How DSC Helped Continental Mills Adopt New RFID Technology

When you’re doing something for the first time, it’s usually a good idea to learn as much as you can. That way, you’ll be better prepared for the next time.

That’s exactly what Continental Mills thought when they were asked by Albertsons to participate in a RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) pilot program along with other leading grocery suppliers in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metropolitan area. The food products manufacturer wanted to meet the requirements set forth by Albertsons, and, at the same time, gain a better understanding of the RFID process for future partnerships with other retailers. And they knew they had just the logistics partner to help them achieve these goals: DSC Logistics.

We apply RFID tags to select SKUs destined for one of the three Albertson distribution centers participating in the pilot program. (RFID uses radio frequency transmissions on a tag to identify product at a case or pallet level.) The workstation is set up with hard copy examples, instruction booklets and a dedicated computer for RFID use only; DSC employees have been crosstrained to operate the system. After being tagged, the pallets pass through a RFID portal for scanning, where as much as 100 percent reads on the pallets have been achieved. This starts the RFID tracking process.