Articles
Industry Brief: Motorola's RFID Solutions In Manufacturing
April 27, 2007
•Industry Brief: Motorola's RFID Solutions In Manufacturing
The case for manufacturing efficiency has never been more important than it is today. Manufacturers are faced with globalization, increased competition and other economic pressures and must continuously look to drive "people" costs down, increase asset utilization and reduce material costs, while at the same time address customers who are demanding faster delivery, better customer service and customized products. Today's manufacturers are looking to RFID to address many of these challenges.
According to AMR Research, early adopters of RFID could cut supply chain costs by 3-5% and achieve a 2-7% increase in revenue thanks to the better inventory visibility that RFID provides. RFID can impact the entire manufacturing process from receiving raw goods to transferring or shipping finished products by improving inventory visibility to feed justin- time systems, allowing manufacturers to make faster, better and smarter decisions.
RFID solutions can ultimately help manufacturers reduce operating costs by reducing labor costs, claims and returns, thereby increasing operating income. RFID can reduce working capital by enabling reductions in inventory and lowering inventory write-offs from unsaleables and returns. Manufacturers can also increase revenue by reducing inventory and retail out of stocks, improving promotional execution, shrink management and forecast accuracy. On the shop floor, production time can be enhanced, as the flow of raw materials is better aligned to demand and build requirements. Product quality rises as line-sequencing and parts verification applications are implemented, increasing customer satisfaction.
Improving receiving and sortation processes by deploying RFID portals at dock doors allows manufacturers instant verification of the entire contents of a shipment by reading an RFID-tagged case, container or pallet. The content's status and information is updated and automatically communicated to the factory's WMS/ERP system at the point of entry. The contents, now identified, are routed to sortation, then delivered with RFID-enabled forklifts to assembly, put-away or staging and delivery. RFID minimizes human errors and time-consuming steps in the process, increases inventory accuracy and provides real-time information for managers to make accurate decisions.
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