The Benefits of RFID for Slab- and Coil-Logistics - Falken Secure ...

6_A vision for an integrated steel industry
Analysis conducted by Accenture and
ThyssenKrupp Steel has shown that
using RFID technology for slab and coil
logistics indicates a large number of
benefits across all stages of a typical
supply chain for steel industry players.
Most of these benefits are similar along
the entire production and supply chain
and are as applicable to steel makers as
they are to steel customers:
• Increased materials handling speed
and throughput
• Optimized asset utilization and
reduced need for capital investments
• Better visibility into internal and
external supply chains
• Increased process security and worker
safety
The examples used in this document to
illustrate the potential business case are
simulations and may not directly apply
to all companies. They are meant to
provide a guide to assist with performing
a comparable analysis in order to build a
solid business case so that you can determine
ROI for your company.
Leaving aside the financial benefits of
using RFID to streamline internal
processes, it is likely that steel customers
themselves will sooner or later begin to
7 Note that product and tracking information may be
held across multiple IT-systems run by the different
supply-chain partners.
mandate RFID solutions for their
suppliers. It is prudent for steel companies
to support the creation of industrywide
standards rather than being forced
to individually address the inevitably
varying requirements of each customer.
6.1 Standards requirements
Slab and coil products proceed differently
through their lifecycle and this
impacts the use of RFID. For slabs, RFID is
typically limited to streamlining the
internal supply chain, while using RFID
for coils extends the benefits to end
customers
In either case, for RFID to deliver on its
promise, it is essential that all affected
internal and external systems can gain
access to tracking information as well as
relevant product information. With this
type of data available, steel companies
can gain greater insight into their supply
chains as well as automate identification
processes that traditionally have
been performed manually.
Finding technically viable ways to tag
slabs and coils is only half of the solution.
The other, more important part is to standardize
the way in which the industry
exchanges RFID information internally,
with trading partners and with
customers.
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From a high-level perspective several
technical standards are required to make
this happen:
1. Global identification system: A
commonly agreed RFID numbering
scheme. This scheme must enable
globally unique identifiers and at the
same time allow a company’s internal
numbering schemes to limit the
complexity and effort with respect to
adapting existing IT-systems to
accommodate the change.
2. Shared data: A look-up service
allowing the location of relevant
information sources with respect to a
particular slab or coil.
3. Common access method: A common
query method and standard interface
for accessing product-related tracking
information once a source is determined.
4. Security: A means of securing product
information so that only authorized
parties or IT-systems can access the
appropriate information for which
they have security clearance.
Standardizing the way RFID information
is made available within the steel
industry is a requirement because
product tracking often involves multiple
trading partners. These companies are so