management." While it is too early to determine the rate by which man-hours were reduced using the system, he says, the annual stock taking (inventory count) of vehicles at a PDI or a port storage lot required only four hours of labor, rather than the two days needed for the manual method.
The next phase of the system will enable Colmobil to expedite the movement of vehicles out of the storage lot, which requires official approval by port authorities. When the cars are taken out of the lot on a truck, the driver must provide shipping manifests, customs release forms and port gate passes. All documents must be verified against the VIN by the port gate's staff.
"Traditionally, the verification process required the [port] supervisor to climb on the truck platform and read the VINs from the [paper] sheet," Katz explains, "or the engraved VINs on the vehicle chassis or under the hood." Once this phase of the system is approved by the ports and the system is installed, however, RFID scanners mounted on two 6-meter-tall (20-foot-tall) poles on either side of the exit gate could accomplish much of the work that is still being performed manually. The trucks will drive through the RFID gate, and the tag ID numbers will be read and sent via a cabled connection to the back-end system, which supervisors can then access on their computer, thereby verifying the documents electronically. "This solution is still under construction," Katz says, however, and he cannot predict when it will go live.
Colmobil also offers vehicle maintenance and repair services to car buyers, and RFID technology use is planned at servicing locations as well. In this case, the company wants a system to notify it that a particular automobile has arrived at the servicing center, as well as the identity of that vehicle's owner, so that employees can provide that individual with personalized service—for example, welcoming him or her by name.
Furthermore, Colmobil intends to mount fixed RFID interrogators at the entrances to its service centers. When a vehicle arrives, the ID number encoded to its RFID tag will be read and sent to Colmobil's database, where that number will then be linked to the customer's name. Staff members will see that information on their PCs within the service center. Installation of this system in some service centers may begin next year, Katz says, noting, "Since only new vehicles are tagged, we are waiting for a critical mass of new vehicles to visit the workshop. That is expected to happen in 18 to 24 months."
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The next phase of the system will enable Colmobil to expedite the movement of vehicles out of the storage lot, which requires official approval by port authorities. When the cars are taken out of the lot on a truck, the driver must provide shipping manifests, customs release forms and port gate passes. All documents must be verified against the VIN by the port gate's staff.
"Traditionally, the verification process required the [port] supervisor to climb on the truck platform and read the VINs from the [paper] sheet," Katz explains, "or the engraved VINs on the vehicle chassis or under the hood." Once this phase of the system is approved by the ports and the system is installed, however, RFID scanners mounted on two 6-meter-tall (20-foot-tall) poles on either side of the exit gate could accomplish much of the work that is still being performed manually. The trucks will drive through the RFID gate, and the tag ID numbers will be read and sent via a cabled connection to the back-end system, which supervisors can then access on their computer, thereby verifying the documents electronically. "This solution is still under construction," Katz says, however, and he cannot predict when it will go live.
Furthermore, Colmobil intends to mount fixed RFID interrogators at the entrances to its service centers. When a vehicle arrives, the ID number encoded to its RFID tag will be read and sent to Colmobil's database, where that number will then be linked to the customer's name. Staff members will see that information on their PCs within the service center. Installation of this system in some service centers may begin next year, Katz says, noting, "Since only new vehicles are tagged, we are waiting for a critical mass of new vehicles to visit the workshop. That is expected to happen in 18 to 24 months."
