Tracing batches with the intelligent warehouse - Dematic implements solutions for the food industry

The introduction of transponders means that for the first time detailed, variable information can be linked directly to goods, enabling their origin to be quickly verified. This may save lives when food "accidents" occur, as companies can then identify and take harmful products off the market in the shortest possible time.
 
BSE, dioxin, nitrofen and just recently acrylamide–one food scandal seems to follow another, upsetting consumer confidence in edible goods. Both conventional and "organic" food are affected in equal measure. Manufacturers who can't respond immediately by withdrawing contaminated products from warehouses, production and shops face a loss of image and a drastic fall in sales. For example, Coca Cola suffered a substantial drop in sales in Belgium when a batch that had been contaminated by cleaning agents couldn't be taken off the market because it couldn't be traced.
 
EU Directive 178/2002, due in force from January 2005, is designed to remedy such situations. The Directive prescribes transparency throughout the entire food and animal feed chains in order to offer consumers better protection from contaminated food. Raw materials, semi-manufactures, finished goods and packaging will have to be traceable from production to their point of sale and consumption. The Directive widens the definition of foodstuffs to cover all materials and products that can be consumed by people in an unprocessed, semi-processed or processed form. Drugs are the only exception, as they are subject to other directives and regulations. Unlike the International Food Standard, to which German food producers have voluntarily subscribed, every business active in the industry will now be compelled to integrate appropriate control mechanisms into their systems by January 2005.
 
The EU Directive stipulates what progressive companies are already practicing in at least parts of their supply chains as a means of internal or quality control: continuous documentation of all processes and results, from incoming goods to production and delivery. The wealth of information involved means that such a system can only be successful with an IT-based ERP system backed up by corresponding subsystems, such as a warehouse management system. Dematic is offering companies various packages tailor-made for many different types of requirements. Dematic' portfolio includes both a cost-effective entry-level solution and a high-end solution with special features such as returned goods, stops, quarantine and range planning.

Solutions with new transponder technology

The introduction of the transponder links the physical material flow to the data flow at the lowest possible level. This means that for the first time goods bear detailed, variable information. The individual unit can be regarded as an autonomous system, containing all the important information about that product, embedded in the material flow.

Transponder technology enables the loading unit and the items it contains to be registered simultaneously. It provides two levels of control.
 
Level 1: The loading unit.
If the loading unit bears a "writeable" tag, it can be given the route it has to take and all the destination points at the start of the order. This relieves the higher-level IT (material flow controller) as it then has to deal with fewer destination queries.

Route changes are made at the re-routing stations provided or at the order-picking stations.
 
Level 2: The items.
The items bear "readable" tags. These may contain the following information: the name of the item, the date of manufacture, the batch, expiry date, etc.

There are a number of conceivable applications.

For example, an intelligent refrigerator equipped with antennas issues a warning in good time before an item reaches its expiry date.

One advantage of this technology is the simple control of the flow of goods. The loading unit and the items it contains can be registered at any time, even as they pass by on a conveyor system. Tipping out to recount and repacking are minimized.

A suitable selection of reading stations enables the items and loading units to be continuously traced throughout the entire distribution center (DC) and beyond. Whereas stationary antennas are frequently used inside the DC, the goods can also be traced to the end customer with the aid of mobile reading units.
 
If there is a continuous recording system from the DC to the end customer (retail dealer), the use of transponder technology will enable a precisely targeted recall action, allowing the company affected to achieve a high degree of damage limitation.

Further development of barcode technology

In order to maximize the chances of tracing individual products and batches, Dematic uses not only transponder technology but also new developments in "conventional" bar codes, which are particularly attractive as an entry-level solution. Bar codes (ring codes) are attached to the goods. Applying ring codes to the top of the package (top label) enables the bar codes to be read in by cameras instead of the scanners that had previously been required. This eliminates the manual scanning process.Companies in the food industry would be well advised to start implementing the directive in good time as, depending on the preliminary work involved, the procedure may take longer than expected. Long-term planning also helps to steer system changeover away from seasonal peaks. Those who want to hire IT specialists with experience in the food sector–for example in the international food standards environment–should not wait until the rush just before the end of the changeover period.
 
Dematic supports its customers during implementation by first defining a bespoke tracing concept. The target processes are then defined and the responsibilities assigned. The more realistically the physical processes are mapped in the IT systems, the easier it is to verify the origin. In some cases, compliance with the EU Directive may therefore also require extensive reorganization of the IT systems and/or the physical processes. In such cases, investment costs are usually recouped quickly thanks to increased efficiency. Those companies using R/3 as the ERP system already have all the basic functions in place for proof of origin. The necessary upgrade can be dealt with quickly if the physical processes match the mapping in the system. As with other directives and standards, EU 178/2002 requires all processes to be documented
 
The new EU Directive is another step towards third-generation logistics systems. Looking beyond the systems running in various companies, transponder technology creates maximum transparency and provides considerable scope for reducing costs in the logistics sector.