RFID Supply Chain Management System for Naval Logistics

摘要

The U.S. Navy is charged with the responsibility of providing a strategic Maritime Pre-positioning Force (MPF). To accomplish this objective the supply chain management system must be designed to allow for real-time accountability, Total Asset Visibility (TAV), rapid deployment and In-Transit Visibility (ITV). The proposed solution consists of a functioning Dynamic Smart Manifest (DSM) embodied in the structure of a Dynamic Smart Box (DSB). A middle- ware called Inteliware interfaces with the RFID components and computers in the DSB and inputs the requisite data into the Dynamic Smart Manifest. The DSB will be housed in a twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) which is the Navy's standard shipping container. The TEU will be outfitted with a system of open sourced RFID readers and antennae designed to read the tagged pallets and items that enter or exit the container. A nested architecture of passive/active tags and nested frequencies will create an aggregate inventory of the TEU's content. The ability to track and update inventory as pallets/containers are reconfigured will be demonstrated. The automation of the process of preparing the pallet/container data will result in the DSM, that will in real time provide the ability to sense and respond, count, record, identify, track and locate items, cartons, pallets and containers.