A few weeks ago, I hosted a webinar session on RFID and Inventory. The session gave an overview of how Modern RFID technology is changing asset tracking and inventory management. By taking advantage of both Fixed RFID Gateways and advanced Mobile RFID readers, users can improve inventory accuracy while drastically reducing labor costs.
During the webinar, I explained how Modern RFID technology is changing at lightning speed. Specifically, RFID is changing the way assets are being stored and assigned locations. RFID is also providing autonomous asset tracking that is capturing and recording assets as they move throughout your facility. Furthermore, and most importantly for this blogpost, Modern RFID is changing the way inventory managers are finding and locating assets.
RFID Mobile Asset Tracking Demonstration
During that webinar, I shared a quick demonstration video of the A2B Tracking Mobile RFID capabilities. Take a few minutes and watch this RFID Mobile Asset Tracking Demonstration.
For illustrative purposes, I created the scenario of a Field Technician who needs to locate the proper equipment and laptop to be able to perform their duties for the day. Using Mobile RFID I was able to find the particular asset in the database and then search for that specific asset in the warehouse using RFID.
I knew that the equipment I needed was in the warehouse — but, I didn’t know exactly where it might be. In fact, the asset had been assigned a general location of “Warehouse” which in this case was a large open area. There was never a specific location or shelf number assigned to the assets when they were put-away.
Instead of assigning specific locations we used the Pro-Locate feature and Mobile RFID technology. Pro-Locate is a proximity locator that is designed to search for a particular asset (technically it’s searching for an RFID asset tag that is affixed to the asset).
As I walked through the warehouse the Mobile RFID reader in my hand showed a meter providing signals from that particular asset. The closer I got to the item — the stronger the signal.
Without knowing the specific asset location, Pro-Locate was able to identify the exact RFID asset tag that I was searching for and point me directly to it. As you can see in the video, I was able to put my hands on it within seconds even though the item was located inside a Pelican Case.
Mobile RFID Physical Inventory
The A2B Tracking RFID system can also perform physical inventories with a mobile device. To illustrate this capability, I performed a very quick physical inventory of the assets while I was in the warehouse location.
With a simple pull of the trigger on the Zebra RFD8500 mobile reader I was able to capture almost 30 unique asset tags, once again while all items were stored within the Pelican Cases. By quickly capturing these assets and performing this inventory, I can be confident that each asset will have an updated date and timestamp in the database.
To watch this Mobile RFID video demonstration click here.
