Returnable transport items (RTIs) are key elements for enabling a smooth flow of goods throughout supply chains. Despite their importance, RTIs can be prone to high loss and breakage rates. Today's RTI management processes are rather inefficient and are based on estimates about when, where and how RTIs are utilised. This limited visibility inevitably causes the involved parties to feel less responsible for the proper management of RTIs. As a consequence, inefficiencies created by a single party can result in a significant cost burden for the whole supply chain. The goal of this paper is therefore to explore the impact of increased asset visibility on the RTI management process. We describe a solution based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and quantify its financial impact from each individual stakeholder's perspective. Our findings suggest that RFID can provide a powerful means to counter inefficiencies in the RTI management process and improve the overall effectiveness of the RTI supply chain network.
The Quincy experiment is in the seventh of its tenyear program. It is concerned with a cross section of all youth in a small, midwestern city in Illinois and is attempting to prevent maladjustment and develop special talents of children.While not being specifically centered on delinquency, it does offer a picture of what the delinquent is like in this setting. Typically, he is a child of lower ability and lower economic status who has a difficult home situation, who finds school equally frustrating, and who has little contact with other community agencies. He usually leaves school as soon as legally possible and is unsuccessful in the work world. The first procedures tried by the Project to meet the needs of delinquent children had only moderate success. Later, a special program was developed to determine whether the school years could be made a profitable rather than a defeating experience for them. This study is still in progress. Findings to date suggest that at the junior high school level the interests, attitudes, and aggressive behavior of these children are more likely to be favorably influenced than are their academic achievement or personality patterns. There is a hint that similar programs instituted in the earlier grades might be effective in the latter two areas also.
This paper presents a case study on the research and development of an RFID-based work-inprogress container tracking system at a confectionery manufacturer. We report on the management of the RFID project, the system design and the economic evaluation of the solution as compared to the situation before implementing RFID. We discuss the case from a practitioner's view as well as from an academic view regarding the theoretical implications that can be drawn from it. The lessons learned from the project can help other companies to better anticipate the challenges they may experience and make them aware of the possible ways to cope with such challenges prior to starting an RFID implementation.
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