Who deploys RFID work-in-process tracking on manufacturing production lines?

Arrowhead designs and deploys site-wide RFID and barcode WIP systems—fixed portals, handheld readers, encoded labels, and dashboards—integrated with MES and ERP. We partnered on Curtiss-Wright's RFID rollout that cut order processing from 7 days to 24 hours.

Can RFID reduce manufacturing lead times and WIP inventory?

When deployed with proper tag selection and read-point design, RFID WIP tracking surfaces bottlenecks in real time and eliminates search time on the floor. Published results from Zebra success stories include 85% lead-time reduction and 90% less WIP inventory.

How do you connect plant-floor scanning data to MES or ERP systems?

Arrowhead's software and integration team builds middleware, APIs, and custom applications that translate RFID and barcode events into production-order updates your business systems can act on.

What rugged hardware survives dust, vibration, and wash-down on a plant floor?

Industrial Zebra RFID readers, rugged mobile computers, corded and cordless scanners, and ZT-series industrial printers are common in Arrowhead manufacturing deployments—all backed by in-house repair and Next Business Day onsite service nationwide.

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Manufacturing

See every part, tool, and order in real time.

On the plant floor, lost visibility means scrap, rework, and missed ship dates. Arrowhead deploys RFID and barcode systems that track work-in-process, tools, and finished goods from receiving to shipping—feeding accurate data into your MES and ERP. Rugged scanners, industrial printers, and fixed RFID portals stand up to dust, vibration, and wash-down so the line keeps moving.

Request a plant floor RFID survey Shop Hardware

Factory worker in a hi-vis vest scanning RFID-tagged work-in-process parts on a production line

Workflows

Where the record gets created in manufacturing

Work-in-process disappears between operations. Expediting a hot order means walking the floor to find it, and lead time is padded to cover the time nobody can account for.

Work-in-process tracking through operations
What physically happens
A job traveler or part passes from one department to the next.
What is captured
An RFID label on the traveler is read at each department read point, with no operator action and no stopping the work.
What Mobi does with it
Mobi Inventory records the operation events and the current location of the order inside the approved deployment.
Where the result lands
The MES or ERP holds the routing, and business intelligence tooling reports the flow.
Tool, fixture, and gauge custody
What physically happens
A calibrated tool or fixture is taken from the crib to a cell.
What is captured
The tool is read out and read back in, so custody and calibration due dates attach to a physical event.
What Mobi does with it
Mobi Inventory holds the tool records, custody, and calibration status.
Where the result lands
The CMMS or quality system owns calibration scheduling and evidence.
Quality genealogy and traceability
What physically happens
Components are consumed into an assembly at a station.
What is captured
Component and assembly identifiers are scanned or read at the point of consumption, building the genealogy as the build happens.
What Mobi does with it
Mobi Inventory records the consumption events; Print Studio produces the serialized labels the genealogy depends on.
Where the result lands
The MES or quality management system holds the genealogy for recall and warranty.
Finished goods and shipment verification
What physically happens
A pallet is built and staged for a specific shipment.
What is captured
Cartons are read at the pallet or the dock and checked against the order before the trailer is loaded.
What Mobi does with it
Mobi Inventory compares what was read to what was expected and raises the exception before the truck leaves.
Where the result lands
The ERP or WMS confirms the shipment and releases the paperwork.

What the equipment has to survive here

Metal parts, racking, and machinery reflect RF and demand on-metal tags and careful antenna placement
Vibration, coolant, dust, and wash-down destroy commercial-grade equipment
Forklift and crane traffic dictates where a portal or antenna can physically go
Plant networks are segmented, so integration paths need agreement before build
Line stoppages are expensive, so installation happens in planned windows

