Case Study

Application Case Study: Tracking Reusable Carts

CLIENT PROFILE AND ISSUE

A large manufacturer of commercial and residential building products contacted CDO Technologies requesting help tracking their critical assets, typically reusable carts, when shipping to their customers and between their two manufacturing facilities. The manufacturer’s fast-paced facilities create an issue where carts often become lost and forgotten, causing a shortage of carts between the two facilities. This is costly for the manufacturer and requires them to purchase hundreds of new replacement carts each year.

DISCOVERY PROCESS

To address the client’s issues, the CDO team sought to understand the pacing, environment, and workflow at the client’s facilities, as well as the assets’ point of entry and exit from each building. CDO identified the client’s “Black Hole” locations, which are any location where carts disappear or are forgotten.

SOLUTION

CDO recommended implementing the Critical Asset Tracking Solution (CATS) software and installing multiple automatic Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) scan portals in critical areas at both facilities’ shipping and receiving docks. CDO’s solution also involved placing RFID portals in “Back Hole” locations to track if an asset enters an area with a high risk for loss. The implementation of the CDO CATS software allows workers at both facilities to identify the last known location of a cart and its movement between facilities. Additionally, CATS software communicates to the client’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to identify if a customer’s cart was shipped.

RESULTS

The CDO solution provides greater visibility to assets in both storage and “Black Hole” locations, dramatically reducing search time for carts. The added visibility of carts at customer sites improves their return rate. Tracking assets between both facilities enables each facility to have a more balanced allocation of carts. Better visibility, tracking and allocation leads to reduced purchases of replacement carts and cost savings.

Production workflow is significantly enhanced. Delays caused by searching for carts or waiting to transfer carts from storage, to production, and finally, to shipping is reduced.

If you have questions or would like to further discuss your unique asset tracking challenges, please schedule an appointment.