Automotive supply chain is the core automotive business, from all levels of suppliers, logistics service providers, manufacturers, vendors and network of auto repair factory, ranging from raw materials to the consumer and the process of moving all the goods, such as raw materials procurement, inventory management, assembly, order processing, sales, product transport and storage and so on. In the automotive supply chain, suppliers of raw materials for automotive assembly, parts and components, logistics service providers through the entire supply chain, transport and storage and many other services, OEM manufacturers will focus on the manufacture of the consumer to buy a car on car dealers, spare parts, and such loans and insurance, such additional products, auto repair factory to provide maintenance and repair services.
RFID technology and automotive supply chain
Automotive supply chain is the core automotive business, from all levels of suppliers, logistics service providers, manufacturers, vendors and network of auto repair factory, ranging from raw materials to the consumer and the process of moving all the goods, such as raw materials procurement, inventory management, assembly, order processing, sales, product transport and storage and so on. In the automotive supply chain, suppliers of raw materials for automotive assembly, parts and components, logistics service providers through the entire supply chain, transport and storage and many other services, OEM manufacturers will focus on the manufacture of the consumer to buy a car on car dealers, spare parts, and such loans and insurance, such additional products, auto repair factory to provide maintenance and repair services.
Because there are thousands of car component parts, if you want to improve supply chain efficiency, we must achieve collaborative forecasting, planning and replenishment (CFPR) method, then each point of the supply chain information on the exact inventory is needed . This requires the use of computer, communications and network technology to manage a large automotive supply chain, logistics, business flow, information flow, capital flow, supply chain members to ensure timely and effective access to demand information and timely response, to achieve production, supply and marketing relationship coordination to meet customer needs.
Although compared with other industries, the automotive supply chain theory can be well organized, but the supply chain visibility and information accuracy is still far from perfect. In recent years, car manufacturers in the supply chain management system, they spent a lot of IT budgets in order to achieve a transparent and flexible supply chain. RFID technology to track materials and products on the role of automotive supply chain will have a positive impact, market research report is expected to promote RFID automotive industry will be the development of three major industries. RFID technology in the automotive supply chain, including the body will recognize and track management, parts management and fixed asset tracking, vehicle logistics management.
RFID in Supply Chain Management
1. Vehicle production in the body tracking identification
Body Identification System (AVI) mainly refers to the various production lines in the automotive real-time production data collection, quality control data and other information, sent to materials management, production scheduling, quality assurance and other relevant departments, to better achieve the supply of raw materials , production scheduling, sales and service, quality monitoring and vehicle tracking and other functions of life-long quality. RFID technology in the former, the information stored in the main body is bar code, bar code recognition method has the advantage of flexible configuration, lower system cost. However, as the body of information are stored in the PLC or the PMC database, so the network communication speed, reliability, demanding, require high-performance PLC, a large capacity and high speed of the PMC database host.
Use of RFID system, RFID tags are generally placed on containing the body of the skid on the run from start to finish with the workpiece, forming a moving lorry body of data, as in the whole production process in the database to carry "smart body" . According to technology and production management needs, painting workshop at the entrance of the bifurcation of the workpiece Logistics Department, the important processes (such as painting rooms, drying rooms, storage areas, etc.) at the entrance to set the read / write device. Read / write stations mainly by the workpiece position detection switch, tag read / write device, communication interface module and the composition of human-machine interface. The basic process is: the body in place detection switch detects the signal, the read / write device start automatically installed in the skid to read the label on the stored data, and data sent to the PLC, also showed the man-machine interface; Upload to the workshop through the production of PLC control system for further processing and PMC operations, enabling the whole plant parts tracking and logistics, manufacturing process control.
RFID technology used in the production line, without all the read / write devices are installed and the main database communication, so the failure of communication with the primary database will not lead to the production of the stop. Through the station, the data can be written to the tag, so, RFID in the body identification system is also increasing.
North American Ford and the engine production line of modern Beijing are applied RFID technology, the former from 1995 has begun. Ford purchased more than 10,000 tags, of which about 150 dollars each. Tags are placed in the tray containing the engine, the assembly began, the engine was on the tray, a serial number is written to the tag. When the engine moved along different assembly operations, its manufacturing information to be written into. RFID tags can help track the time for each operation and data quality control data collection and assembly of the engine produces a specific record. When complete all the procedures, the tray through the last reader, will send all the information on the assembly to the manufacturer's database. This label in the engine production line to achieve the recycling.
Toyota Motor Corporation began in 2001, many factories in its global use of RFID technology to track paint body shop. Toyota is the application of EMS in the tag and reader, the label that has the 13.56MHz Philips chip. Toyota purchased a total of about 20,000 tags, the average price of 85 dollars each. As the painting to be completed by the robot, the robot needs to know the right color, but also come to identify the body spray's path, this Toyota vehicle RFID tags are attached. Models, number, color and body style of painting was to write tags. When the tray after reader when the reader by scanning labels have all the necessary information on the body, to remind the style of the robot body with spray color. After spraying station, the body was put up the oven, the time label to face high temperature conditions which labels have to have special protective layer, thus greatly increasing the cost of the tag.
