RFID Boosts Profit Margin, Safety for Axxa Pharma

When a new order is placed by a customer, that order is sent to the BDEV software and a pick order is printed. Employees retrieve the required medicines and pack them in boxes at a second RFID station, where another desktop reader captures the tags' ID numbers, and the BDEV software confirms that the proper items are being packed for the correct order. In addition, the software sends an alert if something is being packed with an approaching expiration date.

The software also compares the purchase value of the medicine against the amount for which Axxa Pharma will be billing the customer, and determines whether the resulting profit margin meets Axxa Pharma's expectations. If the profit margin is significantly low, an alert is sent to management. The boxes are then moved through the logistics section of the warehouse, where they are read one final time as they are loaded onto trucks for delivery to customers. At that point, the software is again updated—in this case, with the shipment time and destination.

In approximately one month, Axxa Pharma expects to be able to allow its customers to access data regarding specific products from the BDEV software, such as who provided the product to Axxa Pharma, as well as the amount of time it spent in the warehouse, and the time of shipment. Customers will be able to access the information on Axxa Pharma's Web site, by inputting the ID number of the RFID label printed on the front.

The RFID system "is the best management tool we've ever had," van Gelderen says. "There's no doubt that the profit margin has increased." This is because he receives an alert on his Blackberry every time a product is being prepared for shipment to be sold at a price that would not provide a suitable profit margin. In this case, he indicates, because the order has not yet been shipped, the billing price can be adjusted right away, before the product leaves the facility.

According to van Gelderen, the company utilizes between 2,000 and 3,000 tags every month. Since the system was installed, he says, "We have a very good handle of what products we have throughout the warehouse."