Vision of the Future Supply Chain with RAIN RFID
Connected Supply Chain
Parcel volumes are expected to reach up to 300 billion parcels per year by 2026. A connected supply chain is needed to effectively manage the increased volumes of goods and to meet customer demands.
Customer Requirements Set the Pace
Parcel volumes generated by e-commerce are expected to increase to up to 300 billion parcel deliveries annually by 2026. At the same time, customer demands are increasing, and fast and correct deliveries are expected for the first and for all future times. Successful e-commerce with error-free delivery requires a consistently efficient supply chain. Incoming and outgoing goods are closely timed and storage times must be reduced.
Companies are under pressure to reduce costs and ensure profitability in logistics and parcel delivery. At the same time, they have to adapt to the changing needs of the market. These require a disruption-free, transparent and flexible supply chain to handle the increased volume of goods and consistently meet rising customer expectations.
RAIN RFID Increases Transparency and Control
Visibility is at the heart of the connected supply chain. Tracking and tracing goods is essential to locate them and to deliver them to the desired locations in a timely manner. By giving each item a unique identification number via an RAIN RFID tag and recording the unique identifier, the required visibility can be achieved. The required tags are either attached to products as a secondary label or integrated directly into the item during manufacture. This allows the shipping process to be accurately tracked, both within a company and between different entities in the supply chain.
The tags are read when goods are received, dispatched, during internal stock movements, picking, processing and inventory counting. Not only are the goods recorded where they are, but also how long they have been at certain points. With this level of automated information, manufacturers gain the transparency to understand which points in the supply chain can be optimized to effectively control the flow of goods.
Connected Supply Chain Enables New Business Models
Companies achieve increased transparency through a connected supply chain and receive information relating to exceptions within the operation, thus highlighting areas of potential improvement. Delivery times between locations and to customers can be shortened. Suppliers achieve more flexibility and ease of planning. In the event of production bottlenecks, goods can be easily located and redistributed to needed locations.
Inventories can be reduced while ensuring the availability of goods to customers. Lower storage costs are the result. Losses due to 'misplaced' goods are avoided through accurate tracking, as are incorrect deliveries. All these benefits have an impact on customer satisfaction. According to one report, for 40 percent of customers, delivery is the most important factor in their purchase decision.
With the help of a connected supply chain, the use of RAIN RFID and the resulting benefits, the correct and authentic goods can always be delivered to customers reliably and quickly.