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Unless RFID tags are already built into the boxes that you currently use, you will need to add an RFID tag to existing boxes. These are the so-called smart boxes that will begin to be available sometime around 2015. People are now discovering that spending millions of dollars on automated tagging equipment for packaging lines is an investment that will never payback before they become obsolete.
Others have considered running dual inventories, but that also costs too much, requiring at least a doubling of warehouse floor space and inventories as mandates scale out over then next few years.
ADASA customers have learned that the best way to ramp up tagging operations during these times is to integrate tagging into their existing order-picking processes (i.e. 'Tag@Pick' shown below). This allows you to keep your existing warehouse operations intact and add a highly efficient tag commissioning step for mandate compliance.
If your use case is to tag automobile windshields or fixed assets then you already know that you have to write data to the RFID tag at that location. ADASA performs that task flawlessly, writing the right data to the right tag on the spot. The physics of UHF RFID tags is such that the programming fields have to be very carefully controlled to prevent more than one tag from being programmed at any one time. ADASA has perfected this process and incorporated it into each and every mobile tag encoder. 
Are you worried about the cost of compliance with Wal-Mart’s new requirements for RFID tagging by Sam’s Club vendors? This page explains a simple way to get the job done and avoid paying service charges for Wal-Mart to tag your pallets for you. And the best thing is it involves little change or expense to your outbound shipping operations. This solution uses existing bar codes to generate the information and tags that Sam’s Club requires on their pallets and cases. The task is actually quite simple when you think of this as a process of replicating bar code data onto an RFID tag, automatically adding serial number bits as you go. Retaining the data is also easy, and can be done at any time, without a complex and costly software integration project. The result is that you can receive, unpack and configure the solution, and begin tagging operations in less than 60 minutes. If you acquire a kit on a lease, then you can get compliant for $500 per month; and then sell it at fair market value after the 24 month lease period has expired. The solution is so compact that it is worn while building and shipping pallets to Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club destinations. A LXE HX2 wearable computer is worn on the operator’s forearm and manages the tagging process. A second device from ADASA Inc., known as a mobile RFID tag encoder (which looks like a small printer) is worn on a belt, or can sit stationary on any flat surface. RFID tags are supplied to the encoder with convenient cartridges. Encoded tags spit out the top, one at a time for the operator to place onto the pallet. The process starts with a UPC bar code that the operator scans with a tiny LXE laser ring scanner or imager that is worn on the forefinger as he reaches for a case or pallet to pack and ship. The information from that bar code is used as a seed around which a unique number is created and stored in a miniature SQL database within the wearable computer. That number is immediately sent to the ADASA PAD3500 mobile encoder over a wireless link, prompting it to begin programming that data into the next RFID tag on the dispenser roll. Once encoded, it is verified to make certain that it will work, if it fails – and typically less than one percent might – then it is rolled onto a take-up roll inside the ADASA cartridge and another tag moves into place for encoding. This and other error-proofing process precautions assure you that the tagging job is done right with minimal effort on the part of your warehouse staff. In fact, the process is so efficient, that a motivated worker can tag up to 20 cartons per minute with no errors! While all this may seem like a quick-fix ‘Band-Aid’ to respond to a retailer mandate, it is actually the basis of a sensible tagging solution that is scalable in scope and breadth. No matter what your end-game might be for RFID tagging, you will need a way to get there. At a minimum, this tag encoding solution provides a cost effective bridge strategy that is competitive on many different scales: capital, labor, floor space, and other metrics. You can opt to expand the scope of efficient manual tagging processes, progressing through tag@ship, tag@pick and tag@receipt, until your organization reaches a tipping point that justifies a broader process of automatically tagging everything that comes through manufacturing – using containers that already have a tag built right into them. No one knows for sure when the day will come when that solution becomes available and cost effective, but experts generally agree that it will take several years.. Until then, it’s best to focus on efficient manual tagging methods. Tag@pick is an efficient manual tagging method that integrates tagging operations with case pick operations. This offers the benefit of minimizing changes or additional labor within existing business processes while avoiding the dreaded breakdown and rebuilding associated with “slap and ship”. The best manual processes are ones that are error-proofed and partially automated. This helps the operator perform at consistent levels of high productivity. Why is slap and ship so costly to your operations? You start with a pallet that is otherwise ready to ship to the retailer. For compliance you have to tear down the pallet, de-aggregate it, tag it, encode it, re-aggregate onto a pallet and prepare it for shipment to the retailer. All of this represents pure incremental costs in additional labor and space required for the extra handling of a pallet that was otherwise ready to go. A key to unlocking the ROI from your RFID investment is to get tagging done upstream. Significant incremental benefits in terms of increased visibility, velocity and accuracy can be realized when items are tagged earlier in the process allowing each subsequent step in the process to take advantage of RFID as can be seen in the figure above. Manual tagging has already been proven to offer a return on investment for Kimberly-Clark’s tagging of promotional displays for their new product launches. See RFID Journal cover story Kimberly-Clark Gets an Early Win, This is an example of efficient manual tagging in distribution, and using Wal-Mart RFID reading and reporting infrastructure to trace all tagged goods into high value retail space – like aisle end caps, to verify that product movement occurs on a schedule that coincides with advertized promotion dates. The beauty of this solution is that it scales geographically, even into c-packer and 3PL facilities with little advance notice or preparation. The system even assists with the first step in tracking promotional items. It’s the promotional item segmenting features which will allow the user to segment and store all items tagged for promotional tracking. |
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