Gojek launch 1.5 Million Helmets with built-in RFID tags

Since launching RFID solutions to manage contractors’ helmets and jackets, Indonesia’s digital multiservice platform Gojek has produced 1.5 million products with built-in UHF RFID tags. These labeled jackets and helmets enable full process tracking from production, distribution to sales to contractors.

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In this way, Gojek said it reduces the man-hours required to manage the supply chain while ensuring that the right products are sold to contractors. The company can also use RFID data to keep track of every item purchased by consumers to alert them when repairs are due. The solution, provided by system integrator Zulu, includes an app for managing merchandise, equipped with RFID hardware from Confidex UHF RFID tags.

Gojek’s business is distributed throughout Southeast Asia. In 2010, it launched a ride-hailing service similar to Uber in the United States, but called motorcycles. The name “Gojek” is derived from the Indonesian “ojek” which means “taxi”. Five years later, the company expanded to three services: GoRide (for carpooling), GoSend (for courier), and GoMart (for shopping assistance). At present, Gojek has a market value of about $ 10 billion and provides so-called “super-apps”-including more than 20 services from motorcycles to house cleaning, car washing and massage.

As of 2018, Gojek has 1 million drivers and 30,000 personal service professionals. Customers can use APP to call official drivers, or easily identify each driver on urban and rural streets through Gojek brand helmets and coats. The company has strict requirements that every contractor must wear such equipment, and these equipment must be suitable for everyone to wear and operate well to properly maintain the brand image. Each rider must also provide passengers with a Gojek helmet.

Putting millions of products into the hands of drivers and service providers is a challenge. The personal gear was produced at a Chinese factory and sent to major distribution centers in Jakarta, and then to distributed distribution centers throughout Southeast Asia, where contractors could then purchase them. Without an RFID-based solution, it can be time-consuming to count each box of goods received by the distribution center-because each carton contains 50 jackets, you need to scan the bar codes of these boxes and confirm that the product is re-sent Specify the style and size of the destination. This can take 15 minutes or more.

In order to save statistical time and reduce the error rate, Gojek began to cooperate with Zulu to provide wearable technology. Zulu designed a system that uses RFID tags built into factory items. The tags can be read by a handheld reader, and Zulu’s app allows individuals to use smartphones to view data about items. Confidex’s Carrier tag is sewn into the jacket, while Crosswave tags are built into the helmet. “Gojek needs to track the entire product from manufacturing to distribution,” said Edward Lu, Confidex’s Asia-Pacific sales director. RFID tags can track every product from the production floor in China to the sales of goods to the contractor.

Last year, Zulu started working with Confidex on Gojek’s solution. During the production of the product, the unique ID number of the RFID tag and the product details will be stored together in Zulu’s APP, which is integrated with Gojek’s own APP. The next shipment will be delivered to the Jakarta distribution centre in Gojek. After receiving the goods, the warehouse staff can obtain the label data of each carton using a handheld RFID reader without opening the carton. This information is captured in the Zulu APP, which updates the instructions to show details of which items have been received.

In the past, manual inspection and distribution of cartons required a clipboard and 15 minutes of manual labor time; but now, workers can complete the work with a handheld reader without opening the box, the entire process takes only 3 seconds. Since jackets and helmets were ordered for a local distribution center, these items can be read again with a handheld reader to confirm what was shipped.

Locally, staffers are equipped with handheld readers, and they can also capture unique ID numbers that are encoded on each tag, allowing them to view the inventory available on-site to avoid stock-outs. Because Gojek creates a record of the product’s sales information, time, and contractor, the company can send reminders to cyclists when helmets need maintenance inspections. This data can be sent through the Gojek APP that contractors use to manage their work.

Initially, the solution was targeted at supply chain management to ensure that helmets and jackets were available at every distribution point in urban and rural stores. But in the long run, even if the product has been purchased, Gojek can still use the built-in RFID tag to track the product. Since the system was put into use, approximately 1.5 million items have been labeled during the production process, and more than 2 million items are expected to be labeled each year.

The solution poses a challenge for label supplier Confidex to provide an RFID tag that provides reliable performance on helmets and jackets regardless of exposure to the environment. Lu said the helmet uses a Confidex Crosswave tag. “For RFID, this is a very harsh environment, because the helmet itself has a variety of materials, so the performance of the tag is very important. This is the highlight of Confidex, that the dual antenna is also very active in harsh environments.

Lu said the initial benefit provided by Gojek was a fast and efficient supply chain, thanks to a more efficient registration and checkout process. “The right size for the right person,” he said. In addition, he noted that fit, clean, well-maintained helmets and jackets are important to the brand’s image.

In the next deployment phase, Gojek intends to begin labeling food transport containers. Customers can now order food using the Gojek app. As a result, contractors are serving meals to customers in reusable containers lined with aluminum. Confidex is currently designing a special label for this application, which works well on metal foil bags. In the long run, this technology can be used to track cleaning equipment and other assets used by contractors.

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