RFID Integrated with SAP System at Azucarera Ebro in Spain

The Spanish sugar giant Azucarera Ebro Guadalete has successfully completed the rollout of the pilot phase of a project based on RFID technology at their sugar refinery in Jerez, Spain.  The system, supplied by Zetes, is integrated with SAP and improves external product traceability by making it possible to control outgoing lorries loaded with the finished product. 

Part of the British Sugar group since May 2009, Azucarera Ebro is Spain’s biggest sugar producer and the world’s second largest sugar group. The company has already worked with Zetes to improve warehouse management within its refineries by automating logistical processes (inflow of the raw material and outflow of the finished product) at its Guadalete refinery. The two objectives of this latest project are to reduce errors and boost productivity.

Given that the project required remote identification and a design that would allow the future control of internal traffic within the refinery, Zetes’ consultants recommended deploying an automatic identification system via active RFID.  Another requirement of the solution was full integration with SAP, Azucarera Ebro’s existing business management system. It was also necessary for the system to interact with existing systems, including the management of barrier and traffic light signals, industrial weighing systems and the verification of weights.

The recently deployed pilot phase controls the outflow of the finished product. The solution was installed in just two weeks, including the on-site training of the users. The second phase of the project, which is now ready for deployment, will see the installation of the solution that controls the inflow of the raw material. RFID will make it possible, in this case, to rapidly ascertain and record the origin of raw materials and total weight at unloading. When this second phase is finalised, Azucarera Ebro will have an optimal traceability of its entire logistical chain.