The future lies in RFID for products as it brings benefits to retailers and to manufacturers in both tracking inventory and maintaining security. So says manufacturer Unisto Electronic Seals.
However, the supply chain between manufacturers and retailers forms a void where product-level RFID cannot be used. Unisto reports it has a product that bridges this gap by providing RFID at the transport level by tagging and securing the trailers. This enables the whole process from manufacture to sale of goods to be tracked at every stage, the firm adds, to ensure timely delivery, reduce pilfering, and most importantly, reduce costs. System installations with a number of retailers and an express parcel carrier have shown that the system pays for itself in less than a year, it is claimed.
Re-usable seals
The key to the Crypta GateTrak system is the company’s patented re-usable seals that are fitted to each vehicle. These generate a random seal number every time the seal is closed, which remains unchanged until the seal is opened again, enabling the secured status of the load to be remotely verified via the integral RF transponder. Queuing times at despatch are reduced as each vehicle is automatically interrogated by the system to determine the load, the veracity of the seal, the tractor ID and the driver ID; a process that takes a few seconds rather than the minutes of a manual check. This reduces congestion and unproductive queuing time for drivers, important with the forthcoming EU Working Time Directive constraining driver hours, and reduces the number of security staff required. On arrival, the integrity of the load may again be automatically checked via the RF link, verifying that the seal number is unchanged and therefore that the load has not been tampered with during transit. Central control therefore knows that the load has been delivered safely and when. As goods are unloaded, their own RFID tags enable them to be individually tracked thereafter.
What they say
Mark Hayward, Sales and Marketing Director for Unisto Electronic Seals, says: “GateTrak continuously and automatically monitors the trailers from the moment they are loaded to the moment they are unloaded. This ‘closed loop’ is the final missing link needed to create integrated RFID for the entire supply chain — a black hole where products could be lost, delayed or stolen. It even enables companies to keep track of exactly where each trailer is parked in the depot which, with dozens of identical trailers, can be challenging otherwise.” GateTrak includes a suite of software modules that enables solutions to be created to meet a customer’s specific requirements and for them to be easily adapted to suit changing needs, the makers say. The Crypta GateTrak system has been successfully trialled with several major UK companies and is fully operational at several sites, the firm adds.
