40% Efficiency Increase in Warehouse Logistics with UWB+RFID

The forklifts ran suboptimal routes in the warehouse, were unevenly utilized, and frequently interfered with one another. Inventory discrepancies resulted from human error. Overall process efficiency was low, yet difficult to improve if conditions remained the same. In addition, personnel costs in the warehouses were high.

300 employees of the company WLL Logistik und Service GmbH were needed for the work processes. Through contact with Inpixon, the idea to make all processes in the warehouses more efficient through real-time localization (RTLS) emerged at the beginning of 2020.

Proof of Concept

Setting up the IT system with Inpixon took 2 months, piloting the concept took another 3 months. A working student accompanied the pilot run in Groß Gerau with research work. RFID tags on all Flexfit brand cartons and sensors on two forklifts yielded sufficient data volumes for the proof of concept. In the subsequent data analysis, it became clear that the automatic capture of full cartons in the incoming goods department was 23 percent more efficient compared to the barcode system previously used.

The first goal was to make goods digitally traceable from the manufacturer, eliminating the step of manual scanning. Scanning took a lot of time, both at the manufacturer and upon arrival at the warehouse. Without this step alone, goods receiving would become more efficient. Warehousing of goods should also be streamlined. Optimized routes and storage according to expected demand should be considered.

The best way to achieve this is via a digital goods management system that includes the forklift fleet. Until now, it was not subject to any rules and should now also be managed in real time.

UHF RFID tags from Cisper Electronics were used for the traceability of the cartons. At the goods receiving area, they are transferred to conveyor belts that pass through a UHF RFID gate. The gate automatically reads the tags of the cartons. At the end of the receiving area, employees assemble single-sort carton packages for pallets, which are picked up by forklifts.

The forklifts are equipped with two RFID readers from Deister Electronic to capture the cartons and with the UWB-VehicleTag from Inpixon to transmit position data.

The aisles of the warehouses are also equipped with UWB sensors. The position of the forklifts and individual cartons, accurate down to 10 cm, are thus captured in real time.

The goods are provided with UHF RFID tags starting from the manufacturer. The NVE is linked to the carton number and the respective RFID tag and the information about it is stored in the goods control system. An uninterrupted track & trace of each individual carton is carried out from the manufacturer. The cartons arrive in Groß Gerau by sea and land. Employees there unload the containers and place the cartons on the conveyor system. The cartons then travel through an RFID tunnel where the tags are read.

The captured information is forwarded to the IT system for processing, which promptly sends a sorting request to an employee. This employee stands at the assembly line and follows the collection on a large display. He performs an intermediate sorting of the received cartons and confirms this work step in the system. This triggers a message to a forklift driver to take the cartons to the proposed storage location. A free forklift truck brings the pallets to the location indicated to the driver on his tablet. Sorting the full cartons into the shelves takes into account which goods need to be delivered sooner and which need to be delivered later.

The installed UWB tag on the forklift serves as a sensor for real-time location. Ultra-Wideband (UWB) is a short-range RF technology for wireless communications that can be used to pinpoint the location of people, equipment and assets with unmatched precision.

Like other communication protocols, for example Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, UWB can be used to transmit data between devices via radio waves. This is done with short pulses in the nanosecond range over an “ultra-wide” range of frequencies. Alternatively, LiDAR can be installed in other types of storage, for example in mixed storage or block storage.

The big advantage of this multi-RTLS technology stack is that the existing infrastructure is upgraded or retrofitted instead of purchasing an entire forklift system with the digitization equipment from scratch.

1. Mr. Rudenko, TB International is a wholesaler. What does the company’s distribution network look like?

We produce everything that we sell ourselves. The designs are developed in-house and the yarns and fabrics come from Asia, where the production facilities are also located. We sell our 15 brands through 15,000 different retailers. Many of our retailers, like Snipes or Peek & Cloppenburg for example, have both brick-and-mortar stores and online stores. Other retailers only sell online. We ship our products in full boxes to the retailers, who then give them to the retailers. TB International is always in the background. Only the fashion labels are known. It’s a unique business model.

