Traceability remains a major challenge for wine, champagne and spirit brands.
To guarantee the visibility of its products, from manufacturing to distribution, Charles Heidsieck has called on the expertise of Checkpoint Systems to deploy a complete RFID traceability solution: an RFID tunnel reader, RFID inlays, and software for controlling and integrating product data.
The implementation of this new solution, called BottleID™, is particularly suitable for the beverage and perfumery sectors.
Checkpoint Systems has overcome the constraints of liquid environments by developing an RFID inlay specially designed to provide optimal performance in the presence of liquids.
Traceability And Monitoring Of Distribution Channels
Specifically, a back label – supplied by Imprimerie Billet, in Damery (Marne), and containing an RFID inlay – is placed on the back of each bottle during the production process.
The bottles then go through Checkpoint Systems’ RFID tunnel reader, which guarantees an ultra-fast bottle/carton association rate, without ever slowing down production rates.
The shipment of the products is traced precisely, so that the origin and destination of the bottles can be checked upon receipt at the various delivery points.
All this traceability data is compiled, secured and returned in the form of dashboards by the company Wine in Block, a specialist in blockchain for wines, champagnes and spirits.
Damien Riegel, production manager at Champagne Charles Heidsieck, explained by saying, “The decision to implement RFID came in response to a twofold challenge: firstly, to make the information we share on our products more precise; and, secondly, to allow more accurate monitoring of the circulation of our bottles.”
Julien Thibult, director of RFID Sales and Source Protection at Checkpoint Systems France, added, “The brand now has the ability to track all of its bottles in its distribution networks and has considerably optimised the control of its flows and its brand image.
“In addition to enabling wine, champagne and spirits brands to oversee, optimise and improve their operations, it is a key first step towards digitising the bottle by bringing more product information to consumers.”
This article was written in partnership with Checkpoint Systems.
