Application Analysis of RFID in Cold Chain Logistics of Fresh Food

The development of RFID provides an opportunity for the operation of fresh food cold chain logistics. This paper briefly analyzes the problems existing in the cold chain logistics of fresh food in China, and the superiority of RFID technology in the cold chain logistics of fresh food. Based on this, the application design pattern of RFID in the sales of fresh food in supermarkets is proposed.

Due to the rise of the chain distribution system, the transformation of food circulation patterns, the refinement of professional division of labor and the gradual popularization and maturity of low-temperature foods have caused the cold chain logistics to heat up rapidly and become the focus of attention.

Cold chain logistics generally refers to a systematic project in which the frozen and frozen foods are always in the prescribed low temperature environment during production, storage, transportation and sales to ensure the quality of food and reduce food loss. It is established with the advancement of science and technology and the development of refrigeration technology. It is a low-temperature logistics process based on refrigeration technology and using refrigeration technology as a means. However, at this stage, China still lacks effective management methods for cold chain logistics. The original monitoring technology is lagging behind is the biggest technical bottleneck.

As a new type of automatic identification technology, RFID technology has gradually become an indispensable technical tool and means for enterprises to improve the management level of cold chain logistics, reduce costs, realize enterprise management informationization, and especially enhance the core competitiveness of logistics enterprises.

I. Problems in the cold chain logistics of fresh food in China

1. A complete cold chain logistics system has not yet been formed

At present, most of the fresh product logistics in China is mainly in the form of normal temperature logistics or natural logistics, and there is no continuous chain forming cold chain logistics. The non-refrigerated bulk fresh product logistics increases the chance of secondary pollution in the multiple handling of transportation, distribution and retail, reducing the freshness of the product and reducing the quality of the product.

2. Low degree of marketization, lack of professional operation

The logistics distribution business of fresh products in China's chain enterprises is mostly completed by manufacturers and distributors. The development of third-party logistics of food cold chain is lagging behind, and the service network and information system are not perfect enough, which greatly affects the quality and accuracy of food logistics. And timeliness, while the cost of food cold chain and the loss of goods are high.

3. Fresh food logistics facilities are backward, distribution costs

The existing facilities and equipment of China's cold chain logistics are outdated, the development and distribution are not balanced, and it is impossible to provide low temperature guarantee for the perishable food circulation system, resulting in a large loss, high logistics costs, and potential safety hazards. There are not enough local facilities for users, and the whole process temperature control of cold chain logistics cannot be guaranteed, and the quality of goods is difficult to guarantee.

Second, the superiority of RFID technology in the application of fresh food cold chain logistics

1. Track cold chain logistics and increase the transparency of cold chain management of fresh food

The core of RFID technology is the EPC (Product Electronic Code) on the label. Since EPC provides unique identification of physical objects, EPC can realize the logistics tracking of goods on the entire cold chain, and the RFID temperature label can also provide temperature. Monitoring ensures the quality and safety of the goods in the cold chain logistics. After applying RFID technology, fresh food starts from production, and its entire flow process in the supply chain is tracked in a timely and accurate manner to achieve transparency.

2. Simplify the operation process and improve the efficiency of fresh food logistics

The characteristics of fresh foods should be as simple as possible and shorten the operation time. Therefore, the RFID tag is attached to the fresh food tray and the packaging box, and the reader is installed at the exit/entry of the distribution center, without manual operation, and can meet the information scanning requirements of the forklift truck when the goods are moved out/into the warehouse. Moreover, multiple tags can be recognized at one time and dynamically. This greatly saves the working time of the outbound/inbound storage and improves the work efficiency.

In addition, when the customer makes the final payment, simply push the selected goods through the RFID reader, you can directly see the amount of money you spend on the computer screen, instead of spending a long time waiting for the cashier to use the scanner. Pay for each item after scanning the item one by one. This saves consumers time and increases the productivity of retailers.

3. Reduce corporate management costs and increase market sales opportunities

RFID applied to fresh food inventory management can reduce manual audit work, but can ensure the safety of stored goods quality and reduce management costs. For retailers, when the automatic replenishment system shows that replenishment is required, it can immediately place an order with the upstream company, and ensure the safe and timely arrival of the required goods through practical RFID solutions and RFID technology, so that there will be no short or And the phenomenon of out of stock has also improved the quality of customer service, increased sales opportunities, and increased revenue.

Third, the application design of RFID in the supermarket fresh food sales link

1. The refrigerated truck at the distribution center arrives at the designated delivery point of the supermarket on time and removes the goods. Supermarket staff use a handheld RFID reader to read all cargo information at once, confirming that the cargo information is consistent with the order. If the information is consistent, update the relevant data in the retailer's sales system.

2. The supermarket staff immediately pushed the goods into the supermarket and sold them on the shelves. Frozen foods are put on the shelves in time to ensure that there will be no “out of stock” or “out of stock” phenomenon in supermarkets to meet consumer demand and retailers' sales needs.

3. The supermarket installs an RFID reader above the freezer in which the frozen food is placed. The reading range of the reader can be radiated to the area where the whole frozen food is placed. The freezer can use the reader to automatically retrieve the information in the RFID tag on each product package to automatically identify the newly added item. At the same time, the RFID reader on the freezer can read the temperature information of the freezer in real time and feed it back to the supermarket management center in time to ensure that the temperature of the freezer is within a certain range to ensure the freshness of the fresh food.

4. The customer takes a certain amount of goods from the freezer, the RFID reader can automatically obtain the relevant information of the taken goods, and promptly send information to the supermarket's automatic replenishment system.

5. Customer payment. The outer packaging of the frozen food is affixed with an RFID tag. When the customer pushes the shopping cart through the door with the RFID reader, the reader can recognize the type, quantity, amount and other information of the product in the shopping cart at one time, and the computer displays The screen will display the total amount of customer spending, and then the customer pays to leave.

6. When the customer has finished the purchase, the supermarket's sales system will automatically update immediately, and the sales information and sales will be recorded.