The supply chain network is like a constantly flowing river which takes the raw goods to factories and manufacturing facilities and then to consumers retail stores and end users in the form of finished goods. For any business to succeed, a robust supply chain network which is built on technologically sound ground is crucial. You need to incorporate Industry 4.0 technologies such as AIDC, IOT and AI and ML to make the best of available resources in terms of manpower and the generated data.
That being said, Pallet, a wooden or plastic fixture is a significant part of supply chain. It might not seem like much but it is. You would be surprised to know that currently 1.8 Billions of pallets are in use in day-to-day supply chain operations in the United States alone as per a prominent logistics survey and the number might exceed when you think globally.
RFID Tagging of Pallets
While business are now focusing on strengthening their supply chain network and devising means to gather real-time data on their consignments, their movement and delivery status, tagging Pallets and boxes/packages with RFID has become a necessity.
Global supply chain businesses are increasingly using UHF RFID, short for Ultra High Frequency Radio Frequency Identification, to tag pallets and consignments for monitoring their whereabouts within the supply chain. Not only that, warehouse managers are also stepping up their game and using technologies like Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and RAIN RFID to tag, track, and trace supply boxes and pallets throughout the warehouses for increased visibility of assets and accurate inventory levels.
5 Advantages of RFID Pallet- Level tracking
RFID is a wireless technology that is capable of identifying and tracking RFID tagged articles over short range with a high degree of accuracy and with little to no human effort. Though traditional tracking and identification methods, such as barcodes, are still in use, RFID presents a higher degree of efficiency and saves time and cost when it comes to inventory control and stock monitoring. In comparison to barcode, RFID presents an accurate, without a clear line of sight, wireless scanning of tagged pallets.
Pallets are ubiquitously used in one form and another and around 80% of all goods move through some form of pallet system throughout the United States and it’s not hard to understand when you look at the benefits of pallets in supply chain.
Use of RAIN RFID or active RFID on pallets, pallet level tracking has several advantages. Let’s see 5 such advantages:
1.RFID pallet level tracking provides supply chain businesses with real-time data on their goods. Typically a pallet is loaded with multiple same kinds of boxes, so only one RFID tag suffices to provide information on all those boxes.
2.RFID tagging of pallets also makes it easy for employees to track an asset within the warehouse. While taking stock of the inventory, employees can easily update individual category products on the stock sheet with great accuracy.
3.Since pallets are loaded with multiple packages and transported from one place to another, an RFID tag can provide you with handling instructions to prevent damage during transportation and to timely delivery of items that have short expiration dates. You don’t have to manually open each box for that.
4.Using active RFID for pallet level tracking allows you to identify and track items over a long range, ensuring that you have accurate information about your assets. When used with RTLS (Real Time Location Service), the tracking becomes more advantageous.
5.Pallets are often lifted with forklifts and moved around quite a lot and RFID tagging can provide workers with details on products loaded, in order to prevent accidental damages. Warehouse managers can scan RFID pallet tags with a sled RFID reader and assign experienced persons to handle the same.
Pallet level tracking is very much in trend in supply chain and logistics businesses and RFID is an accurate and cost-effective technology for this purpose. From providing information on real-time location of the consignments to helping employees with handling of assets in an inventory, RFID pallet tracking is revolutionizing the global supply chain. With more developing countries, such as India, Brazil and South Africa etc. trying to ramp up their logistics and supply chain networks, pallet level RFID tracking is bound to see more usage in near future.
Disclaimer: The information presented here is for general information purposes only and true to best of our understanding. Users are requested to use any information as per their own understanding and knowledge. Before using any of the information, please refer to our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.