The information collected by RFID and the associated manufacturing information management systems can support a range of business management. For example, GM-Wuling Automobile Company uses Rockwell Automation's ControlLogix control systems and IBM's ABI automobile manufacturing information system application software platform.
ControlLogix control system by controlling the shop floor in the scanning and identification equipment, real-time mobile information gathering body. This information will be sent to the ABI real-time applications, relational databases, RFID data acquisition system with a combination of upper management application greatly improves production management and logistics management efficiency and level.
2. Spare parts management and asset tracking
Formed by the large number of parts cars, parts and components tracking management can do to improve logistics management and quality management. Now the parts tracking mainly through two ways, one label in parts itself, known as hard links. A typical example is the tracking and managing RFID for tires, which generally have high-value components, safety requirements and likely confusion between the characteristics of components, can use RFID to identify and track parts. Second, the label on the packaging or delivery of parts shelves. The latter can reduce the cost of RFID use. But the need to have RFID labeling containers and container parts in the link between the database, this method is called soft-link or soft-tracking.
For parts management ideas and methods can be applied to fixed assets management, such as container or with a variety of materials, to reduce the container misplaced or lost the case. It is estimated that in Germany, the automotive industry used in logistics applications used in the logistics aspects of reusable plastic containers is estimated to reach 60 million units of the number.
3. Vehicle Logistics Management
Written in the RFID tag in the vehicle intelligent electronic labels, can achieve vehicle logistics information management, to help solve vehicle production, inventory management and sales management problems. Vehicle identification number (VIN) identification of vehicle circulation, the identification number can be written to embedded RFID tags in a car, the realization of auto electronic digital license management. Intelligent vehicle by reading the electronic tags to store information, vehicle information greatly improved the accuracy and efficiency to solve the automotive after-sales service, product tracking, quality tracking and other issues.
It is understood that the Chinese heavy truck Technology Development Motor Company vehicles Intelligent electronic tag contains the order number of the vehicle, chassis number, internal vehicle model, certificate number, certificate of vehicle models, VIN number, engine number, manufacture date, warranty 9 card number and other important information. It is not only fully compatible with the early development of materials technology department bar code management system, but also with the production management system, vehicle quality and file management systems, vehicle inventory management system, after-sales service, "Link" and global positioning systems, GPS systems and support each other , data sharing, realized in vehicle production, quality inspection, the storage, maintenance, service document a series of links of information management. China National Heavy Duty Motor vehicles used by the smart tag system operation is simple, just by hand using a wireless handheld communication device, the vehicle-related scan, while scanning the information sent to the vehicle logistics management system, database server that is complete.
VW uses active RFID tag technology system to help manage the car parked in a car factory. RFID tags embedded in a plastic body, generally linked to the car rearview mirror, you can store 32 kilobytes of data. By using this system, the public company significantly changed the delivery speed of about 4-fold increase efficiency, simplify the public the company's delivery process, will be parking space available increased by 20%. In less than a year, because of saving labor costs and improve productivity, the basic income plus the RFID investment.
RFID technology can improve customer service levels. In China, Guangzhou Honda, BMW and other auto company in Shenyang is also trying through the application of RFID technology for vehicle identification. When the user enters the car repair shop, or to the 4S shop, through the reader can be stored in a vehicle headed the information, maintenance records and so on. The system application can also be made to grasp quickly the car factory car use in the market, in product development and service management are of great significance.
4. In the automotive supply chain, the whole application process
RFID technology is a breakthrough plant constraints to the entire process in the automotive supply chain, the application, Toyota is planning to build such a vehicle tracking system the entire process of the supply chain. In the first stage through the repeated use of the label in the assembly plant to monitor the vehicle, to the second stage, they used paper RFID labels can be discarded, used to track components and vehicles, and in its Distribution Center for the vehicle tracking management. The third stage, Toyota is planning to RFID for retail, RFID will be permanently retained in the car, and get to use throughout the life cycle, RFID on the information will include customer information, as well as the original production data.
In addition, RFID can be used as components of anti-counterfeit labels, such as tires, engine, airbags, drive shafts and other components on the implantation of electronic tags, to use its encryption and automatic recognition, distinguish counterfeit parts, consumer protection legitimate rights and interests. We also try to use the RFID Management cylinder vehicle compressed natural gas vehicles will be RFID tags attached to the cylinder, the label manufacturer to store the gas cylinder, gas cylinder time, inflated the number of such information, monitor the use of gas bottles, in time to recover expired gas cylinders, reducing the use of part of the potential hazard.