Mobile Computing Research Library

Southeastern Container is using Motorola fixed and handheld readers, and Motorola antennas to track their reusable bins for effective and accurate inventory control. Exact information on their vital core business assets - the bins - will provide a bin's exact history, lifetime, location, status and contents.

The challenge: Inventory control and traceability for specialized product containers

At the company's three injection molding facilities, bottle blanks called preforms are manufactured. The preforms are shipped to bottle manufacturing plants in cardboard containers or existing plastic bins. Ideally, these containers are returned empty to the injection molding facilities to repeat the cycle. However, problems with this return process were costing Southeastern Container thousands of dollars each year.

The solution: RFID system with Motorola handheld and fixed readers and antennas

Southeastern Container worked with its partner, decisionpoint systems, to architect an entire end-to-end solution to tackle this challenge. The system implementation started with a pilot RFID system for cycle counting the new bins. The pilot at one injection-molding facility was very successful, and Southeastern Container is proceeding with a phased rollout across its operations. When the system is fully deployed, each of the approximately 30,000 bins will be permanently identified with an RFID tag and tracked.

For Southeastern Container, the benefits of the RFID solution include:

• Saving thousands of dollars a year in transportation costs
• Reducing container loss and ensuring traceability
• Achieving ROI within two years of full implementation
• Providing accurate data on bin lifetimes for warranty contracts
• Establishing a successful use-case with RFID technology to leverage with a wide range of future warehouse and inventory control efforts

Read this quick case study to learn more.