warehouse – Point Mobile Europe GmbH

All around the world, the pandemic has made people more likely to buy things online, and the demand for fast and free shipping is only getting bigger. In the process of providing a consistently fast delivery service to the increasing volume of customers, a major change is happening.

New fulfillment centers are being built closer to the major city centers for easy access to the final destination. Due to the high land price, naturally, they are in a much smaller size than conventional ones, which poses challenges to businesses who need to store thousands of different kinds of products in a limited space. This new type of tiny warehouse in urban areas is called a micro-fulfillment center.

Amazon is planning the construction of around 1,000 new micro-fulfillment centers in cities and suburbs all across America, and Korean e-commerce giant Coupang went public with similar future plans. Also eager to catch up with this trend is SoftBank Group, which invested $2.8 trillion USD in AutoStore taking up 40 percent of its share last April.

AutoStore is a robot manufacturer that also provides a total solution for Automated Storage & Retrieval System (ASRS). Its robots are built to maximize the small space of the micro-fulfillment center.

AutoStore differs itself from other automated warehouse system providers as it designs robots and systems to prevent extra space from being wasted: No room for air, just for products. Thanks to its extremely efficient use of space, small warehouses, once thought is impossible to be fully automated, are now being filled with robots. On average, AutoStore saves 20 to 50 percent of land-use costs by increasing the maximum storage capacity up to 3 to 4 times, resulting in an astronomical cost saving when you combine the real estate market of major cities and the sheer number of micro-fulfillment centers.

¼ footprint for same capacity compared to conventional storage system.

AutoStore also uses an algorithm that optimizes the box placement – the automated system will put products that come and go more often on top, and others below. This “queuing” algorithm aligns products in the most time- and space-efficient order.

Description: Modular design makes it fit into various layouts

The modular design makes it easy to expand in any size. When necessary, the business can easily add new space and integrate it into the existing system, making it possible to increase capacity without re-designing the whole system. Plus, newly added space does not have to follow the cube shape as each module can be ever so small.

Robots designed by AutoStore are now working in around 300 businesses across 35 different countries, including Walmart, Pfizer, Intel, Siemens, IKEA, etc.

E-commerce businesses are going through bloody competition and constantly innovating themselves. Same day and even three-hour delivery which seemed impossible once are now making our life comfortable, and I think it is worth noting the behind-the-scene innovation of the logistics industry.

Sources:
Parcel Industry: The Competitive Advantage of Omnichannel Strategies
Bloomberg – Amazon plans to put 1,000 warehouses-in-neighborhoods
CNBC – SoftBank invests $2.8 billion in Norwegian robotics firm AutoStore
Business Insider – Watch Masayoshi Son get in the groove as Softbank’s ‘golden goose eggs’ followed his famous unicorn slide
AutoStore website – brochure

Typical UHF reader for the warehouse: Gun handle or pistol grip style (PM85 + RF851)

Work efficiency is getting more important for businesses, as consumers demand faster availability and live and accurate stock information. Warehouses need to adapt to these changes by utilizing technologies that help them to keep track of items. This is where RFID comes in: A lot of companies already use RFID readers as a substitute for or an addition to barcode readers which boosts productivity and accuracy tremendously.

What is RFID?

Available in various shapes and sizes: RFID tags

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification and is a technology that can read so-called RFID tags through radio waves. Inside of such a tag is a microchip that reacts to a specific wave, or MHz (Megahertz). RFID tags are available in lots of versions: They can be active or passive, they can be really tiny for the anti-theft system of your car, or they can be used as a sticker or integrated into a card, to name just a few examples.

There are various sub-categories of RFID, such as LF (Low Frequency, less than 134.2MHz) or HF (High Frequency, 13.56MHz). You’ve likely came across HF in daily use already, since it is widely used in modern smartphones for payments using the NFC standard (Near Field Communication). NFC enables communication between compatible devices and, as the name suggests, only works for short distances.

As for warehouses and distribution centers however, UHF (Ultra High Frequency) is the most commonly used RFID technology. UHF uses a frequency of 800-900MHz (and even higher) and is able to track and identify goods from a distance of up to 9 meter (30 ft) if the conditions are right.

What’s the difference between UHF and barcode scanner?

Barcode scanner technology has dramatically improved work efficiency, but there’s a problem: Scanners need the line of sight to operate, meaning the scanner needs to literally see the barcode in order to capture it. If the barcode is hidden in a box, unreachable or heavily damaged, there is no way to read it. It is also only possible to read only a single barcode at a time. By using UHF, these problems will be eliminated as data can be captured even when it is hidden. And since UHF is capable of reading multiple data at once, it is the optimal technology for warehouses where lots of boxes are stacked and piled up. Unlike barcode scanners, RFID tags don’t have to be placed in a specific place to obtain information, as long as it inside the box or attached to the product. Imagine you have to regularly perform inventory tracking, and you’ll see immediately why UHF is a much faster and safer way to know exactly what is going on in your floors. Of course, this technology does not only have advantages: Certain materials or liquids can influence the signal, more complicated implementation and lastly, RFID readers are usually more expensive than their barcode pendants.

Capturing data from an RFID tag

In a typical (connected) warehouse, large scale RFID gates are installed where boxes arrive or leave. This way, all incoming and outgoing shipments can be tracked and monitored at all times. This works similar to how shopping malls or stores prevent stealing by installing those RFID readers at the entrance. If a tagged product surpasses the gate, the system detects goods being stolen and an alarm will go off.

Passing this gate with a tagged product will immediately identify you as a thief

Back to the warehouse. The systems for tracking goods are a lot more complex and require the right software solution and the right hardware. The hardware (for example the RFID gate, or a handheld pistol grip style RFID reader such as the RF300 or RF851) ensures that the tag data is captured properly in all conditions, while the software processes the data to the backend and forwards it to the staff to inform them about model, quantity, and supplier details. The data is either being sent by the Wifi installed in the warehouse, or by cellular connection, for example in outdoor areas or areas with low Wifi signal strength. Automating warehouse processes for both incoming and outgoing shipments reduces processing time, and also significantly lowers the error rate.

Point Mobile’s RFID reader are using UHF, which is a form of RFID. UHF has an higher read range compared to other forms (LF,HF), it means it is specialized for warehouse environment. RF300 can read up to 6m, RF851 can read up to 8m.

Will RFID replace barcode scanners?

Improving work efficiency is very important and this technology can certainly help to do so. But as great as it sounds, RFID is not perfect. While it can scan data from multiple items at once, and it is more durable, it’s also much more expensive than barcode technology. As the industry keeps developing and warehouses get more and more automated, we expect a steady trend towards companies adapting UHF technology, but as barcodes may not be as efficient, they are a solid solution and implementation is a lot simpler – especially when you’re on a budget.

The answer is: Both technologies will keep co-existing. Sometimes, the better way is to use barcodes, other times it may be smart to use RFID, and then sometimes, a mix of both worlds is the way to go.