Bosch has used RFID-based kanban cards to track containers as a part of its global logistics processes for several years. In 2022, the company decided to review its selection of RFID inlays, searching for the most sustainable options that would meet the latest high standards.

For many years, Bosch has been successfully using RFID-enabled kanban cards in 50 production facilities worldwide to speed up internal logistics processes and improve inventory tracking. The company installed an integrated solution comprising over 14,000 RFID readers at its sites and developed an application that scans the RFID tag embedded in a specific paper kanban card four times throughout the movement cycle. This enables Bosch to track the status of each individual part, and it also allows to document the production path of each part - in case government safety agencies request such information. Currently, approximately 3 million units are used per year.

Three years ago, Bosch started looking for new, more powerful inlay options. The company’s Bosch RFID Center of Competence was tasked with conducting a technology and sustainability assessment for the Kanban project. The focus was on achieving maximum sustainability, innovation, and performance.

Traditional RFID-based kanban cards have a relatively short lifespan of a few days or even hours. They are mainly made of paper and contain an RFID inlay that uses PET (plastic) as a substrate. The challenge with this variant is that, while paper can be easily recycled, the plastic material must be separated out during the recycling process to ensure the product remains as sustainable as possible.

Therefore, one of the requirements for a suitable product was to find a paper-based RFID inlay that could be recycled using standard paper processes without the need for additional steps to separate plastic and paper, while guaranteeing the same performance and reliability as PET-based inlays.

The Bosch RFID Center of Competence sought a suitable alternative that would meet the company’s comprehensive requirements. In terms of sustainability, it was important that a high proportion of the paper used for the RFID inlays could be recycled in the normal paper cycle stream. Frohne Druck and Tageos joined forces to support Bosch in its search for the most powerful RFID product that would meet all requirements.

The EOS-500 U9 Zero™ Max inlay combines minimized ecological impact with robust performance on materials with varying dielectric loads. Like all members of the EOS Zero™ Max product line—and unlike some competing products—it is 100% plastic-free. Additionally, the highly sustainable RAIN RFID inlay is based on FSC®-certified paper, offers superior global read ranges, and is suitable for inventory visibility and other applications in industrial manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain management. Tageos’ EOS-500 U9 Zero Max uses NXP® Semiconductor’s UCODE 9 IC, which is an ideal fit for inventory management applications and enables long read distance and fast inventory of dense RFID tag populations. The chip also features 96-bit EPC; kill password; EPC and kill password permalock; self-adjusting impedance; and memory integrity safeguards.