The name Ecosit for the RFID-controlled supply system stands for "ECOnomic Supply In Time". With this system, Böllhoff offers its customers a package of services: from scheduling, procurement, quality inspection and warehousing through to goods distribution to the assembly line. RFID tags are the transport medium for all the data used. As soon as a container has become empty, the next one available takes its place. Depending on the design of the system, the empty container can be placed on an RFID antenna provided for this purpose or the RFID tag can be thrown directly into the RFID box. A plastic container manufactured by Utz is at the center of each step of this process.

Optimized stackability
Four container types are available depending on the transport volume and requirements. Three boxes have the basic dimensions 200 x 150 mm, 300 x 200 mm and 400 x 300 mm with a common height of 147 mm. An additional container with a height of 215.5 mm is only available for the basic size of 400 x 300 mm. For reasons of stability, the container base is equipped with right-angled struts so that the larger container can be stacked on top of two or four smaller containers. This means that a large box can be stacked on top of small containers, which would otherwise only be possible the other way round, whether with or without the optional dust cover. To make access to the container as convenient as possible for the worker, a vertically sliding flap has been designed on one short and one long side, which locks into place seven times. The "sliding flaps" also allow access from several sides and therefore largely free positioning of the boxes on the shelf. A small detail, but a sign that everything has been thought of: The inside edges of the boxes are rounded all round, making it much easier to remove products from the container.

Digital load carriers made of plastic
Böllhoff is developing an intelligent container together with consortium partners as part of a research project in order to be able to uniformly map the entire process within a supply chain across all process participants. This development is based on the new ECOBin and pursues clear objectives: autonomous identification, localization, qualification/disqualification, quantification and employee guidance via optional displays. The processes are controlled centrally on site, i.e. directly in the customer's production facility, via a universal RFID system. This is equipped with a 15-inch monitor and provides direct visual and acoustic feedback for every action taken by the worker. The system can be equipped so that an RFID glove can be connected. This means that each individual container can be recorded on delivery to ensure continuous tracking from preparation at Böllhoff through to production at the customer.