One of Lithuania’s biggest furniture manufacturers, SC Freda, has implemented an RFID-enabled pallet tracking solution into its operations to automate its manufacturing logistics. SC Freda ships more than 10,000 pallets monthly to its sole customer, Swedish home furnishing giant IKEA. The complete solution results from cooperation between Autepra, a system integrator providing the RFID solution, and supplier of the Pragma ERP system, Proringas. The solution utilizes UPM Raflatac’s UHF RFID ShortDipole inlay, which is specifically designed to deliver stable high performance in supply chain management applications.

The RFID solution is used to track products from packing to loading onto trucks. Finished products at SC Freda's factory are placed on pallets and transported by conveyor to a warehouse with just one brief stop needed for packing and attaching the RFID tags. Located next to the packing point and conveyor is a CAEN RFID reader, which automatically writes a tag ID as products roll past. When a tag ID is generated and encoded in the tag, the information is automatically processed in SC Freda's ERP system.

Forklifts are used to transfer pallets from the warehouse conveyor to a storage area. A CAEN A948 gate reader controls the truck loading processes. The trucks are equipped with computers and touch screens which communicate loading/unloading orders as well as information about possible loading mistakes in real time.

For inventory purposes, staff at SC Freda use PL3000 handheld RFID readers from NordicID. This helps the company increase the efficiency and transparency of inventory processes by substantially reducing the need for manual labour as well as the time required for inventory taking.

“This RFID solution has provided us with a new, cost-efficient tool to grow our business. We’ve achieved a completely new level of transparency and automation in our manufacturing logistics,” says Virginijus Brundza, production manager, SC Freda.

“Furniture manufacturing is a fine example of an industry with a long history and strong traditions. By modernizing production, quality inspection and logistics processes, industry front-runners are able to grow their business despite consumers’ rapidly changing tastes, and achieve a whole new level of cost-efficiency. RFID technology provides the perfect means to navigate industry challenges and ensure competitiveness in the long-term," says Mikko Nikkanen, business development director, RFID, UPM Raflatac.