Axelot introduces RFID technology at previously automated TechnoNicole warehouse

2023: Introduction of RFID technology at a warehouse in Ryazan

Axelot implemented the technology RFID in a previously automated warehouse. TECHNONIKOL TECHNONICOL assessed how much RFID makes it possible to facilitate and speed up warehouse operations, but these are just the first steps, and the project team has already proposed a number of ideas that will achieve more impressive results. Axelot announced this on November 15, 2023.

Since 2018, TECHNONICOL has been cooperating with AXELOT as part of a global project to improve the efficiency of warehouse logistics. It all started with the pilot implementation of AXELOT WMS at the TECHNO Plant site in Ryazan.

Summing up the results of 2022, TECHNONIKOL noted a rapid rise in labor productivity, by almost 30%. The company believes that automation has become the main factor in achieving such a result. TECHNONICOL plans to continue to increase productivity through technology adoption.

One of these innovations was the use of RFID technology to speed up the identification process. TECHNONIKOL specialists decided to test the technology at the same TECHNO Plant site in Ryazan. AXELOT was invited to implement the project.

The goal of the RFID implementation project was to evaluate and test the technology's capabilities in practice. It was important for TECHNONICOL to understand how this method of automatic identification of objects would show itself in industrial operation, and what effects from its use could be achieved.

The project team has developed and implemented a mechanism that allows the warehouse to carry out the processes of acceptance, placement, selection and shipment using RFID tags. Under ideal conditions, RFID technology is significantly superior to typical barcoding in terms of convenience and speed.

For example, pallets with goods can be accepted without the participation of warehouse employees at all, directly on the conveyor line, which is equipped with everything necessary for applying and recognizing RFID tags, reading barcodes and a microcomputer for processing scan results and transmitting them to AXELOT WMS. The pallet leaving production, in this case, is marked with a production label and RFID label, then passes the barcode scanner and antenna to receive data from RFID. The received information is transmitted to the reader, which, combining it into one packet, will send it to the WMS.

During the implementation, AXELOT specialists implemented a number of mechanisms that will allow the warehouse to use this technology.

During the introduction of radio frequency identification technology, AXELOT specialists implemented a mechanism for binding an RFID tag to a storage location by replacing the barcode with a value from the tag. Therefore, when the personnel with the shipping documentation performs warehouse operations, AXELOT WMS, having received information from the RFID tag, reproduces the standard processing, as if a barcode had been scanned. Accordingly, if errors occur with the pallet, then they, as before during normal selection, will be displayed on the shipping documentation.

The project allowed TECHNONICOL to test RFID technology in the warehouse and verify its significant potential.

For November 2023, TECHNONICOL analyzes the results, studies various innovation ideas and proposals and decides which of them should be left and finalized in order to subsequently effectively use RFID technology in the warehouse and, possibly, in production.

2020: Warehouse automation

Since there are many putaway plans from the warehouse at the same time, the productions putaway process itself is actually carried out without plans. To avoid downtime caused by possible discrepancies in the receiving documents, the production products are simply put into stock after. scannings barcodes Reconciliation goods is already carried out by the corporate information system of the plant, and discrepancies are recorded after the fact.

The acceptance of products from other plants is carried out according to the same principle - since all these products are produced by TechnoNicole, there is no need to document the underdelivery or re-delivery of goods. In addition, the process of receiving goods from other plants has been simplified: if a truck of the same pallets has arrived at the warehouse, then you do not need to enter the batch number and production date of each pallet - you can accept "according to the template" of the first accepted pallet when all the information necessary for accounting has been recorded.

The mechanism for accepting items according to the cross-docking method has been implemented. Barcodes are used from an external system. This method is convenient for customers - they do not have to travel to the sites of different factories, since all TechnoNicole products can be obtained in one place.

The process of "smart" planning of overpasses was implemented at the warehouse. If there are several types of products in the order, then WMS itself determines what is more convenient to ship from and where - the optimal rack is selected taking into account the distance from the rack to the product.

The warehouse has implemented task grouping according to different conditions, depending on the role, as well as priorities. Groups of tasks are automatically issued to the performer depending on his role, the last location and priorities, which can change online, and then the employee receives a new task. This is a typical deadline management functionality, modified in such a way as to ensure maximum reduction in personnel movements. Accordingly, warehouse roles can also change automatically - one employee can perform several types of operations: selection, make-up, shipment, all within the same task block.

The process of managing vehicle queues has been automated, in which cars are launched into the territory in automatic mode, which made it possible to optimize the shipment process.