ProxiTrak and second birth RFID
The ProxiTrak platform is a significant help in the management of warehouse space. The system provides a substantial amount of additional information, which “takes” the management of the facility to a whole new level. Detailed data enables more rational decisions to be made and, as a result, broadly understood process optimization.
RFID technology has been “experiencing its second youth” for several years. Effective use in warehousing reduces the number of employees, increases the possibility of optimizing warehouse zones and reduces operating costs. The main stimulus to the changes was the reduction of tag production costs and the popularization of applications of devices operating on UHF frequency (in Europe it is 860 – 868 Mhz).
The revolutionary for RFID was also the popularization of cloud computing services, which enable secure access to applications and data regardless of the location and number of outlets. This made it possible to provide the market with an RFID platform in the SaaS model (Software as a Service), which can also be described as RaaS (RFID as a Service).
For example, ProxiTrak is a platform combining RFID technology with cloud computing. Thanks to this, information collected from individual locations of the company is available in real time for people making operational decisions. These data significantly affect the reduction of labour costs, increase the flow of goods in the warehouse and reduce the operating costs of forklift trucks. At the same time, they provide real-time insight into product circulation and storage conditions. ProxiTrack supports warehouse operations in several key areas.
Trade in Goods
Precise location of products – ProxiTrak shows operators the exact location of goods on the warehouse shelves in real time. This means that at any given moment we know whether the goods are actually on the location indicated by the WMS.
Rotation control – in the case of products with a specified expiry date, the system informs about the need to sell a specific product.
Automatic inventory – the system enables a full inventory to be carried out without the participation of employees. Inventory verification can be carried out continuously, based on a predefined schedule of readings.
Storage conditions – thanks to modern, passive tags registering temperature, we can measure it without the need to use an additional network of sensors.
Optimization of forklift truck operation
ProxiTrak also reduces losses caused by improper use of forklift trucks. There are two aspects to savings. The first is the ability to manage the operating parameters of forklift truck batteries, which allows the operator to replace them on an ongoing basis. This extends their service life and reduces the overall cost of ownership. The second aspect includes the event zone. ProxiTrak enables detection of improper use of the truck, verification of operator rights, as well as activation of an alarm in the event of a collision with an obstacle or a pallet fork.
Optimization of storage space
Data analysis ProxiTrak generates heat maps of warehouse space, shows the most frequently exploited places and those where undesirable events may occur, e.g. collisions. As a result, warehouse networks can conduct comparative analyses of goods flows, which makes it easier to identify and answer the question why similar warehouses have different performance.
Employees
With ProxiTrak, warehouse staff know the exact location of your goods. The technology also makes it impossible to put it on the wrong location. By using employee cards, equipped with UHF systems, the manager knows exactly the mode of work and the path of movement of employees. What is more, ProxiTrak allows you to control the working time in the warehouse without the need to use RFID readers.