Worldwide diamond inventory

Eurostar is a leading global diamond conglomerate with annual sales of over $1 billion per annum. It has a network of fully integrated and technologically advanced diamond cutting and polishing centres, employing 10,000 professionals worldwide.

An RFID-based system helps the company manage its logistics processes worldwide and in real time. The system scope is end-to-end, starting with the intake and grading of uncut diamonds in China through control of shipment and grading of cut diamonds in Antwerp and India.

Each parcel of diamonds is uniquely identified, with the number being both digitally stored in the chip in the label and also printed on the label.

Small batch readers are deployed to read trays of brifkas - the industry term for a paper envelope containing a cut diamond – at up to 200 a second.

The system improves stock control and sales administration - a process improvement of more then 50% was identified, driven by the very fast and 100% accurate inventory control. A very rapid ROI resulted.

The benefits extend beyond the wholesale business. The implementation enables the accurate identification and rapid picking of diamonds of a particular grade, speeding up delivery and reducing cost, especially when there is a requirement to supply several exactly matching diamonds.

Suppliers: Scanology, Magellan
Product: Phase Jitter Modulation (PJM) RFID