Application of RFID in logistics enterprise warehouse management system

In the logistics industry, with the changes in the manufacturing environment, product cycles are getting shorter and shorter, and small batch and multi-variety production methods have higher and higher requirements for inventory management. If timely, accurate and effective purchase, delivery and inventory control cannot be guaranteed, it will bring great losses to the enterprise, so a new inventory management system must be established. To this end, this paper designs a new logistics warehouse management system based on RFID technology. Utilizing the technology's non-visual reading and simultaneous multi-tag reading features, several processes such as receiving goods, putting them on shelves, picking goods, replenishing goods, shipping and inventory can be effectively completed and used as an enterprise foundation. Facilities to provide a steady flow of data on the real-time location and status of Assets, inventory, and materials to further enhance corporate competitiveness.

Application of RFID in logistics enterprise warehouse management system

       1. Introduction to RFID technology

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is a non-contact automatic identification technology that uses radio frequency communication. Currently, the Internet of Things can realize global item tracking and information sharing using electronic tags and RFID communication technology. This will fundamentally improve the level of flow monitoring and dynamic coordination management of items in all aspects of product production, transportation, warehousing, and sales on a global scale.

The implementation of this technology includes at least two parts: radio frequency tags and readers. The RFID Reader communicates wirelessly with the RFID tag through the antenna, and can read or write the tag identification code and memory data. The RFID radio frequency tag chip has a rewritable and programmable read-only memory to Store identification codes or other data. It can be used as an identification card for goods. It has the advantages of non-contact, long working distance, repeatable reading and writing, and identification of moving targets.

RFID systems generally consist of electronic tags, readers and writers, application interfaces or middleware software, transmission networks, software management systems, etc. Among them, RFID middleware is the medium that combines RFID hardware and application software. Each module in the warehouse management system RFID middleware is required to perform various operations on electronic tags. Figure 1 shows the structural block diagram of the RFID system.

2. RFID warehouse management system requirements analysis

With the continuous development of the scale of logistics enterprises, the types and quantities of materials managed by warehouses continue to increase, and the frequency of incoming and outgoing warehouses increases dramatically. Warehouse management operations have become very complex and diverse. Traditional warehouse management systems usually use barcode labels or manual warehouse management documents. However, these warehouse operation modes and data collection methods are no longer able to meet the fast and accurate requirements of warehouse management, and have obvious shortcomings. In manual management, manual registration is not only prone to errors, but also has low work efficiency, cumbersome warehouse operations, and high labor costs; while barcode management is easier to copy, is not anti-fouling, and is not moisture-proof, but it can only be read at close range and can only be read at a time. Read one.

Introducing RFID into the warehouse management system and taking advantage of the advantages of large data capacity, reusability, and barrier-free reading of RFID can not only reduce labor intensity, but also greatly improve work efficiency. Therefore, an RFID-based management system can greatly simplify the inventory management of items and meet the needs of increasing information flow and increasing information processing speed.

The RFID-based warehouse management system can realize functions such as material receipt management, warehouse entry and exit management, warehouse transfer management, and inventory management. It can facilitate enterprises to supervise goods, and can easily update and delete the basic situation of materials in the warehouse. and query.

3. Specific implementation of RFID technology in logistics enterprise warehousing information systems

3.1 Hardware configuration

The hardware of this system involves the main control computer, electronic tags, handheld readers, fixed readers, servers, etc. The server can connect the main control computer to the reader on the forklift and the handheld reader through the wireless network for data transmission. There are two main types of readers used in this article:

The first is a handheld reader: the reading and writing distance is about 2 m, and is mainly used for operations such as entering and exiting warehouses, moving warehouses, and inventory taking; the second is a fixed reader: the reading and writing distance is about 1 m, and is mainly used for forklifts , read the location information in the cargo label, and check it with the location information on the location label.

3.2 Software design

The software part of this system uses the Visual Basic 6.0 development platform and is developed in C/S mode. The database uses SQL Server 2000 and the connection database uses ADO technology. The operating systems are Windows 2000, Windows 2003, and Windows XP.

The structure of the RFID-based logistics enterprise warehouse management system designed in this article is shown in Figure 2.

The user management module in the system can be used to manage users at different levels. Different users have different permissions. For example, the system administrator has daily management, warehousing management, query management, Library transfer management, outbound management, printing and other permissions, while the business The clerk has the authority for warehousing operations, query management, warehousing transfer operations, outgoing warehousing operations, and printing.

Through material management, operations such as updating, deleting and querying can be performed on all material types in the warehouse (including name, supplier, price and other information) to realize the material management function.

Warehouse management can realize the receipt, warehousing, transfer, warehouse out and inventory management of materials and goods in the warehouse, and can export the documents of each functional module to facilitate users' material management: it can also provide material receipt, warehousing , warehouse transfer, warehouse outgoing and inventory details to facilitate user inquiries.

4. RFID logistics enterprise warehouse system business process

In this system, the main control system is mainly used to generate and send warehouse entry and exit instructions, warehouse transfer and inventory instructions; the task of the handheld unit is to use a handheld reader to connect to the main control computer through a wired (or wireless) network to download the host computer Send instructions, complete the work according to the instructions, and then send the information to the main control computer through the handheld reader.

The forklift terminal is a fixed reader installed on the forklift so that when receiving/picking goods, the reader can be used to read and verify the location information on the location label and the warehousing instruction.

Electronic tags are the main components of RFID logistics enterprise warehouse systems. Since RFID technology has not yet been popularized in various supply chains of logistics companies, when goods are just delivered from suppliers, they are often not labeled. To apply RFID technology to the warehouse management system, RFID tags must be used. Therefore, before warehousing, the required RFID tags must first be produced. There are two types of electronic labels: one is a storage location label (including storage location number and cargo information) to facilitate management of the storage location of goods; the other is a cargo label, which mainly records various information about the goods (including name). , quantity, type, price, etc.). The specific production process requires using an RFID reader to write the location information into the electronic tag, and then fixing the electronic tag on the location, so that the administrator can use a hand-held reader to read the location information. Since logistics companies carry a large number of goods in and out of warehouses, they also need to make pallet labels to facilitate the management of large quantities of goods. If the quantity of goods is small, a cargo label is attached to each goods. At the same time, these labels are reusable and can be removed when the goods are shipped out of the warehouse and sent to the warehouse for reuse. The rest of the process is performed on the premise that the corresponding electronic tags have been attached.

4.1 Warehousing operations

The main purpose of using RFID technology in warehousing management is to reduce the time consumed in the warehousing process of goods and increase the accuracy of the warehousing process. The specific process is as follows:

(1) When the goods are delivered to the warehouse, the staff will check whether the quantity, specifications, etc. of the goods are consistent with the manually generated purchase order in the database. If they are consistent, they are ready to be put into the warehouse;

(2) Place the items on the storage pallet and use the reader to read the cargo information. In this way, the computer will automatically assign the storage location address based on the cargo information;

(3) Download the storage location number and cargo code to the reader. According to the warehousing instructions, the staff uses the forklift to transport the goods to the designated storage location. After checking the position through the fixed reader on the forklift, the goods are sent into the warehouse. location (if necessary, you can also modify the goods number and quantity information recorded in the location label). If it is placed in the wrong location, the system will issue an alarm;

(4) The relevant information after acceptance will be automatically identified and transmitted to the computer management system by the RFID reading and writing device, the inventory information in the database will be updated in a timely manner, and the warehousing documents will be printed at the same time.

4.2 Outbound operations

Outbound management mainly solves the work of picking and information entry. The RFID reader can directly read the contents of the electronic tag, thereby eliminating the trouble of unpacking and inspection, eliminating the tedious workload of manual entry, greatly saving labor costs, and improving work efficiency and accuracy.

During operation, the operator generates a sales order based on the incoming and outgoing warehouse management system software in the host computer, and downloads the relevant goods code and corresponding location data to the reader. The operator can follow the reader prompts to reach the designated location.

Then, take out the specified number of goods from the storage location and place them on the shipping pallet, and rewrite the quantity of items in the pallet label and storage location label. When the goods are transported to the exit, the reader can be used to read the goods information and compare it with the outgoing instructions. If it does not match, a warning will appear and manual inspection will be carried out; if it matches, the outbound information will be read into the computer through the reader and an outbound order will be generated. Finally, remove the shipping labels so they can be reused.

4.3 Library transfer operation

When the delivery of a batch of goods is nearing completion and the inventory is running low, or when the next batch of bulk goods is notified of arrival and it is necessary to move the warehouse, manual relocation often results in The goods do not match the storage location, which is very detrimental to the next picking and brings great inconvenience to warehouse management. If RFID technology is used, the computer system only needs to issue instructions to the reader in the operator's hand. After the operator sees the instructions, he can locate the corresponding goods and quantity to move the goods to the corresponding target warehouse; after completion , you can modify the label information and send the corresponding data back to the system computer.

4.4 Inventory counting

The function of inventory is to ensure the consistency between physical inventory and records in the information system. The traditional inventory method requires manual counting of the number of goods, which not only increases the intensity of workers, but also greatly lengthens the inventory cycle, which is not conducive to understanding the inventory situation. Even if the goods are missing or stolen, they cannot be discovered in time. However, using RFID technology, the operator only needs to carry a handheld reader into the warehouse area, and after traversing all the warehouse locations in sequence, the corresponding item number, item name, barcode of the location of the item, and the location of the item in that location can be The inventory results such as quantity are transmitted to the system management center and various inventory reports are generated as needed.

The inventory method using RFID technology can not only reduce the work intensity of operators, shorten the inventory cycle, improve the real-time nature of data, understand the inventory situation in a timely manner, and make reasonable purchase plans, but also timely discover errors that occur during the operation to ensure materials safety.

5. Application results

Applying this warehouse management system to logistics enterprises can achieve better results. The main performances are as follows:

(1) RFID technology can be used to read a large number of tags at one time, thereby eliminating the tedious workload of manual entry, greatly saving labor costs and improving work efficiency;

(2) Storage location labels and cargo labels can be used to record the change information of goods (type, location, name, quantity, etc.) in a timely manner, reducing human errors when entering goods, and improving the accuracy of operations such as personnel, removal, movement, and inventory. Rate;

(3) Due to the improved reliability of warehousing and other operations, many unreasonable orders are avoided and the operation cycle of supply and distribution is greatly improved;

(4) Increase the throughput of warehouse products and reduce operating costs;

(5) The use of radio frequency technology can greatly improve the efficiency and accuracy of the picking and distribution process, and speed up the delivery.

6. Conclusion

This article applies RFID radio frequency technology to the warehouse management of logistics companies, and based on this, develops an intelligent warehouse management system that can be used by logistics companies. This system can automatically inspect and register the entry and exit of warehouse goods, understand inventory information, and also grasp the current location of various materials in the warehouse. It not only saves the tedious steps of manual entry, but also greatly reduces the number of accidents due to improper operation. errors occurred. Compared with barcode labels, RFID readers can read a large number of labels at one time within a certain range, thereby reducing labor intensity and greatly improving efficiency; at the same time, they are small in size, can store a large amount of information, and can achieve long-distance identification, which is very suitable for Used in various complex environments. Applying RFID radio frequency technology to warehouse management of logistics companies improves management efficiency as a whole, brings direct economic benefits to the company, and also helps enhance the core competitiveness of logistics companies.