Question

One major decision that needs to be made when filling and shipping customer orders concern the choice of delivery method. Another important decision concerns the location of distribution centers. RFID systems can provide real-time information on shipping status and thus provide additional value to customers. Will this technology be beneficial to Amazon why and why not?

Answer 1

1. SAVE TIME WITH RFID Even if we only consider the time that it takes a worker to open up a cardboard box and record an item. That small amount of time over enough repetitions adds up. Now locate that cardboard box in a hard-to-reach spot where the worker has to get to the box and move it down to a place where he can open it up. This is when an RFID system can really save an organization an enormous amount of time and labor. Another additional benefit of RFID comes into play when you are looking for lost items, for example on a variance report when you're trying to reconcile against the expected inventory. An RFID system will be able to show you all of the RFID tags in a particular area -whether you expect to see them there or not-often uncovering items that have gone missing. In a well-designed scenario along with proper implementation RFID has the potential to provide instant accountability with the pull of a trigger. 2. IMPROVE SECURITY WITH RFID There are common situations where inventory needs to be accounted for on a regular basis. Of course there are the annual and semi-annual inventories, but there are also inventories that need to have full accountability on a daily basis or at every shift change and in certain situations there is a desire for real-time accountability. Think of a high security IT data center. By utilizing RFID choke points, where all items are required to pass through a portal window, mounted readers and antennas can capture items as they enter or return through this gateway. This kind of a "lock-down" scenario records the movement and location of items as they move in and out of the secure area (while creating a very valuable audit trail) - but also, allows for a much faster and more efficient process to account for the current inventory that is on-hand. 3. IMPROVE ACCURACY WITH RFID RFID can improve accuracy by adding a higher level of detailed asset tracking information. Because RFID has the ability to capture asset information so rapidly, systems can be put into place to record more detailed and frequent information. Because RFID allows for faster data sharing and decreases data processing - performing an inventory is more efficient and easier to share. RFID Systems can also be set up to manage and monitor configuration controls. The actual configuration of an embedded component in a digital asset can be checked against the expected configuration using RFID without having to physically touch or open any of the assembly. In our most recent white paper we explain further why RFID provides immediate benefits and superior performance when tracking and managing IT equipment. Get a better understanding of how RFID systems work and how it can improve accuracy, security and save time for your organization, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been in existence for many decades but it is only recently that RFID is being increasingly used to its full potential. RFID or radio frequency identification is a system that transmits identity in the form of a unique serial

number of a product wirelessly. RFID, a type of Auto-ID technology is used to reduce time and labour and improve real time data accuracy. Warehouse operations like planning and control of warehouse facilities and systems has become more complex in supply chain. Warehousing is often needed to perform routine logistics operations such as stock storage, order status, paper processes, sorting, cycle counts, loading/unloading and customer service. Poor utilisation of costly warehouse space, manual errors, wrong identification of the product during receipt & dispatch, locating items in warehouse will impact the productivity & profitability which results in organisation's reputation & losses. • visibility of accurate real-time information fast locating of products • possibility to record losses • ability to plan product locations strategically Most commonly, an RFID tag consists of a microchip attached to a radio antenna mounted on a substrate. This technology connects products to the internet for tracking purposes so that information can be shared with businesses across the supply chain. There are two types of RFID systems-active and passive. Passive RFID tags do not have transmitters and simply reflect back radio waves that originate at the reader antenna. Active system RFID transponders (a microchip with an antenna) are placed on products then information is accessed using a reader to pass the information to a computer. Active RFID tags are typically used for large assets including cargo containers, rail cars and containers that are transported over long distances. Passive RFID tags lack power sources and transmitter, require no maintenance and are less expensive than active RFID tags. In tracking products throughout the supply chain, often active and passive RFID systems are combined to provide gain visibility where products are in real time. Used with GPS technology, goods can now be tracked while in transit. This can be especially useful in helping to reduce theft as products travel across the supply chain. Keeping track of the large number of cartons is a very complex as well as time and labour consuming process. However, RFID can be implemented to ease the situation as it can improve information management concerning cargo flow. Usually, read-write equipment is installed at the entry to a warehouse. Every cargo unit is equipped with RFID tags and all the information relating to the tags is stored in the central computer of the warehouse. When the cargo is moved in or out of the warehouse, the read-write equipment registers it and forwards the data to the backend system. This allows the management centre to manage the vast amounts of products going into and leaving the storage, recognise cargo and help with placement of the cargo in the warehouse. In cases where read-write equipment is placed within the warehouse, all in-house movements are additionally registered in the system. This allows for strategic planning of product locations within the warehouse.

The information that is gathered with RFID and a WMS can lead to significant improvements as the tracking and handling of the products can be done in real-time and with great accuracy. In the warehouse, products are easily located as all product movements are tracked and this information is automatically registered in the system. Whilst stock is accurately tracked valuable information concerning losses is also recorded. Key Benefits of RFID in Warehouse Management: • Smoother running business environments-knowing precisely what and where inventory is, thus reducing out of stock items due to a more accurate real time picture of warehouse is available at facilities. Reduced labour costs by reducing the workforce needed for tracking and warehouse management. • Reduction in order entry errors (less manual intervention & improved employee productivity. Reduces stocking inventory levels and related warehouse space requirements. • Provides the information required to implement first in first out (FIFO) or last-in first out (LIFO) inventory management, which can have a significant positive impact on the company's profitability analysis and tax liabilities. • Instant access to the order database provides the on-the-spot visibility needed to cross dock the incoming material for immediate shipping to fulfil customer orders • Access to real time information ensures that the right shipment is delivered to the right dock and loaded onto the right truck. Advanced data capture capabilities, such as imaging, can provide proof of condition for returns records, eliminating potential customer disputes. A quick scan of a RFID tag provides instant verification that the right item has been picked, and the item is instantly deducted from (WMS) based on RFID can collect, transfer, check, and update mass data on daily frequent goods entry and delivery, thus the labour intensity will be decreased, errors like fault scanning, miss scanning, re-scanning in the repeating manual operations can also be avoided. It improves the efficiency and accuracy. With development of the RFID technology, reduction of costs, gradual unification of the standards, decrease of the error rate, the effective combination of WMS and RFID will become one of the key factors to improve the competitive power of enterprises and the efficiency of the supply chain.