RFID in a 3PL Enviornment
Dick Pocek, Director of Logistics
Jim Dean, Manager of Customer Supply Chain
About Energizer
- Energizer Holdings Inc. (Eveready Battery Company & Schick-Wilkinson Sword )
Energizer Holdings, Inc.(Energizer), incorporated in 1999, is one of the world's
largest manufacturer of dry cell batteries and flashlights, and a global leader in the
dynamic business of providing portable power
Energizer is the successor to over 100 years of expertise in the battery and
lighting products industry, formerly Eveready Battery Company 1905 -1999
Prior to Eveready name, known as National Carbon Company from 1886 -1905
Energizer’s battery and flashlight subsidiaries offer a full line of products in five
major categories: alkaline, carbon zinc, miniatures and rechargeable batteries;
and lighting products
In January 2003 Energizer announced purchase of Schick-Wilkinson Sword
razor business from Pfizer Inc. for $930 million
Schick-Wilkinson Sword is the second-largest shaving-products company in the
world
Energizer, Eveready and Schick-Wilkinson Sword brands are marketed and sold
in over 140 countries
National Carbon Co.
1st dry cell battery
American Ever
Ready Co.
first tubular
flashlight
1896
National Carbon
buys American Ever
Ready
and forms Union
Carbide
1914
Ralston Purina
buys Eveready
Battery Co
1986
Eveready Battery Co.
becomes a subsidiary of
independent Energizer
Holdings Inc., NYSE ticker
symbol ENR
April 4, 2000
A History of Innovation
Invent
first dry
cell
battery
(CZ)
1896
First to
freshness
date
batteries
1898
Invent first
flashlight.
Invent first
D size
battery.
1931
Invent first
commercial
Watch
battery
1955
Invent
first
miniature
battery
for
hearing
aids.
1957
Invent first
lithium
battery
(AA)
1959
Invent
first
alkaline
battery
1980
First
onbattery
tester
1990
1995
First
zeroadded
mercury
battery
Energizer innovation extends to branded and private label products,
as well as our account teams and approach to category management.
2001
First
hearing
aid
battery
dispenser
A Global Production
Complex
Walkerton, Canada
 Bennington VT La Chaux De
VT Fonds, Switzerland
 St. Albans
Tanfeield Lea, U.K.

Garrettsville, OH
Marietta, OH
Maryville
Asheboro
Tianjin, China
Caudebec, France
Bogang, China
Egypt
Indonesia
Malaysia
Singapore
Sri
Lanka
Kenya
Singular Focus + Global Supply Chain = Efficiency
Philippine
s
Wal-Mart Pilot
Wal-Mart Detailed Expansion
Step 1: January 2005 – 3DC’s, 102 Stores, 36 Clubs
– 6068 Sanger, TX (RDC)
– 6064 Cleburne, TX (GDC)
– 8235 Desoto, TX (X-Dock)
• Step 2: June 2005 – 7 DC’s, 241 more Stores, 73 more Clubs
– 6016 New Braunfels, TX (RDC)
– 6036 Palestine, TX (RDC)
– 6056 Terrell, TX (GDC)
– 6083 Temple, TX (GDC)
– 7010 New Caney, TX (GDC)
– 6698 Dayton, TX (X-Dock)
– 8234 Searcy, AR (X-Dock)
• Step 3: October 2005 – 2 DC’s, 202 more Stores
– 6018 Searcy, AR (RDC)
– 6048 Opelousas, LA (RDC)
• 2005 Total: (12 DC’s), 545 Stores, 109 Clubs = 654 facilities
Energizer and SWS SKU Landscape
Wal-Mart
80% of SKUs are Break-Pack and will not be tagged initially.
Private Label SKUs will not be tagged
Ship mostly mixed pallets not requiring pallet tags
Sam’s
TL environment
100% of SKUs will be tagged at case and pallet level.
Energizer RFID Lab
Tag and Product Testing
Tested different carton
types
Tag orientation
 Tag placement
Different Tags
Energizer’s 3PL RFID Expectations
“Slap and Ship” implementation
Processes that are easy to transfer between
sites
Costs spread over customer base
Flexible systems
Tracking capability
RFID Energizer/3PL Issues
Cartons cannot be opened at the warehouse
due to the use of wrap-around automated
carton forming upstream
Size limitation of some cartons
Order cycle time issues
The Future of Barcodes
External
UPC
ITF14
UCC128
Internal
EAN128
UCC128
Energizer’s position
on bar code utilization
is that there will be no
change to our use of
barcodes near term.
