KEEPING TABS

Dairy Field, Apr 2005 by Petrak, Lynn

One example he cites is a major national dairy company that recently approached NCS to install a pilot SOA program that effectively links its pre-sales force with mobile workers and operational management on one system. "We have given them a platform to launch multiple mobile applications for different uses within the framework of a single set of services," Hochberg explains.

Besides NCS, other suppliers offer various software and hardware options for the purpose of more efficient and cost-effective warehousing and distribution, from Dallas-based Texas Instruments to Waukesha, Wis.-based RedPrairie.

A provider of both distribution management systems and RFID supply chain solutions, RedPrairie recently helped Montpelier, Vt.-based Cabot Creamery automate its manual distribution environment across multiple sites. "Our desire to improve our operations as well as comply with FDA quality control mandates were really at the heart of our decision to implement new supply chain technology," says Ralph Viscomi, Cabot's vice president of information services. As part of its solution , Red Prairie provided Cabot with automated inventory management, including a visibility application called LENS(r) and a feature called Commander/QA recall which allows the dairy to track and recall by lot number, code and expiration date.

Making Waves

Meanwhile, RFID technology continues to be a big supply chain buzzword. "I would say in the last year it has gone from two or three customers to almost every customer at least asking about it," Carver says. "You can't seem to open a trade magazine without seeing RFID in there, and a lot of people just want to learn about the technology."

To refresh or for those not familiar with the technology, RFID is an automatic identification technology through which digital data enclosed in an RFID tag is captured by a reader using radio waves. RFID tags consist of an integrated circuit attached to antennae, along with certain protective packaging. Tags, which are available in different sizes, can be either passive, which requires no batteries, or active, which are powered by a battery. Embedded in packages, pallets and products, the tags are used in combination with a radio frequency transmitter and receiver controlled by a microprocessor. The reader captures data from the tags, then routes information to a central computer system for further data processing.

Despite application challenges involved with reading liquid products, RFID suppliers report continuing interest from grocery suppliers, including dairies, and are working on solutions for at least some aspects of dairy storage and distribution. Accu-Sort and Videojet, who have partnered on a new FAST Tag(r) integrated RFID and bar code system that includes readers, printers, applicators, controls and compatible data management software, are experimenting with their own options.

According to Carver, future possibilities could involve applying tags in returnable assets like recyclable containers and totes commonly used in the warehousing and distribution of dairy products. "If you are recycling plastic instead of using a corrugated box, there is an opportunity there," he says. "You can get an actual tag embedded in epoxy resin in a tote - that way you can buy tags once and it's just a matter of rewiring them as they go through the process again."