How A Pharmaceutical Company Is Using RFID
How is a pharmaceutical company using SATO logistic printing solutions for better asset tracking?
by Timmy Thermal
Being able to cost-effectively and accurately transport and track your assets in real-time is critical to any business for improved inventory management and customer order fulfillment. I would like to demonstrate how a pharmaceutical distributor in Canada is currently utilizing SATO’s barcode printing and RFID technology to do just that.
This distributor has several warehouses spread across the country ranging in a varying degree of sizes, making it a challenge to accurately and effectively track all the goods and quantities from when they are received in the warehouse to when they are shipped out to the customers. The RF system records the barcoded items electronically whether on they are moving on conveyors, totes, or are in cases on pallets. Each movement is then sent via RFID to its proprietary warehouse management system (WMS). So, in real time, the WMS knows exactly what was received and what orders were fulfilled.
The implementation of this system has provided many benefits. From the increased accuracy from barcode scanning and real-time data collection, the accuracy of the record keeping information and the stock locations, helped to decrease frequency of product shortages.
This system also not only improved the speed of receiving but also enabled the spotting of errors and corrections to be faster than previously. For example, scanning products at the receiving stage ensured that the correct amounts were recorded and immediately compared with the order. This crosschecking allowed for any discrepancies to be red-flagged, verified and corrected. This not only increased accuracy but also the subsequent cost of customer returns which can be quite costly and require a lot of additional resources to receive the product again, put it back into inventory, credit, reship the correct product and provide the customer service/support to the customer, not to mention the negative connotations it can bring with the hassle and delays for the customer.
The SATO product line of printers range from entry-level, desktop barcode label and tag printers to high-performance industrial system and specialty printer platforms for a wide range of applications, including those in the industrial, healthcare, security, asset tracking, automotive, ticketing, warehouse logistics, and retail sectors.
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