Top tortilla producer Mission Foods operates three Texas warehouses that require accuracy and proficiency to prepare nearly 20,000 containers of product daily for a vast network of independent distributors. The company found an asset-control solution in radio-frequency (RFID) technology that can reduce the loss of returnable containers.


Irving, Texas-based Mission Foods is an industry innovator in manufacturing quality tortillas, chips, salsa, taco shells and more for consumers throughout the country and around the world. Its operations in three Texas warehouses require accuracy and proficiency as they process and prepare nearly 20,000 containers of product on a daily basis for a vast network of independent distributors.

As part of its distribution process, the company places packaged products in returnable plastic containers (RPCs) that independent distributors then load onto trucks. Such independent distributors then return the RPCs after their sales are complete. But Mission Foods discovered that after the RPCs left the warehouse for deliveries, the RPC were likely never seen again.

The company’s paper-based tracking process wasn't as streamlined as it would have liked across various warehouses and distribution centers. It had no way of tracking the RPCs and if they were returned to a different facility or if they were ever returned at all. The results were staggering. Nearly 100% of Mission Foods’ RPCs were being replaced each year.

It found an asset control system using Intermec’s radio frequency identification (RFID) technology that can prevent these dramatic losses, saving millions of dollars each year. The technology incorporates IF61 readers, antennas, labels and PM4i printers. The reader is capable of running complex RFID applications, delivering faster processing and localized intelligence. Mission can change device settings, send firmware upgrades, update software applications and make other changes directly from a console to save time and significantly cut costs.