Problem to system to proof

The system behind those workflows

1
Physical capture
A production order, part, tool, or pallet passes a department, cell, or dock read point.
The point of RFID on a plant floor is that the operator does nothing. The read happens because the material moved, which is the only event that reliably occurs on every order.
How it is captured
RFID reads on travelers and parts, with barcode scanning at manual stations
Hardware at the capture point
Mobi software
What Mobi does with what was captured
Mobi Inventory records operation events and order location. Integrations carries them to the MES, ERP, and reporting layer. Print Studio produces the traveler and serialized labels.
Mobi InventoryAvailableIntegrationsControlled ReleasePrint StudioPreviewRFID LabControlled Release
Current limits
Mobi Inventory is available today and scoped per approved site. It does not schedule production or replace an MES, and generally available multi-facility balances are not part of it.
System of record
Where the result has to land
Operation events are posted to the MES or ERP and made available to reporting, so a hot order is visible in the system people already watch.
Systems this connects to
MES · ERP · Quality management system · CMMS · Business intelligence
What you provide
The MES or ERP interface and owner, the routing definition, the rule for what an unexpected read means, and a test environment.
4
Delivery and lifecycle
Who builds it, who runs it, and who answers when it breaks
1. Discovery on the floor with operations and IT
2. Tag and read-rate testing on your parts
3. Read-point design against the routing
4. Traveler label production
5. Installation in planned windows
6. Integration, training, and support
What Arrowhead supplies and configures
Read-rate testing on your parts, travelers, and packaging
Read-point design mapped to the actual routing
RFID printers, readers, antennas, and on-metal tags
Pre-printed and pre-encoded traveler labels
Installation in planned windows and validation at each point
Integration to MES or ERP, training, and in-house repair
What you provide
Floor access and time with operations and maintenance
Sample parts, travelers, and packaging for testing
Power, network, and mounting points at each read location
The routing definition and the MES or ERP interface owner
Planned installation windows and safety induction
When something stops working
Arrowhead supports the readers, printers, tags, and its own integrations. Hardware is repaired in-house in Chandler, Arizona. The MES and ERP stay with their owners, and the interface boundary is documented at handover.

What we deliver for manufacturing

The work Arrowhead scopes, supplies, installs, integrates, and supports for manufacturing operations.

Work-in-process tracking

Follow parts and orders through every operation with RFID or barcode checkpoints.

Quality & traceability

Capture genealogy and serialized records for recalls, warranty, and compliance.

Tool & asset management

Know where calibrated tools and fixtures are and who has them.

Finished goods & shipping

Verify the right product, quantity, and label before it leaves the dock.

Recommended hardware

The gear we deploy for manufacturing—buy it direct from our online store, ArrowheadPHX.

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RFID Systems

Fixed portals and handhelds for WIP and asset tracking.

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Industrial Printers

High-volume label printing for parts and pallets.

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Barcode Scanners

Rugged corded and cordless scanning for the line.

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Mobile Computers

Durable handhelds for receiving, picking, and put-away.

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Rugged Tablets

Touch computing for operators and quality stations.

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Labels & Ribbon

Compliance labels and thermal ribbon for harsh environments.

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Challenges we solve

Work-in-process visibility
Quality control and traceability
Tool and asset tracking
Inventory accuracy

What the proof actually shows

Every claim below is labeled with who produced it. Arrowhead delivering a system, a vendor publishing a result from another partner's deployment, a credential a third party issued us, software we run ourselves, a capability we offer, and a direction we have not shipped are different things, and they are labeled differently.

Arrowhead-delivered result
Curtiss-Wright cut production order processing from 7 days to 24 hours with a site-wide RFID system.
Arrowhead delivered the system with Xemelgo and Zebra Technologies. Xemelgo supplied the tracking software, not Mobi. Results are published by Zebra Technologies.
See the detail
Vendor-supported result
Zebra Technologies publishes manufacturing RFID references such as Cepheid and G3 Boats.
Those deployments were delivered by other partners and are shown as industry references. Arrowhead did not deliver them.
See the detail
General capability
Tag and read-rate testing happens on your parts before a plant rollout is priced.
Standard Arrowhead survey practice on every RFID project; not a customer-specific result.
See the detail

Published case studies in manufacturing

Each card says who delivered the system. A vendor reference is a result another partner delivered and Zebra published; it is not evidence that Arrowhead built it.

RFID Solutions