Improve Supply Chain Visibility In Manufacturing

By The Business Solutions Network

A $250,000 RFID tracking-and-tracing solution has a six-month payback. Here’s how.

Few technologies can have such dramatic paybacks as you find in the supply chain with RFID and bar coding. Lost inventory or equipment can have a significant negative impact on an organization, so adding tracking and traceability often brings about great results. A good example of such dramatic improvements can be seen in an installation performed for a large manufacturer of confections.

The manufacturer was experiencing a few problems with its supply chain. The company has roughly 1,000 employees, including 125 temporary workers on any given day, who are tasked with moving and storing raw materials (i.e., ingredients) throughout its 700,000-square-foot facility, composed of many rooms. Raw materials — whether powder or liquid — would arrive in totes, cases, or barrels and can cost several thousand dollars. Whether due to willful negligence or lack of training, the temporary workers often stored inventory in the wrong areas, which created big problems when it came time to use the materials to meet customer demands. If ingredients couldn’t be found, they would have to be ordered quickly, which was obviously costly. Also, misplaced inventory could spoil, resulting in shrinkage issues for the manufacturer.