Nissan Selects WhereNet’s Locatable, Active RFID System to Automate Inbound Supply Chain and Outbound Delivery Chain

Tuesday November 28, 6:00 am ET

WhereNet System Will Track and Manage Assets Across Four-Million Square Foot Assembly Plant, Helping One of the Most Efficient Vehicle Manufacturers in North America Improve Production Throughput, Labor Productivity, and Vehicle Quality

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 28 /PRNewswire/ – WhereNet Corp., the leader of wireless solutions for tracking and managing enterprise assets, announced today that Nissan North America, Inc. is deploying the standards-based WhereNet® active RFID, real-time locating system (RTLS) technology to help automate its inbound supply chain and outbound delivery chain. As part of a continuous improvement initiative at its four-million square foot assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi, Nissan will leverage a single wireless architecture to run multiple WhereNet applications, including the WhereSoft(TM) Yard Management System (YMS) and Vehicle Tracking and Management System (VTMS), to improve production velocity and throughput, labor productivity, and vehicle quality.

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Nissan’s Canton assembly plant has the capacity to produce 400,000 vehicles per year, including the Altima sedan, Armada full-size sport utility vehicle, Infiniti QX56 full-size sport utility vehicle, Quest minivan, and Titan full-size pickup truck.

“Amidst soaring demand and several new model introductions each year, the WhereNet system gives Nissan the agility to manage its inbound supply chain on a just-in-time basis to support flexible manufacturing processes. In addition, WhereNet assists on the outbound side by automating predelivery processes to bring more new vehicles to the marketplace faster,” said Chantal Polsonetti, vice president of manufacturing advisory services for ARC Advisory Group.

Locatable Active RFID Drives New Efficiency for Nissan

Deploying the WhereNet single wireless infrastructure over the entire Canton complex will take less than 90 days. The hardware consists of 1500 active RFID WhereTag(TM) transmitters, which are temporarily attached to new vehicles as they roll off the assembly line as part of the WhereNet VTMS system; 700 WhereTag transmitters that are permanently fixed to trailers belonging to Nissan’s dedicated suppliers or temporarily attached to others as part of the WhereSoft YMS application; 120 WherePort(TM) magnetic “exciters” positioned between gates and at key choke points across the complex; and a local infrastructure of 80 wireless WhereLAN(TM) locating access points.

Orchestrating Yard Moves Without a Maestro

Nissan also plans to deploy the WhereNet automated gate check-in/out solution known as Fast Gate that supports 24x7 sequenced parts deliveries from Nissan suppliers. Fast Gate senses when a truck is approaching the gate; cross-references detailed information about the truck in a database; and, if authorized, automatically opens the gate to grant entry. Then, based on business rules loaded into the WhereSoft yard management application, the system instructs drivers and yard personnel to deliver the inbound load to the appropriate dock door for just-in-time sequencing of parts based on the assembly line build plan for that work shift.

By automating the check-in/out procedures for the hundreds of daily truckloads and thousands of components arriving at the assembly facility every day, the WhereNet system saves Nissan several hours a day processing deliveries; provides higher velocity and throughput in the yard; and increases flexibility in manufacturing through better utilization of equipment, facilities and labor.