Current internal
projects will continue
as scheduled.
External bar code
requirements will be
dictated by the market
place.
Energizer’s 3PL Expectations
Distribution technology leader
Innovator
Value added services
Stable management team
Global capabilities
Partnership
How Does RFID Compare With Other Major
Information Technology
Development & Deployment Milestones ?
Similarities:
The development or deployment of new IT
solutions
 Potentially disruptive technology integrations
 Fluid landscape with regard to products and
vendors
Internet
9
199
Y2K
 Massive influx of resources to respond quickly
 Market Position Consideration - Lead or Lag?
RFID
Manufacturers Issues Regarding RFID
Deployment In Supply Chain
Applications
Customers Are Starting To Require RFID Use
•Retailers
•Government (i.e. DoD & FDA)
Limited Resources are available to meet the challenge
•Personnel
•Financial Resources
•Time
Many companies have varying degrees of success when using consultants
Can I really find an ROI for implementing RFID in my business?
How can you make RFID deployments operationally viable?
Few companies have real experience with this emerging technology
Who are my strategic partners that could help with this initiative?
Solution Evolution
Moving towards customer integration
Managed
Transportation
Managed
Transportation
Reverse
Logistics
LLP
Reverse
Logistics
SCM
Vendor
Managed Inventory
Vendor
Managed Inventory
Warehousing
Transport
X-Docking
Third Party Provider
Warehousing
RFID assists business
integration in that it provides
real time data and visibility,
involving logistical providers
who service companies
throughout the supply chain
Service Provider
$
Value Creation Potential
5% to 10% typical cost savings
10% to 20% typical cost savings
Generic Supply Chain Solution Sets
Supply Chain Management
Suppliers
(Domestic &
International)
Raw Material
Transportation
Raw Material
Inventory
Management
Supplier
Inbound
Inbound Raw
Management Transportation
Materials
International
Freight
Raw Materials
Inventory
Plant
Shuttles
Inbound
Transportation
Manufacturing
Warehouse
Operations
In-plant
Services
Finished Goods
Transportation
DC Operations /
Finished Goods
Inventory Mgt.
Outbound
Transportation
End
Customer/
Consumer
Outbound
Finished Goods
Outbound
Customer
Transportation
Inventory
Transportation Management
International
Freight
Project Management
Continuous Improvement
Knowledge Management
Automatic identification and data collection technologies are used in all parts
of the supply chain today, thus requiring the potential integration of RFID
into these areas in the days ahead.
RFID Can Be Used In Various Points Throughout The Supply
Chain
• Manufacturing - discretely identify products, the facility in which it
was produced and the date of manufacture
• Distribution Centers - accurate inventory control and order
fulfillment activities
• Retailers - track shelf activity, trigger automated fulfillment,
improve customer checkout, billing and shrinkage
• Reverse Logistics - evaluate merchandise return speed to DCs,
disposition of returned products, financials
• Container/Yard Management - Real-Time Locating Systems
(RTLS) triangulate the relative position of tagged items. Useful also
for specialized Kanban systems (requires expensive RFID Tags)
• Asset Tracking – tracking items such as returnable containers and
high value products
Ultimately, the big cost savings and service benefits of RFID will come from a dramatically enhanced
ability to manage inventory and orders across time and the supply chain. 3PLs are already firmly
established in delivering these type of logistical applications.
RFID – How Can It Affect Supply Chain Partners In The
Future?
•
Customers will likely keep requesting the use of
RFID and other emerging supply chain technologies.
•
Resources throughout the supply chain could
possibly be positively or negatively impacted by RFID
deployments (i.e. personnel, inventory, money,
equipment, space …).
•
Supply Chain information technology
implementations will have special focus placed on
RFID integration
•
Trading partners will have to figure out how to
manage the data collected from RFID applications and
use it for advanced demand planning strategies.
•
3PLs with RFID experience will be able to assist
companies across the entire supply chain.
3PL RFID Case Study: Exel PLC
Presentation courtesy of Exel PLC
Executive Summary (RFID)
The current state of RFID:
 An emerging technology
 Many critical issues
 Ready for wide adoption in the supply chain?
