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| Case Study |
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Patni develops pilot for Wal-Mart RFID
compliance |
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Patni works with a large consumer goods manufacturer to help it meet Wal-Mart's RFID mandate.
The Client
A Fortune 100 consumer
goods manufacturer.
The Challenge
Wal-Mart has mandated that its top 100 suppliers tag all the cases and
pallets they supply to its Texas distribution centers with RFID tags by
January 2005. This tagging requirement will be gradually expanded to
cover supplies to all the Wal-Mart distribution centers by the end of
2005. The client was completely new to RFID and did not have any
experience with RFID systems. In addition, the client supplied Wal-Mart
through 13 warehouses spread across the US. Thus, it had to ensure that
it 'got it right the first time'.
The Solution
Patni, along with its solution partners, offered the
client a phased rollout approach to meet the Wal-Mart
mandate requirements. Patni offered an end-to-end
solution for implementing the RFID and UCC-128
(labelling) systems. The solution included the
development of a business process execution application and integration with the
existing legacy WMS system of the client. As part of its phased approach, Patni
would be implementing the RFID pilot at three select client warehouses. On
successful completion of this pilot, the solution would be rolled out to the
remaining warehouses.
Key features of the solution include:
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Order data is pulled into the labelling server from legacy WMS systems |
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Existing barcodes on the cases are scanned during picking |
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Scanned barcodes are sent to the labelling server |
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Labelling server allocates the EPC, prints the label and populates the tag
after selecting the appropriate template |
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Label is pasted on the case |
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Label is scanned to confirm the order. This also updates the system with
pick confirmation against the order |
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Based on the order the cases are stacked on the pallet |
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After the pallet building operation is complete, the SSCC label is printed
and pasted on the pallet |
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Pallet is shrink-wrapped and loaded for shipping. The system is updated
with ship confirmation against the order |
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The tags on the pallet and cases are read as the shipment is taken out
through a dock door |
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System is updated with successful shipment status |
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In case of error in reading the tag at any stage, the pallet/cases are
diverted for resolution. |
The Technology During this pilot, hardware from multiple vendors will be tested
for suitability and effectiveness. Patni will also be involved in
testing of high speed printing of RFID tags using a conveyor belt.
Here the RFID reader and RFID printer are mounted on the
conveyor and RFID middleware controls the movement of the
conveyor, providing a visual alert in case of failure to read the
programmed RFID tags. Patni will integrate the RFID business
application and the RFID middleware with the clients existing
legacy mainframe based WMS to pull and push data and generate
MIS reports.
The Benefits
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The client will be able to meet Wal-Mart's mandate
for RFID compliance. |
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The client will be able understand the technology,
analyse its impact on his business processes and
create a roadmap to rollout RFID across all its
warehouses. |
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The client will be able to tailor its business processes
and business solutions based on the results of the
RFID pilot. |
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Selection of appropriate hardware (readers and tags)
will be possible based on the results of this pilot. |
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