An RFRS that combines RFID and CBR technologies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a real‐time food receiving operations management system (RFRS), focusing on demonstrating the use of a case‐based reasoning (CBR) and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in managing the complex food receiving activities in distribution centers, to deal with the global concerns in food safety management. Design/methodology/approach – The proposed system includes a CBR engine for generating customized operating procedures by retrieving and analyzing relevant knowledge stored in the database and case library. In addition, RFID technology is adopted to gather real‐time inventory information for visualizing inventories, work stations, and equipment status. Findings – The significance and contribution of RFRS in the context of managing unstructured operations in distribution centers for the food receiving process are demonstrated by adopting the system in one of the Hong Kong‐based logistics companies. The achieved improvement of order fulfillment helps achieve a systematic management in operations process flow. Moreover, the time saving in resource assignment helps improve the operations efficiency of the receiving zone. Hence, the decrease in the faults of quality checking helps improve the service and quality level. All of the above demonstrate the feasibility of the RFID‐based decision support system. Originality/value – A superior method for the management of quality control and service of the receiving process is essential for the success of food distribution centers. However, the complexity of these management processes increases with the rise of customization of service in the supply chain. Hence, such increase in the operation complexity leads to the increase in operation time and, consequently, a decrease in the service quality. The real‐time food receiving operations management system proposed in this paper integrated RFID and case‐based reasoning technology in dealing with food warehouse receiving operation assignment. This is a brand new application combining the two technologies in the field of food reception in warehouses. With the support of the system, the efficiency and the customer satisfaction are improved.