Enterprises in the transportation and logistics industry around the globe are looking at viable ways to maximize their supply chain efficiency to sustain profitability. However rising labour and fuel costs, changing regulations, increasing demand for faster deliveries, etc, make operations challenging in the supply chain. Despite these increasingly challenging situations, maintaining visibility of assets can help supply chain managers to operate more efficiently and proactively.
Today, advancements in technology have made the visibility of assets in the transportation and logistics industry more accessible with the help of technological tools like Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
What is Real-Time Location System (RTLS)?
Maintaining visibility of assets and obtaining access to real-time data is vital for enterprises to ensure improved operational efficiency and performance. RTLS makes it possible for companies to know the precise location of their critical assets in real-time both indoors and outdoors thus enabling them to minimize inefficiencies that are caused by lack of visibility. RTLS offers visibility into personnel, machinery, products and equipment thus eliminating time-consuming manual searches and audits and facilitating more effective, timely decisions and quicker detection of issues.
RTLS relies on various technologies which include IR, RFID, camera vision, ultrasound, WIFI, etc, to detect the geo-location of the object, be it an item, person, equipment or vehicle. Various RTLS solutions are available to meet the requirements of different applications.
The main components of the RTLS include the following:
Tags
Tags are attached to the device or asset. Each tag transmits its own unique identification. Various sensors can be incorporated in tags to gain more information about the tagged asset.
Anchor/Location Sensors
Three in number, anchors are the static readers which help in detecting the three coordinates of the asset. It receives wireless signals from tags to determine where the assets are located.
Software
The real-time location and status information of tracked assets transmitted by the tags to the anchors are then conveyed to the software for further processing and display to the end-user in a visual format.
How does RTLS help the transportation and logistics industry?
- Provides the real-time location of critical assets both indoors and outdoors unlike GPS which can only show
- outdoor locations of objects
- Enables intelligent management and flow of all assets
- Ensures the right assets are at the right place at the right time
- Helps to monitor sensitive shipments which enable faster intervention if there are any requirements
- Increases efficiency and accuracy of operations
- Minimizes search time for misplaced assets
- Faster recovery of lost assets
- Enables improved customer order fulfilment leading to enhanced customer satisfaction
- Helpful in tracking inbound and outbound cargo
- Enables precision tracking of inventory in warehouses
- Helpful in tracking and managing vehicles and vessel movements
Inability to view the location of critical assets in real-time can hinder the productivity and efficiency of supply chain and logistics activities. By using RTLS solutions, companies can gain knowledge of the exact location of their assets in real-time. However successful RTLS deployment lies in choosing the right RTLS option/solution for the applications and the right service provider to gain optimal benefits.
At Alsi Oman, we provide RTLS solutions that meet the specific application requirements of your company. Our RTLS solutions are designed to solve both your indoor and outdoor critical assets tracking problems thus helping to streamline operations, minimize risks and create new levels of customer satisfaction.
Contact us today to know more about our RTLS options and solutions
