Stage 1
RTS proposed a pilot for Amcor Fibre Packaging to use RTS RF terminals with unattended barcode scanning units on their forklifts in the Scoresby plant. It was intended that the solution would streamline the collection process of pallets from the pallet strapping line. The pilot was successful and a range of RTS products were selected as the most suitable hardware.
Opal expanded the scope to include RFID location tracking. The decision to select RTS products would now further pay off, as the RTS products were able to easily integrate with a range of ancillary devices including RFID technology for the despatch warehouse. This enabled accurate identification of the warehouse block stack loading bays which had previously been problematic using barcodes for identification. RTS products were also compatible with Opal’s unit load tracking (ULT) software provided by Kiwiplan.
Stage 2
After several months of successful operations, Opal identified that in their production areas, they had problems with duplicate labeling of the pallets which lead to pallets being misplaced in the warehouse essentially lost.
To address this problem, a custom RTS terminal was manufactured to:
- monitor duplicated barcodes that came down the production line and stop the conveyor when a duplicate was identified;
- count the number of pallets entering the warehouse; and
- auto receipt the pallets from manufacturing to Kiwiplan’s ULT warehouse software.
In solving this problem, truck scheduling became so accurate that a truck could be waiting for the final pallet as it came down the production line and despatched shortly after. The effect of this was a significant reduction in stock on-hand awaiting despatch in the warehouse and one of the most significant milestones for the project. At times, the warehouse saw a 50 – 70% improvement on warehouse space utilisation as the loads were effectively cross docked from manufacturing to despatch.
Stage 3
After the success in Scoresby, Opal decided to roll out the solution around Australia to all 11 Opal fibre packaging despatch warehouses. Additionally, all 11 inwards goods paper roll stock warehouses (including Scoresby) also implemented a similar solution which utilized Kiwiplan’s roll stock system (RSS).
RTS then integrated to SAP, their Australia wide ERP system and implemented Leap/Radius secure authentication for their CISCO wireless LAN, to ensure a highly secure wireless network.