Movement records for reusable packaging
The production process can be understood as a complex of activities that must be interrelated in order to minimize costs. Costs often refer to the cost of input raw materials, energy, labour, technology, etc., but significant funds are also hidden in operations that are directly related to ensuring the smooth running of the production line. As an example, we can mention the reverse logistics of returnable packaging.
What is complicated about it?
The returnable packaging in the production process can be defined as a pallet, a plastic crate or a special packaging.All of these are used to transport the components needed for production. In many cases, we are talking about several suppliers, each using their own packaging units created according to their product and their packaging regulations. Once such input components are consumed in the assembly of the final product, such packaging must be returned to the supplier. To each his own and packaged as contractually required. We encounter with our customers that it is during the preparation of transport towards the supplier that problems arise with incorrect removal, confusion of crates, sending incomplete packaging. If such operations are also recorded, it is often in paper form, when operators record the creation of a pallet with shipments for a particular customer by manually writing them down in pre-prepared forms in printed form, which significantly reduces the reliability of such a record. In addition, these operations have to be transcribed with a delay into the parent ERP system. Thus, another human factor comes into play – transcription error. The logistics manager responsible for ordering the shipment thus receives inaccurate information and even late, many times when we have already incorrectly dispatched the return packages back from the customer.
We have a solution for you
The answer to the above mentioned conditions is the RETURN CHECK SW solution. This tool keeps track of WHO, WHEN and what RETURN UNIT was created. At the same time, the system checks in real time the compliance with the packing procedure (how many pieces, what type of crate, on what pallet …we put). All the data is immediately available to the logistics staff who decide what type of transport to choose. Each transport unit is precisely identifiable. The basic 1D/2D code printed on the label can be used for this purpose. However, the use of contactless RFID technology is increasingly being promoted in this area. It is this method of labelling returnable packaging that is finding a great response from customers, as we are talking about disposable labelling of such packaging. At the same time, it is possible to record the movement of such marked boxes / pallets through the dispatch gates automatically – without the intervention of forklift operators and the like.
RFID identification technology is becoming a standard not only in the AUTOMOTIVE segment. Hand in hand with the gradual expansion of RFID tagging, the financial complexity, which in the past was often an obstacle to the introduction of this technology, is decreasing. Returns are now governed by entirely new rules.