RFID Application In Cold Storage Management – Goods Are Tagged With Identification, Saving Time Effectively

Cold storage plays an essential role in many industries, from food, pharmaceuticals to chemicals, etc. However, traditional cold storage management often encounters some limitations such as: manual inventory process is prone to errors, time consuming and costly to operate, harsh environment affects employee health, etc. Therefore, currently, units have been and are tending to apply RFID in cold storage management, goods are tagged with identification tags, helping to bring many significant benefits.

Limitations of Traditional Cold Storage Management Methods

Accordingly, previous cold storage management systems often used traditional methods such as manual bookkeeping or barcode scanning, etc. However, these methods have more or less revealed certain limitations, typically including:

• Errors from manual recording by cold storage management staff.
• Low temperatures cause damage to barcode cards.
• Barcode tags can be easily copied.
• The traditional cold storage management process requires a large number of personnel, is time-consuming and costly to operate.
• In addition, the cold storage environment with very cold temperatures more or less directly affects the health of management staff.
• When goods are stacked in the warehouse, searching for shipments takes a lot of time, hindering the ability to respond quickly when there are quality problems or need to recall products, etc.
• Due to manual inventory, some goods may be expired, degraded, causing waste and significant damage to the business.

Thus, with the old cold storage management method, the risk of loss of goods is very high and the business’s operating costs will not be small. That is also the reason why RFID technology has been widely applied by businesses in the field of cold storage management today.

RFID System In Cold Storage

RFID technology uses radio waves to quickly and accurately identify UHF RFID tags, ensuring that all inventory operations are performed perfectly in just a few seconds. Each box that needs to be managed will be tagged with UHF RFID tags, and a fixed RFID reader installed at the aisle will scan and quickly identify it.

An RFID system in cold storage management includes:

1. The box is tagged with RFID, the RFID label contains a unique ID code. When receiving a response signal from the tag, the RFID reader quickly recognizes and records the corresponding information associated with that item.
2. After being collected, the data will be sent to the server via communication lines such as Ethernet, WIFI or GPRS, etc.
3. The data is analyzed, synthesized and processed, and the information about the goods will be listed in detail in a table, helping management staff easily retrieve the location of the box quickly.

Cold Storage Management Process Using RFID Technology

Accordingly, the cold storage management process using RFID technology includes 3 stages: warehousing, storage and warehouse export.

Tagging and warehousing

Goods imported into the warehouse will be tagged with RFID tags containing a unique ID code, including important information such as product code, production date, expiry date, shipment, supplier, storage temperature, weight, etc. When passing through the RFID reader, this data will be recorded quickly and completely automatically. This helps to completely eliminate manual data entry steps, minimize errors and significantly increase warehouse entry speed.

Data recording and storage

As mentioned, RFID card registration data includes information related to products, storage locations in the warehouse such as shelf numbers, locations, warehouse numbers, etc. Thus, when goods are moved through the reader, the reader will read the data and record, store them in the warehouse (in case they match the information registered on the card) or give a warning (in case of incorrect information). All internal movements of goods are recorded, helping employees closely manage the circulation process, reduce loss and ensure the principles of the business.

Exporting goods

When goods are needed in the cold storage, the requester must complete an electronic form to send to the warehouse manager. When receiving the information, the warehouse staff will use a handheld RFID reader to search for the corresponding goods and bring them to the export area. The history of tracking goods is fully stored, providing effective support for inventory and reporting later when necessary.

What are the benefits of RFID application in cold storage management?

Deploying RFID system in cold storage management brings many outstanding benefits to businesses, including:

• RFID helps eliminate human errors, ensures data is updated accurately in real time, optimizes time and operating costs.
• The inventory process is performed quickly, automatically, and highly effectively.
• Tracking history is comprehensively stored from the time of import, storage to export.
• The RFID system provides accurate data, helping businesses quickly identify and recall problematic shipments, reduce damage and protect brand reputation.

Challenges in RFID Application in Cold Storage Management

Lê Nam Việt

My name is Le Nam Viet, currently FOUNDER & CEO of Nam Viet IT Company, I graduated from Ho Chi Minh Polytechnic University. I have more than 3 years of experience providing RFID chip technology solutions, RFID scanners, barcode labels and barcode readers. It’s a pleasure to share my knowledge with readers.