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RFID technology helps FloraHolland cut $200,000 in handling costs
FloraHolland has cut $200,000 annually in handling costs by using RFID technology to help move flowers from the receiving docks to storage areas.
The Netherlands account for more than half of the world’s trade in cut flowers and plants, and freshness is everything in the cut flower business. The length of time flowers sit on the dock before being delivered in a refrigerated storage area can determine how much those flowers will be sold for on FloraHolland’s auction floor.
At its 1 million square foot distribution center and auction site, FloraHolland installed a new RFID system by GlobeRanger, with RFID reader antennas installed at 67 strategic locations used to track 150,000 RFID-enabled carts. This system tracks the location of the carts as well as how long it takes them to get from the dock to a climate-controlled storage area.
In 2006, reader antennas were installed in the floor of the 1 million square foot distribution center and auction site in Naaldwijk at 67 different points. The antennas read the tags mounted on the frame of the carts as they pass over tagged areas. All 150,000 carts used are RFID tagged today.
The GlobeRanger RFID system determines the location of each cart, recording the time between the bar code scan at the dock and the cooling area. The reader antennas, unlike previous systems, can now read multiple tags at a time, increasing throughput.
As carts are pulled through the auction area by a chain conveyor, the reader scans the tag. From this scan, information about the flowers are maintained in the cooperative's database and displayed on an LED readout for buyers. The system also tracks where the trolleys are located in storage until the customer takes possession.
Knowing how product flows through the facility has provided insight into costly bottlenecks which threaten the flowers’ freshness. Eventually, FloraHolland will use the system to send alerts to drivers if a cart of flowers has sat too long outside a cooling area.
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