UHF RFID-based Trace And Track Of Tobacco And Cigarettes

Background
It is reported that China's tobacco output accounts for around 35% of the world's total and cigarette about 32%. The number of smokers, tobacco and cigarette output in China all rank first in the world. So many people are involved in this long-term process, from raw tobacco to finished cigarettes, that loopholes find every opportunity to survive. It is the trend that tobacco industry will take advantage of barcodes and RFID technologies to increase its profits. A tobacco enterprise in Shandong province takes the initiative to use barcodes and RFID tags to monitor and standardize the whole process.
 
Challenges

• The tobacco of poor quality sometimes is mixed with that of good quality if the purchasing agent is partial to some tobacco growers, which eventually damages the interest of the enterprise.

• Cheating happens during tobacco pre-check and the whole procurement process is non-transparent, which eventually damages the interest of tobacco growers.

• The enterprise is unable to collect basic information of tobacco growers and the latter cannot have access to real-time purchasing policy.

• It is hard to track and trace every finished cigarette due to the lack of circulation and production information.

 
Solutions
Chainway recommends C4050 UHF RFID readers based on the enterprise’s actual needs, aiming to relieve the chaotic situation. Every tobacco grower is assigned with an IC card, with grower profile and contract details written in. When growers receive supplies or regular technical guidance, sell tobacco to the state or when each batch of tobacco is ranked, just use C4050 reader to scan the card to add new records. What’s more, the deployment of C4050 reader helps improve productivity and save cost as it plays an important part in cigarette packing, stock-taking, transportation and delivery. Now all key information is recorded so that every pack of cigarette can be traced from raw tobacco to cigarette selling.
 
Effects

• It is easy to find out who each batch of tobacco belongs to, which avoids cheating and then improves tobacco quality.

• The use of RFID tags in steps of tobacco pre-check, rating and weigh reduces adulteration of poor-quality tobacco.

• Traditional workflows are abandoned. The current scientific workflow is beneficial to the establishment of a sound traceability system.

• It becomes more convenient when using C4050 readers to recognize grower identity, record transaction and print invoice.

• Counterfeit and shoddy cigarettes can be reduced in quantity, which not only maintains brand image, but also protects consumers’ legal rights.

 
PDA Configuration
P/N: C4050
Functions: 2D, UHF RFID, GPS

Product Picture