Intelligent management of clothing supply chain warehousing and distribution based on RFID

As a typical labor-intensive industry, the efficiency and accuracy of the production, warehousing, and distribution of the clothing industry directly affect the overall benefits of the enterprise. In the traditional model, from the packaging of clothing production to entering the warehouse, inventory, and delivery, product information collection mainly relies on a large number of manual operations. This operation method is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also easily leads to problems such as slow distribution statistics and inaccurate inventory data statistics, which in turn affects the company's operating efficiency and customer satisfaction.

The introduction of barcode technology has alleviated this problem to a certain extent. It saves human resources and time by automating data collection. However, due to the characteristics of clothing products such as many items, fast style changes, and diverse colors and sizes, as well as the market's increasing demand for efficient operation of enterprises, barcode technology has gradually shown its limitations. It cannot achieve multi-batch, long-distance, automatic identification and reading of data, nor can it automatically monitor and track goods or corresponding facilities, which limits the further improvement of the efficiency of the enterprise's logistics process.

The emergence of radio frequency technology (RFID) has brought revolutionary changes to the warehousing and distribution links of clothing logistics. RFID technology not only solves the problems encountered by barcode technology, but also realizes multiple advantages such as contactless information reading, large data storage capacity, and automatic identification and tracking of goods. This enables the RFID system to achieve intelligent management and effectively solve the problems of inaccurate data collection, low efficiency, and low data utilization in the current clothing logistics warehousing and distribution links. Through RFID technology, enterprises can achieve accurate and fast distribution picking, packing, and shipment, thereby improving the timely replenishment rate of best-selling clothing, reducing the inventory backlog rate of unsalable clothing, and achieving the purpose of shortening the supply cycle and improving enterprise efficiency.

In view of the significant characteristics of RFID technology and its wide application prospects in the field of clothing logistics, this paper will focus on the combination of RFID technology and information intelligent analysis and decision-making technology to study the intelligent management method of warehousing and distribution based on RFID in the clothing supply chain. First, based on the analysis of the RFID-based supply chain warehousing and distribution operation process, this paper will explore a clothing supply chain warehousing and distribution intelligent management system framework based on RFID, and establish a picking and distribution optimization model. The model will be able to calculate the shortest distance for clothing picking and distribution, thereby obtaining the optimized route and sequence of picking, and further improving the efficiency of warehousing and distribution.

1. RFID-based clothing identification

RFID-based clothing identification uses EPC (Electronic Product Code) to encode clothing products. EPC is a global unified identification system that has been developed internationally in recent years. It consists of 96 characters, including a start bit part and 3 sets of data parts. The three sets of data are manufacturer identifier, product type identifier and product serial number. Through the RFID Reader, some important attributes of a single item of clothing, such as name, grade, item number, model, fabric, lining, washing method, implementation standard, product number, inspector number and production information, can be written into the corresponding RFID tag, and the electronic tag can be attached to the clothing. In this way, each piece of clothing is given a unique RFID identification that is difficult to forge.

There are many ways to attach RFID tags to clothing, such as implanting clothing, making nameplates or tags, etc. Implanted clothing can generally be placed at the back collar or sleeve of the clothing, and the tag can also be made into a button as the first button of the clothing, so that it is not easily damaged. By recording various information, RFID tags are easy to identify and read, effectively improving the rapid response capability of clothing supply chain warehousing and distribution.

2. RFID-based clothing warehousing and distribution management process

In inventory activities, the links for obtaining clothing information in real time include the receipt, warehousing, order picking, outbound and inventory clothing product statistics of warehouse ready-made clothes. When a whole box of clothing with RFID tags enters the magnetic field sensing area of the RFID reader, the RFID reader will automatically capture the information in multiple tags and transmit it to the warehouse management system (WMS).

During the warehousing process, the information anti-collision function of the RFID automatic identification system can be used to read multiple different RFID tags at a time to confirm the quantity and type of clothing entering the warehouse, and the warehousing process of clothing can be tracked to ensure that the goods are placed in the correct cargo position. At the same time, the system automatically generates information such as the shelf and location address, and the WMS system automatically confirms the change of cargo information based on this information.

When leaving the warehouse, when the pallet or forklift loaded with clothing passes the fixed reader installed by the Access Control, the RFID tag information on the clothing is read. The system checks the information with the delivery note and updates the inventory status of the clothing. For the replenishment of popular clothing, the RFID system automatically displays the inventory status of the product and the details of the style, color, size, etc. of the product that needs to be replenished, and prompts the replenishment information. In addition, the RFID system automatically counts the inventory status of clothing products, obtains the time each type of clothing (including style, color, size, etc.) stays in the warehouse, and finds out which type of clothing is unsalable or out of season, thereby providing managers with decision-making information such as price reduction and promotion to promote product sales.