RFID Case Study: enhancing accuracy in healthcare logistics with RFID-shield technology
In the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, precision and traceability are critical. A global pharmaceutical leader faced significant challenges in managing its orthopedic loaner kit process, where manual operations needed to integrate seamlessly with high-volume, item-level identification. To solve this, Clustag implemented the Massive Plus Station, equipped with RFID-Shield Technology, significantly improving accuracy and operational efficiency.
Challenge
Achieving reliable item-level identification with RAIN RFID is a significant challenge in both automated and manual warehouse environments. External signal interference often results in stray readings, leading to inventory discrepancies, fulfillment errors, and customer dissatisfaction. This issue was particularly critical for a leading pharmaceutical company, a developer and distributor of medical devices and health-related products, which needed to automate and optimize its non-sterile orthopedic loaner kit process. The objective: reduce operational time, improve inventory accuracy, and ensure billing reflected actual hospital consumption.
Solution
To address these challenges, Clustag RFID Solutions developed the Massive Plus Station, a high-performance, stand-alone solution specifically designed for manual operations in non-automated warehouse environments. The device incorporates advanced RFID-Shield Technology, which creates a sealed, interference-resistant environment within the tunnel for parcels and totes. By blocking external RFID signals, the system eliminates stray readings, allowing for maximum antenna power and exceptionally accurate tag detection. For the pharmaceutical application, the solution included:
- Hardware with consulting support from Cisper Electronics, who advised on the use of the Impinj R700 RAIN RFID reader and the Times-7 A5010 SlimLine CP RAIN (UHF) antenna.
- Massive Plus (UHF RFID) capabilities, ensuring high-accuracy tag reading.
- Zentup, Clustag’s proprietary middleware, enabling real-time data capture and seamless integration with ERP, WMS, WES, AGV, and EPCIS platforms.
Zentup powers the station, supporting rapid, large-scale reading of RAIN RFID tags and enabling barcode-based content verification. Designed for high-volume workflows, the system processes up to 550 cartons per hour and reads up to 400 tags per box with a 99.6% accuracy rate. Though actual throughput may vary depending on operator speed, the solution is manually operated.
Crucially, the system detects missing SKUs in returned containers and items consumed by hospitals, automatically incorporating them into the invoice. This ensures accurate billing, full traceability, and greater operational efficiency for pharmaceutical providers.
Implementation:
The project was rolled out over the course of a year and managed by Clustag’s Software Department. It followed a clear, step-by-step approach: collecting data, defining requirements, analyzing and refining the process, then developing and launching the solution. The Massive Plus Station handles box sizes up to 800 x 600 x 450 mm and can be used by either one or two operators. With Zentup integration, all data is synced in real time, giving both operators and managers full visibility and control.
Built for Demanding Healthcare Workflows:
The Massive Plus Station is designed for accuracy, durability, and consistent performance in busy healthcare settings. It supports the full lifecycle of orthopedic loan kits:
- Outbound from warehouse: Kits are scanned before being shipped to hospitals.
- Inbound at hospital: Hospitals scan incoming kits to check contents and update their inventory.
- Return process: Kits are pre-scanned before being sent back.
- Inbound at warehouse: Returned kits are scanned again to find any missing or mistagged items.
The station acts as the first quality checkpoint. It delivers accurate reads and flags any issues so they can be checked manually. In the audit zone, tags can be reprinted on the spot if needed, making sure every item is correctly identified before moving forward. This helps maintain full traceability and billing accuracy, which is especially important for high-value products and regulated environments.
Result
The implementation delivered clear, measurable improvements:
- Return processing time reduced from 5 minutes to just 30 seconds per box
- Read accuracy consistently above 99.96%, even with challenging materials such as metal and mixed products at heathcare industry as well as small pices.
- Real-time visibility across the entire supply chain
- Improved customer service and a significant reduction in invoicing disputes
- Enhanced compliance and robust audit trail capabilities These results demonstrate that RFID systems, when properly engineered, can be a critical enabler of efficient, accurate, and traceable intralogistics processes, even in non-automated environments.
Conclusion
Clustag’s Massive Plus Station, powered by RFID-Shield Technology and Zentup, enables highly accurate, traceable logistics processes in healthcare. With support from Cisper, the solution transformed manual workflows into streamlined, compliant operations with measurable results.
Used Cisper products: