Kimberly-Clark, a global health and hygiene company, has had its hand in the RFID cookie jar for some time now. It is an active participant in EPCglobal, and worked with other industry leaders to establish the Gen 2 standard. Kimberly-Clark established its own RFID research lab in Neenah, WI, allowing it to test RFID hardware in an environment that closely resembles the supply chain conditions of its customers. Recently, Kimberly-Clark announced that it has chosen Avery Dennison RFID as its Gen 2 inlay provider and RSI ID Technologies as its Gen 2 label provider.
Avery Dennison’s AD-220 was picked as Kimberly-Clark’s Gen 2 inlay for its RFID program, and Avery Dennison anticipates a rapid increase in sales of Gen 2 inlays in 2006. “This is a significant event in the development of Avery Dennison’s RFID business and for the progress of RFID implementation in supply chain systems,” says Mathew Mellis, Vice President of Avery Dennison RFID. “This is an opportunity for Avery Dennison to collaborate with one of the true thought leaders in the RFID arena who shares our vision of leveraging RFID to improve the return on investment throughout the global supply chain.”
RSI was one of the first companies to release an EPC compliant Gen 2 tag, and RSI has demonstrated excellent performance levels of its labels in real-world applications. It also expanded its customer base by offering highly customizable solutions to meet the growing demand of retail supply applications. “Kimberly-Clark’s selection of RSI as a RFID label provider demonstrates the quality of our labels and how they will provide leading organizations like Kimberly-Clark the capability to optimize their global supply chain, and stay ahead of RFID mandates,” says Wolf Bielas, CEO of RSI ID Technologies.
Visit www.kimberly-clark.com
ZapataEngineering’s primary business unit, Strategic Technology Division, provides innovative technologies and engineering solutions for industrial customers, the U.S. Department of Defense, and other federal, regional, and local government agencies. Zapata is beginning to use active RFID tags with sensor technologies.
It has chosen active RFID over passive because of the increased range of capabilities, better data transmission/storage, and easier configurability. Some of the information the sensors will collect will be temperature, vibration, shock, humidity, and tampering to make objects “aware” of their environment.
“We are excited about this new technology and the wide ranging applications across numerous industries,” says Manuel Zapata, President. “By integrating sensors, wireless communications, and computer technology, we can create smart devices that can help our clients achieve incalculable efficiencies, increased capabilities, and lower their costs.” Visit www.zapatarfid.com.
Dairy Brand, a sour cream manufacturer, has implemented GlobeRanger’s iMotion™ Edgeware™ platform to develop RFID solutions for its warehouse operations. The platform includes RFID forklift and portal readers, RFID printers, in-line barcode scanner, and a pallet rag applicator.
Daisy Brand wanted to go beyond satisfying upcoming compliance mandates by gaining efficiencies to offset the cost of deployment. It wanted to track finished goods inventory to the staging area and then to a truck for delivery. By using iMotion, Daisy Brand hopes to improve the accuracy of fulfilling orders and increase efficiency in tracking finished goods while improving productivity of forklift drivers.
The iMotion Edgeware platform successfully achieved Symbol Technologies’ SymbolPLUS validation, becoming the first RFID product to achieve the new validation. The SymbolPLUS Program provides companies with the ability to develop and market fully integrated third-party products and components that enhance and extend Symbol enterprise mobility solutions to meet customers’ application-specific needs.
Additionally, GlobeRanger recently announced a partnership with SSA Global™, a global provider of extended enterprise solutions and services, to develop and deliver RFID applications based on GlobeRanger’s iMotion Edgeware. Visit www.globeranger.com.
Weber Marking Systems showcases its exclusive Model 5200rfid smart label printer-encoder-applicator at Alien Technology Corporation’s new RFID Solutions Center in Dayton. The 23,000 sq. ft. center will be used for RFID education, research and development, and as a simulated real-world implementation resource.
“We are very pleased to collaborate with Alien Technology in this worthy endeavor,” says Ann Marie Phaneuf, Marketing Director of Weber Marking Systems. “The RFID Solutions Center is certain to be a valuable resource for RFID technology suppliers, end-users, and educators alike.”
Weber’s Model 5200rfid system combines the printing, encoding, verification, and application of pressure-sensitive RFID smart labels to cartons and pallet loads into one operation. At the same time, the system rejects and recovers RFID smart labels that are not compliant. The system will help users of the Center learn how to meet the emerging RFID labeling requirements in the consumer and governmental sectors. Visit www.webermarking.com.
New York City’s public transit system, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is testing out the use of RFID contactless payment cards with selected customers to pay for train rides at subway entrances. The cards are used by tapping or waving the card at the turnstile readers that are marked with logos so that customers know which turnstiles to use (similar to highway toll collection RFID devices).
MTA customers pay for rides through MetroCards (magnetic strip cards), on which money is transferred. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in Washington, D.C., uses such a system. Citigroup (www.citigroup.com) is the company planning the pilot. MasterCard (www.mastercard.com) will be installing the readers in selected stations.
Following the January 2 Sago mine disaster in West Virginia, there has been much attention directed toward safety in the mining industry. AeroScout, Inc., a specialist in enterprise visibility solutions, and Northern Light Technologies (NLT), a leader in cap lamp technology, have created an advanced real-time location solution (RTLS) for the underground mining industry.
NLT has integrated AeroScout’s wireless real-time location system into its Northern Light Digital™ Network. It offers immediate, accurate, real-time tracking of personnel, equipment, and other assets for safety and efficiency from any Web browser. AeroScout’s long-range active tag is installed in the Northern Light® GII Model cap lamps to give Wi-Fi based location tracing capabilities.
“AeroScout’s IP-based RTLKS is a compelling solution for underground mine operators, providing advanced asset and personnel tracking functionality over standard wireless networks,” says James Hackwood, VP Sales and Marketing for NLT. “This partnership delivers on the ability to utilize data, voice, and location services over a single network—one of the key benefits of a unified communication network based on industrial standard Ethernet and Wireless LAN technology.”
Visit AeroScout at www.aeroscout.com and NLT at www.nltinc.com.
UPM Raflatac and Shanghai RFID System Technology Co. Ltd. have agreed to deliver 300,000 Rafsec RFID tags to Jimei University Library in Xiamen, China. The system will help automate the borrowing and returning of library items. This will decrease theft, reduce queuing times, and reduce chance of human error. It will expedite the organization of library items so that items will be returned to shelves more quickly. Inventory will become a breeze by simply passing the RFID reader past the bookshelves. Phase Two of the implementation will occur later in the year, with other libraries at the campus integrating the solution.
“We’re extremely excited to be taking part in the first large-scale RFID library project in China,” says Edward Lu, Business Development Director, Asia, for UPM Raflatac RFID Business. “We have been supplying RFID tags for library applications for many years in many parts of Asia but the technology is just staring to take hold in China. Visit UPM Raflatac at www.rafsec.com and Jimei University at www.jmu.edu.cn/jmu/eng/
Argent Group and Vue Technology (www.vuetechnology.com) have partnered to expand their RFID asset tracking capabilities. Vue will be able to increase its presence in the manufacturing and medical sectors. Argent Group (www.argent-label.com) will be able to offer new scalable, cost-effective solutions that will increase saving by decreasing labor and inventory costs and downtime, and increasing asset utilization.
Argent Group is the collaboration of Argent Tape & Label (converter of pressure-sensitive and RFID labels) and Advanced Research Company (systems integrator and producer of standard and custom asset tracking systems). Offering complete RFID solutions for over 12 years, Argent Group’s partnership with Vue (provider of item-level RFID solutions) gives Argent the power to deliver emerging RFID technologies throughout the supply chain, down to the item level.
“Our relationship with Argent provides an excellent opportunity for Vue to demonstrate the inherent value of its technology and solutions beyond our core expertise in the retail industry,” says Robert Locke, CEO of Vue Technology. “We look forward to working with Argent to deliver the RFID solutions that will change the way assets are tracked and managed across the medical and manufacturing industries and beyond.”
“The addition of the TrueVUE RFID Platform to Advanced Research’s existing asset tracking products provides a significant extra level of granularity and detail, which is something our customers have been looking for,” says Barry Brown, of Argent Group. “It will also enable us to expand our market reach beyond the initial installations we have in place with automotive parts companies such as Visteon/Ford Motor Co. and Comau Pico/Lear.”
Stratum Global’s TagNet® RFID is a scalable, platform agnostic, release focused RFID software solution suite with an open architecture. In its second release, TagNet now offers full multilingual capability, supports object networks, and includes specialized modules for advanced features like RFID-enabled lift trucks.
Stratum (www.stratumglobal.com) has entered into a distribution agreement with Ingram Micro Inc. to create the RFID-NET Partner Solution Program. TagNet® will be distributed through Ingram Micro’s Nimax (www.nimax.com) division, a distributor of AIDC, RFID, and POS solutions. Ingram Micro will provide hardware and software certification for resellers in tandem with Stratum Global. These partners will acquire hands-on experience in the lab and the field.
“The distribution agreement with Ingram Micro is a significant benchmark for Stratum Global,” says Jim LaPalermo, Vice President, Business Development, Stratum Global. “Ingram Micro continues to validate TagNet® and places our solution expertise at the forefront of the global technology marketplace—solidifying our mutual objectives to advance RFID into the mainstream.”
Stratum has also formed a strategic Alliance with OMRON RFID (www.omronrfid.com). Omron, who recently announced plans to invest $20 million globally in its RFID initiatives, manufactures high quality RFID tags and reader products that feature high functionality in hostile environments. This product reliability, when paired with Stratum’s TagNet, will increase asset and object visibility, improve product traceability, and eliminate replacement costs that are incurred for failed or poorly working inlays.
I.D. Systems Inc. is a provider of RFID based wireless corporate asset tracking and management solutions. It announces that it has received a purchase order from Walgreen Co. to deploy I.D. Systems’ Wireless Asset Net™ industrial fleet management system on a fleet of material handling vehicles at a Walgreens distribution center in Arizona, and that it has entered into a pilot program agreement with Rite Aid Corporation to evaluate the system at one of Rite Aid’s distribution centers.
Rick Muntz, I.D. Systems’ Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Customer Satisfaction says, “We are gratified that Walgreens continues to expand its implementation and practical utilization of our technology. We enjoy a very positive, interactive relationship with Walgreens and place extremely high value on their input on how our system can improve safety and increase efficiency in warehouse operations.”
About Rite Aid, Muntz says, “We are very pleased to add another major U.S. retailer to our customer base and to expand our presence specifically in the retail pharmacy segment. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the leaders in exploring RFID applications, and we see our wireless vehicle management capabilities fitting extremely well within the industry’s long-range strategic vision for RFID.”
The Wireless Asset Net consists of intelligent wireless devices installed on powered industrial vehicles (such as forklifts), a patented communication infrastructure, and client-server software for access control, utilization analysis, real-time location tracking, and other functions. It is designed to improve industrial workplace safety and security by restricting vehicle access to trained, authorized operators and by providing electronic safety inspection checklists. Visit I.D. Systems at www.id-systems.com, Walgreens at www.walgreens.com, and Rite Aid at www.riteaid.com.
Accu-Sort Systems Inc. has received the 2006 Frost & Sullivan Market Award for Product Line Strategy. The award recognizes Accu-Sort’s efforts to develop a specialized RFID product line that displays a perceptive focus on existing market requirements. Accu-Sort received the award for its ability to evaluate the business process and successfully integrate RFID technology with existing infrastructure systems, particularly with its Flexible Automation Solution Tools (FAST™).
Accu-Sort’s FAST Tag® reflects a complete end-to-end solution, using barcode labeling, RFID components, and data management systems. The software ensures comprehensive control over the edge devices while maintaining communication to business enterprise solutions. The configurability of the software enables accuracy and reliability of deployment. The Frost & Sullivan Market Award for Product Line Strategy is presented each year to a company that has demonstrated the most insight into customers’ needs and product demands. Visit Accu-Sort at www.accusort.com.
OMNIKEY, manufacturer of smart card readers, was presented the Frost & Sullivan Competitive Strategy Leadership Award in recognition of its performance in the global smart card reader market. Unique strategies drove strong market growth in 2004 and 2005, resulting in an estimated unit shipment increase of 55%.
Focused strategies have allowed for the company’s three business divisions – corporate identification, government, and payment – to make strong gains. Its indirect sales channel is another strategic model that has been successful. Frost & Sullivan’s Competitive Strategy Leadership Award is bestowed upon a company whose unique competitive strategies have yielded significant gains in market share. Visit OMNIKEY at www.omnikey.com and Frost & Sullivan at www.frost.com.
In an effort to help define an industry-wide standard for communicating pedigree information, SupplyScape Corporation and VeriSign announce pedigree interoperability. The two companies and others believe that interoperability needs to exist in pharmaceutical supply chains to enable electronic pedigrees.
To support this interoperability, SupplyScape and Verisign submitted formats to the Pedigree Messaging Work Group of EPCglobal in September 2005. The two companies collaborated with industry participants toward ratification of an industry standard that is expected to be announced in the spring. The core elements for each company to process the other’s data has been reviewed and certified.
“The work we have done, both in the formal standards processes and directly, ensures pharmaceutical companies, wholesalers, and pharmacies that pedigree systems will work seamlessly with suppliers and customers, now and in the future,” says Shabbir Dahod, SupplyScape President. Jeff Richards, Vice President of Intelligent Supply Chain Services with VeriSign, says, “To achieve an intelligent and secure supply chain, our customers must be able to receive electronic pedigrees from their suppliers and transmit pedigrees to their customers.”
Visit www.supplyscape.com and www.verisign.com
G2 Microsystems is an Australian-based start-up company with corporate headquarters in the U.S., developing integrated circuits for the Mobile Resource Management market. G2 Microsystems’ tag technology leverages Wi-Fi network infrastructure, consumes little power, and integrates an intelligent set of features for location tracking and the monitoring of environmental conditions, such as temperature and security. This combination in a chip could significantly lower the total cost of ownership and expand the applications for asset tracking and process monitoring applications in the healthcare, automotive, transportation, government, oil/gas, and chemical industries.
The company has received substantial funding lately, such as a $1.9 million grant from the Australian Government Industry research and Development Board. The grant money will further G2 Microsystems’ research and development efforts in the design of the ultra low-power, active MRM chips. Siemens Venture Capital, a subsidiary of Siemens AG, has also invested. Additionally, the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund has made an investment as an extension to the company’s Series A round. Other investors in the Series A round include Starfish Ventures and DB Capital Partners. Visit www.g2microsystems.com.
© 2003-2008 ST Media Group International. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without consent from publisher.