2. Has the pandemic had an impact on operations?

Yes, in a positive sense. Since the pandemic, the online segment has become more important for us. Zalando and About You have become important partners during this time; Zalando in particular. We offer our products in their online stores and Zalando handles the ordering and payment process. We then handle the dropshipping from our four warehouses. However, in cases where Zalando can offer lower shipping costs than we can, we would ship to Zalando first. We did not have this e-commerce partner before. With Zalando, we had our breakthrough in the pandemic.

3. How do you explain this?

During the pandemic, the shopping behavior of people changed. The over-40s were in the home office and bought significantly less clothing. However, it was the 15-30 age segment that had a strong demand for hoodies and high-quality, comfortable everyday clothing. Urban Classics, Mister Tee and other of our labels were right on trend.

4. Is that why TB International has launched its own e-commerce platform?

Exactly. Without a dedicated e-commerce platform, we were unable to meet the increased demand ourselves. 30% of our sales last year were generated via the B2C platform. Thanks to the booming online trade, we have seen an overall growth of 100%. And part of that has come as direct sales to consumers via the fashion labels’ online stores.

5. How did you handle that in logistics?

At our oldest location in Darmstadt/Arheiligen, we have set up fastspeed logistics with automations. There is an automated small parts warehouse with picking robots and a larger single-pick area. Direct sales from us to the consumer are controlled there. At the moment, however, the handling of full cartons predominates in the warehouses.

6. Where do you see greater growth potential for TB International: In wholesale or retail?

Both are developing very well. Of the 30 million products we sold in 2021, 25% were shipped as individual items. In the future, we would like to generate half of our sales with the B2C business.

7. You mentioned the RTLS provider Inpixon; together with them, you also implemented the RTLS solution, which is now about to be rolled out across the company. How new is RTLS for you?

As a logistics manager, I have been dealing with this for a long time. In that respect, it is nothing new. However, the cost-benefit calculation has always been a hurdle. That’ s why I hadn’t looked deeply into RTLS and RFID before 2020. When I got in touch with Inpixon, that all changed. We quickly found a use case.

8. How did you prepare the implementation?

The question for TB International was how we could make our goods logistics more efficient. A student worker made this his research question in his master’s thesis in business administration. During the pilot run with Inpixon, the student collected data. Together, we had developed eight decision criteria that we would use as a follow-up to analyze whether a conversion to RFID would be advisable. The criteria were: Costs, process optimization, availability of goods, transparency, employee motivation, tracking & tracing, future viability of the product, and the possibility of troubleshooting the product and the system. The result is an increase in efficiency of 40% in incoming goods alone. This was what convinced us. We now capture the cartons from the manufacturer in Asia through the entire global supply chain to the warehouse in Groß Gerau – only in that location for the time being – with RFID tags.

9. The conversion to UHF RFID in the Groß Gerau warehouse is a classic use case for this technology. Does this mean that the project is complete?

No, on the contrary, it’s just getting started! RFID is the technology of the future in logistics and retail. There’ s still a lot more that is possible. Now that all 40 forklifts in Groß Gerau are equipped with readers and the technology is implemented in the warehouse, we can always add new use cases as an extension. We know from Inpixon that they can offer and implement complete solutions for 5G plant networks. We will see what we need in the future.

10. What changes are still to come?

With digitization, the IT requirements for employees are increasing, and we are still at the starting point here. We want to train our employees so that they have a basic understanding of automation processes. This will increase the motivation to work with the technology. In the future, I can also imagine that employees will be able to work with AR glasses, through which they can see relevant areas colored in, or paths in the warehouse with information fed into the glasses. A lot is possible there.

11. Do they see the changes brought about by digitization as fundamental or as a useful addition?

The changes are fundamental and far-reaching. What we have implemented in the warehouse in Groß Gerau means nothing other than a shift in logistics away from the shelf and towards IT. In the future, we will need an IT control center where two employees on each shift can look after the material flows, look into the code when errors occur and correct errors in the system. A lot changes in the background with an implementation like this. Managers like me will also need more IT know-how in the future.

12. Is TB International currently well positioned for these changes?

Absolutely. Our motto at TBI is “never stand still”. We always have the hunger and the drive to review and improve all our processes.