Inventory tracking in warehouses

A short introduction to how RFID is used in warehouses to track materials, assets and inventory

Keeping track of materials and inventory is essential for production planning and order fulfillment. Using RFID offers a hundred-fold speed compared to bar codes, not to mention the potential to automate the actual identification process. Implementing RFID on the finished product or production batch level ensures visibility and data accuracy.

Turck Vilant Systems offers an RFID toolkit that generates a unique identity to a product or batch when it is manufactured. The item or lot is from that point on tracked each time it passes an RFID read point, for example, on a conveyor belt, onboard a forklift truck, and when entering a specific warehouse. RFID usage speeds up the products’ picking, finding, loading, and tracking. The system tracks all warehouse movements helps fulfill legal obligations related to traceability, ensures shipment accuracy, and removes manual errors through automation.

Turck Vilant Systems Solution for tracking inventory in warehouses

• • • • • Creates unique identity to inbound materials either at the warehouse or source
        • Automatically registers inbound materials and inventory as arrived
        • Keeps record of all warehouse transfers made with forklifts
        • Ensures delivery accuracy by verifying correct products are loaded
        • Logs all RFID evens and documents product or batch history

Implementing RFID read points to correct areas within production and logistics facilities diminishes the need for manual counting. Furthermore, the RFID application keeps the stock levels up-to-date since automation covers all critical processes.

How to implement RFID enabled inventory tracking in a production warehouse?

1. Implementing a unique identifier to the product or batch (on item, pallet or other RTI level)
2. Automatically registering the stock location for individual products or batches as they are moved to warehouse and registering any warehouse moves
3. Forklifts equipped with RFID can be used to pick items in a customer order for shipment to ensure picking accuracy
4. Using RFID gates at dock doors or RFID enabled forklift trucks during the loading of shipments ensures delivery accuracy