The demand for wine supply chain transparency is an ever-increasing trend. Consumers’ awareness towards the products they purchase and consume is growing and so does the demand for detailed information on the overall process of winemaking. From the grape to the bottle the supply chain has to be comprehensible. In order to accomplish the consumers’ demands, the winemakers are required to find the right solutions to fulfil those challenges. This can be done through the implementation of state-ofthe-art identification technologies: Tracking & Tracing with Kathrein Solutions.
Challenge
Ca’ del Bosco is one of the most modern and advanced cellars in Italy, famous for its exceptional wines. The winery seized the challenge and understood that in order to comply with the new market requirements, there was a need for improved technology application in its own operative flow. As a means to do that, they addressed to Kathrein's italian partner SAIT, a company specialized in highly technological traceability solutions. By working together, a project was defined. The main aim of the devised project was to implement a system able to automatically track and trace the entire production process and the supply chain in order to achieve the global traceability paradigm desired.
Solution
The solution follows specific operations during the winemaking process, starting with registering the vineyards in the system. The winemaker can trace back the varieties of grapes to the original vineyard. Inside the warehouse, loading is simplified by using RAIN RFID tagged pallets which identify and register the tents inside. The RRU 4500 is being used here. This information is sent accordingly to the correct processing operation. These are fundamental attributes that offer support to the customer during the complex process of vinification, for an accurate selection of various musts and types of wines a recipe requires. Depending on the final product, the wines are transferred to different containers, tracked and identified with RAIN RFID labels. During the labelling phase, through serialization, a unique ID is given to the bottle enabling its traceability outside the cellar, through the supply chain and on the market, facilitating the logistics operations.
Result
Thanks to the technological improvements, Ca’ del Bosco winery managed to overcome all the initial challenges and to improve the overall efficiency, accuracy and control in the whole supply chain:
- Streamlining the production process
- Tracing the product in the whole manufacturing process
- Controlling and registering the results of the analysis and quality control checks
- Controlling the grey market
- Protecting the trademark against counterfeits
- Guaranteeing to the customer the credence qualities of each bottle of Ca’ del Bosco wine
The many applications of RAIN RFID technology permit future evolutions and implementations in the wine industry in production and logistics. Also the marketing department can use this modern tracking & tracing method to emphasize a care taking company. Also: NFC tags can be used as a substitute of the already existent QR Code for a more unique customer engagement.
Do you want ore information about RFID tracking and tracing or do you have a question about the RRU 4500 reader unit from Kathrein? Please contact us.
About
Kathrein Solutions GmbH is a German manufacturer of antenna systems and related electronics. They offer AutoID Turnkey Solutions including hardware and software. From the initial proof of concept to the go-live implementation, Kathrein and its integration partners support customers in applications for logistics, industrial automation, healthcare and vehicle identification. From track and trace visualisation to seamless integration of any kind of identification technology - including solutions such as barcode readers, active RFID systems and wide area network technologies.
Used Cisper products:
- Kathrein RRU 4500