Master in Information Technology

Warehouse Management
System on RFID

Presented by:
Cheri Amour P. Calicdan

Asia Pacific College

Overview
• Warehouse process
• RFID technology
• Project goal and objectives
• Benefits analysis
• Return of Investment
• Major Milestones
• Risk
• Schedule and Budget overview
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 What is Warehouse Management
System?
• Is a key part of the supply chain and primarily
aims to control the movement and storage of
materials within a warehouse and process the
associated transactions, including shipping,
receiving, putaway and picking.

• The systems also direct and optimize stock

putaway based on real-time information about
the status of bin utilization.

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 What is RFID?
• An ADC (Automated Data Collection)
technology that:
– uses radio-frequency waves to transfer data
between a reader and a movable item to
identify, categorize, track..
– Is fast and does not require physical sight or
contact between reader/scanner and the
tagged item.

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 RFID infrastructure
• An RFID system
– RFID tag
– RFID reader
– Predefined protocol definition (format) for the
information transferred

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 RFID tags
• Tags can be attached to almost anything:
– Items, cases or pallets of products, high value goods
• Passive Tags
– Do not require power – Draws from Interrogator Field
– Lower storage capacities (few bits to 1 KB)
– Shorter read ranges (4 inches to 15 feet)
– Usually Write-Once-Read-Many/Read-Only tags
• Active Tags
– Battery powered
– Higher storage capacities (512 KB)
– Longer read range (300 feet)
– Typically can be re-written by
RF Interrogators
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 RFID Antenna readers
• Used to communicate with the reader and
extends the range of this communication
– Establish a bidirectional data link
– Communicate with networked server(s)
– Can read 100-300 tags per second

• Readers (interrogators) can be at a fixed point such as

– Entrance/exit
– Point of sale

• Readers can also be mobile/hand-held

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 RFID system architecture

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 RFID advantages over bar-codes
• No line of sight required for reading
• Multiple items can be read with a single scan

• Each tag can carry a lot of data (read/write)

• Individual items identified and not just the category

• Passive tags have a virtually unlimited lifetime

• Active tags can be read from great distances

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 Basic function of a Warehouse
The basic functions of a warehouse can be
described simply as follows:

– Receive goods from a source

– Store and protect goods
– Retrieve goods according to customer requirements
– Prepare goods for transportation to the customers

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 Activities in a Warehouse
• Receiving
• Cross docking
• Putaway
• Inventory control and stock location management
• Picking
• Sortation and conveying
• Shipping
• Asset management
• Physical control and security

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 Project Goal
Is to develop a Warehouse Management System
that will be to a RFID technology that will:

– facilitate the automation of all manual processes

– reduces the amount of labor
– eliminates much human error improving data
accuracy
– reduces the cost of rework
– can speed up the handling process

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 Project Opportunity
• Minimize the cost of movement of goods within
the warehouse
• Maximize the effective use of space, equipment
and labor
• Keep track of all items within the warehouse
correctly
• Respond to customer requests or enquiries in a
timely manner

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 Project Urgency
The client is already in the process of
acquiring a third-party provider for the
needed RFID devices. Consequently, the
proposed system has to be put into place
as soon as possible to avoid impeding the
utilization of these devices.

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 Out of the scope activities that are
critical to the project success
Activities that are critical to the success of this Warehouse
Management System but are beyond the scope of this
project includes the successful acquisition, installation,
implementation and maintenance of all RFID devices.

The system will be dependent on the inputs generated by

the RFID devices since the system will gather all its data
from the database populated by the said RFID devices.

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 Project Ranking Criteria
The utilization of this system will result to
higher efficiency, reduction of cost and
increase in revenue through the following:
– Labor Pacing
– Material Tracking
– Information Availability
– Security

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 Benefits Analysis
• Tangible Benefits
– Reduced warehouse labor costs
– Reduced clerical labor costs
– Reduced overtime costs
– Reduced of physical inventories
– Lower shipping/freight costs
– Lower costs to rectify errors
– Reduced equipment costs

• Intangible Benefits
– Increase in organizational transparency and responsibility.
– Accurate and faster access to data for timely decisions.
– Improvement in customer response time.
– Significant decrease in time and effort needed in data entry.
– More controls thereby lowering the risk of inappropriate utilization of resources.
– Ease in gathering pertinent data needed for strategic planning.

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 Return of Investment

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 Major Milestones
The following are the challenges that are highly likely to be experienced
related to creating and implementing this system:

– The transition from a manual to an automated system.

– Alignment of the RFID WMS with the primary business software
must be rolled-out.
– Procurement of equipment such as RF/barcodes scanners,
portable as well as heavy duty printers, and the appropriate type
of labels must be done after careful selection from various
options, taking into consideration the adaptability of existing
systems and software.

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 Risk
Although the implementation of an RFID based WMS will greatly
benefit key areas, there are still risks associated with the system.
Primarily, if the RFID tags fail, the system will not be able to track
the movements of goods inside the warehouse. Moreover, the
following issues are considered risks:

– Dead areas and orientation problems

– Proximity issues
– Security concerns
– Ghost tags
– High cost
– Unread Tags
– Vulnerable to damage

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