Requirement:
Develop a management and tracking system for all garments and accessories, to keep track of the movement and inventory of goods.
Solution:
WMS system integrated with RFID technology.
In this article, we present the project implemented for GDA Moda: a WMS system integrated with RFID technology implemented in the warehouse, for traceability in the fashion industry.
Industry 4.0 cuts across all sectors of the manufacturing industry, including the textile and apparel industry. We can consider it to be one of the most receptive in seizing the great opportunities encapsulated in the fourth industrial revolution.
Thus, new ways of operating and communicating throughout the supply chain, greater flexibility and conscious use of data, result in faster time to market and responsiveness to consumer needs. This, also happens through warehouse organization, a key point, which requires a lot of resources in terms of time and employees.
With available technologies, these resources and information flows can be automated and digitized. Thus, efficient stock organization is achieved with a decisive impact on sales processes, customized offerings, and customer satisfaction.
In this article, we present the project implemented for GDA Moda: a WMS system integrated with RFID technology implemented in the warehouse.
The company
GDA Moda, headquartered in Marina di Montemarciano, was established in 1976 by Marcella Bernardini, and since its origins has been involved in the buying and selling of high-quality clothing and accessories.
Over the years, the company established important business relationships with major national companies in the industry, even purchasing entire stocks of garments and accessories from them.
To date, GDA has established itself in various sales channels in Italy and abroad through permanent stores, temporary shops, e-commerce (Dresslix), markets and sample fairs.
The need
Thus, GDA Moda moves large quantities of products that are heterogeneous in type, company of origin and destination. This gave rise to a specific need that led it to turn to Digimark. To develop a management and traceability system for all garments and accessories, both on their way out of the warehouse to the stores and back to headquarters. In this way she would be able to keep track of all the movement and stock of goods in the warehouse.
The solution for traceability in the fashion industry
To meet this need, a traceability system was developed for the fashion industry: a WMS warehouse software for recording and managing information about receptions, internal transfers and delivery orders of goods.
Specifically, an RFID tag is printed for each item in order to identify it and track it as it moves, both within the warehouses and outward. Thus, when the goods return, the operator scans the item labels using a handheld device that records the incoming quantity and compares it with the expected quantity.
In addition, the RFID technology used for GDA, involves the addition of a radio tag in each paper label. This, allows the bulk reading of all the items contained within a received package, without the need to open it and count them one by one.
Thus, from the handheld terminal the attendant will be able to know the exact quantity of goods in the box through a single tag reading operation. Finally, through a specially developed app, the handheld sends information directly to the WMS regarding: operation to be performed, identification code and quantity of the goods surveyed.
Benefits achieved with a system for traceability in the fashion industry
In conclusion, the WMS solution developed for GDA, enabled the company to:
- Obtain an effective traceability system for the fashion industry, with an accurate history of the movements of each garment
- Make the movement of goods to and from the warehouse smoother, improving the company’s efficiency overall
- Simplify business processes, saving considerable time and improving overall business organization
- Calculate inventories in real time, with constantly updated inventory