As supply chain leaders, Exel is responding to this
technology by directing global and local teams to
work with customers, RFID experts, and vendors to
understand the value, cost, challenges and
opportunities related to this technology.
Given Exel’s market position, we have a unique opportunity to
understand technology from multiple business applications,
across different supply chains.
Factors Driving Exel’s Response to RFID
Exel’s RFID strategy positions Exel to better understand RFID and
create value:
 Customers
- Retailer compliance
- Opportunity to provide customer
channel solutions
 Operations efficiency
- To be proven
 Supply
-
chain visibility in certain services…
Global freight management
Demand planning
Track/trace
Returnable containers
 …and broader future visibility leading to
enhanced supply chain performance and
solutions
Exel RFID Organization
Global RFID
Strategy
Team
RFID Core Team
Market Vertical & Account Specific Teams
Steering Committee
Communication & Consistency
Execution
Within each team all operational functions and market
verticals are represented, thus making sure that RFID
solutions are looked at holistically and that best practices are
shared.
So what has Exel done to date. . .
•Participated in some 8 – 10 major pilots globally
Theatres – Americas, EMEA & APAC
Industry Verticals – Retail, Consumer & Technology
Standards – EPCglobal and non-EPCglobal RFID
•Became a member of EPCglobal
•RFID deployments/applications inclusive of:
 Numerous pieces of material handling equipment
 Dock doors
 Staging areas and pallet racking
 Pallets
 Stretch wrappers
 Containers and high value assets
Exel RFID Application Examples
Dock Door RFID Portal
RFID Enabled Rack
RFID Enhanced
RFID Enabled
Stretch Wrap Machine
Bulk & Staging Areas
Garment On Hanger RFID Portal
Fork-lift Mounted RFID
RFID Centers of Excellence Overview
•
Create a theatre specific RFID laboratories where Exel
and partners can test RFID application
– Americas, Europe and Asia
•
•
•
•
Involve RFID, WMS, system integration, material
handling and other technology vendors as partners
Multiple applications of the technology will be reviewed
in these centers
Vendor and technology “agnostic” due to fluid RFID
landscape (standards and technology in a state of flux)
Open to customers to test their RFID applications
Centers of Excellence activities will help our clients and our account teams
determine the best applications for RFID in supply chain applications.
RFID Center Of Excellence
Preliminary Layout
Americas Facility
Computers &
Desks
12'-0"
Bulk Storage (4 Deep)
Rack Storage
Rack Storage
14'-0"
12'-0"
Conveyer
30'-0"
53'-11"
13'-0"
23'-8"
Matrics Readers
Center Of Excellence will focus on real-world tests for RFID usage in areas such as
shipping & receiving, putaway & picking, label placement, material handling and
systems integration.
RFID Project Challenges
• New and existing RFID products are not necessarily interoperable with
other RFID vendor offerings
• Product availability and product development can delay pilots
• Many companies are selling RFID products, but total RFID integration
can be a challenge (tags, readers, printers, middleware)
• UHF RFID hardware can interfere with existing 900 MHz RF systems
operating within DCs, requiring countermeasures or upgrades
• Specific product & packaging combinations frequently prevent reading
of cases at the center of a pallet
• EPCglobal Generation 2 RFID Standard Ratification Date ???
• 6-12 month product development cycle after EPCglobal Gen. 2
approved
• ROIs for RFID technology deployments can be difficult to obtain
• Data management (EDI, visibility, order management) is not currently a
requirement from mass retailers even though this will be important
Exel Client RFID Activities & Observations
• Mass Retailer RFID mandates have generated the following:
– Manual “slap & ship” of RFID tagged skus
– Semi-automated tagging of skus (e.g. conveyor augmented solutions)
• Automated/semi-automated RFID tagging solutions need scalability
and flexibility as part of a long-term solution
• SKU quantities used in RFID trials have been limited (20 or less typ.)
• RFID tagging is being pushed further into the supply chain based on
the difficulty and expense of RFID tagging products at the plants
• Asset tracking is the primary means of deploying RFID outside of
current mass retailer mandates
• Outside of the Retail/CPG Market activities, Pharmaceutical and
Technology Market RFID applications are on the rise
• Exel has been and continues to be brought into RFID projects to
assure operational viability and proper execution of RFID projects
QUESTIONS ???