Omnitrol Delivers Supply Chain Visibility to Provider of Leading Communications Solutions

JPG Omnitrol Networks, provider of real-time application network platforms for business process optimization and RFID-based asset track and trace solutions, announces that it has entered into a strategic relationship with BT Global Services, a world leading provider of networked IT services.

The collaboration will enable BT Supply Chain Solutions to deliver enhanced and highly scalable real-time supply-chain, asset, and operational visibility solutions utilizing next-generation RFID, wireless, and sensor technologies based on the Omnitrol Networks' platform, which integrates a powerful Edge Application and Service Creation Engine (EASE™) for delivering integrated real-time asset and work-in-process (WIP) visibility solutions at a very competitive total cost of ownership (TCO).

The OMNITROL platform allows BT Supply Chain Solutions to quickly customize solutions and meet individual customer needs. It creates a secure peer-to-peer business application network across multi-site, multi-enterprise shop-floor operations into an integrated smart visibility infrastructure. The OMNITROL application network establishes a collaborative environment with end-to-end real-time operational visibility between B2B partners.

The OMNITROL Network removes middleware and back-end systems complexity by delivering a scalable real-time EPC compliant asset tracking and pedigree capture infrastructure. The system is manageable from the shop-floor and can substantially reduce the cost of ownership while providing powerful services such as workflow service creation and emulation, and back-end integration (including web-based device and service management). The OMNITROL Network has a number of advantages over BT's previous system:

increased features and functionality
cost of deployment is integrated into the OMNITROL appliance
time to market is quick, and therefore, cost effective

Raj Saksena, President and CEO of Omnitrol Networks, explains: "The OMNITROL is fundamentally a software platform that delivers a three-tiered architecture. The lowest tier deals with the managing the different devices (barcode, RFID, RTLS). That layer is universal, so different training for employees on how to deal with each of these devices is unnecessary. It's a generic management layer, which improves the time-to-market. Above that tier is a service execution tier—a business event layer that allows correlation and a contextual map of different events into a single business event. The third tier is the services programming layer. The OMNITROL is a very rapid way to develop detailed custom applications by taking advantage of the sensor infrastructure with a full service emulator that allows for collaborative development, of end-to-end services, while not requiring a tremendous amount of physical capital expenditure going into developing and designing and end-to-end workflow."

"What this does for both BT and the industry is take a situation where we had to look at asset visibility and tracking; and develop and deploy quite expensive, customized solutions for our customers, which made the ROI quite challenging," says Keith Sherry, GM, BT Supply Chain Solutions. "By having Omnitrol produce an appliance base, not only has it increased the features and functionality, but it has also reduced the cost as well as deployment time; which in turn, makes the ROI for our customers far better."

Sherry says that BT is working with Omnitrol in a number of different areas and opportunities; but that one specific customer is tracking food items in the manufacturing and distribution process, offering visibility and accuracy. As a result, real cost savings and improved customer services are delivered.

"Under the current straining economic conditions, it's imperative that organizations look at ways of saving costs and improving productivity," says Sherry. "We see this as a key driver in delivering those cost efficiencies."

"The foundation of business optimization driving the adoption of technology has really become forefront," says Saksena. "It's really about driving a clear business proposition that starts from the shop-floor and then integrates into the supply chain."

Avery Dennison's Stamp-Sized Item-Level RFID Inlay

Avery Dennison RFID introduces the AD-805 RFID tag inlay that is about the size of a postage stamp and is ideal for tagging small items in densely packed retail and healthcare environments. The excellent performance engineered into this tag also resulted in a distinctive "S" pattern, earning it the "S-tag" designation.

The AD-805 possesses an edge-on reading range of up to eight feet, with RF friendly contents. The tag's "edge-on" reading capability makes it a great choice for plastic or cardboard blister packs. Edge-on reading is often difficult since the narrowest portion of the tag is facing the reader.

The powerful performance coupled with the small form factor makes the AD-805 a great tag for small items in retail environments. In certain applications, the read range is enhanced when in proximity to metal packaging or items such as sunglasses.

"The AD-805 is a great choice for tagging small items in retail and healthcare environments where products are not always oriented uniformly," says Maggie Bidlingmaier, Global Director of Sales and Marketing, Avery Dennison RFID. "Additionally, this tag provides incredible read range in difficult use cases with an edge-on orientation. There are a wide variety of industries showing interest in this tag."

The AD-805 is EPC Class 1 Gen 2, ISO-18000-6C and designed to be ROHS compliant. It is released for qualification from the Avery Dennison RFID group.

Sierra Army Depot Deploys Savi Software

Savi, a Lockheed Martin company, has gone live with an automated asset and inventory tracking system at the Sierra Army Depot in northern California. The depot is a 59-square-mile complex encompassing about 1,200 buildings that serves as an Expeditionary Logistics Center for the storage, maintenance, assembly, and containerization of operational stocks and other items—from depot to foxhole.

The Depot Total Asset Visibility and Inventory Management System cuts operational costs and improves efficiency by enabling personnel to reduce hours spent searching for containers, major supplies, and asset inventory as they move on, through, and off the facilities. Savi's total asset management solution also improves asset inventory utilization and—via automated alerts—speeds the monitoring of environmental conditions of medical supplies in the DEPMED area of a major depot.

The fully integrated solution leverages the Savi SmartChain® Enterprise Platform and Savi Asset Management Application, which manage real-time information of supplies affixed with active RFID tags.

"Our command and control platform, which is tied to Automatic Identification Technologies, provides more than just real-time visibility," says David Stephens, Chief Executive Officer of Savi Technology. "We're honored to be called upon by the U.S. Department of Defense to support the readiness and operational performance of mission-critical storage and logistics activities at the Sierra Army Depot."

The Savi solution at the depot is designed to enhance the visibility and management of assets such as containers, trailers, generators, and water purification units. In addition, the solution utilizes sensors that monitor the environmental conditions of DEPMEDS, which are "hospitals in a container" and include necessary medical supplies and equipment required for rapid deployment into the field of operations.

Intelleflex Launches Extended Capability RFID Products in India

Intelleflex Corporation has made its product line available in India. Following successful introductions in Europe and South Korea within the last year, Intelleflex continues its global expansion by delivering RFID tags and readers to India's rapidly growing supply chain market.

Intelleflex's battery-assisted passive RFID technology extends the operating range to 50 meters, features on-tag memory of 64Kb as well as zonal location finding and advanced security architecture, all at a fraction of the cost of active RFID. Designed for use across a wide variety of challenging environments, Intelleflex tags are made to withstand exposure to the elements, including extreme temperature ranges from -40 to +125 degrees Celsius. Its patent-pending antenna design ensures reliable reads even when used around metal and liquid, when read at an angle, or in crowded situations.

Intelleflex multiprotocol readers can support both C1G2 as well as Intelleflex C3 (battery-assisted) tags simultaneously, supporting mixed tag solutions and enabling easy migration paths. In addition, the reader's multiport antenna design can support up to four different read points, reducing overall infrastructure costs. The products for India will operate in the 865 - 867 MHz frequency range.

"Our partnership with Intelleflex allows us to offer differentiated RFID tracking solutions to the Indian market," says Sudhir Rao, Managing Director at Bartronics India Limited. "Intelleflex's product line fills a void in the market where standard passive RFID falls short, but the cost of active RFID is too high. We've already identified ready markets for the Intelleflex platform and are actively engaged with customers."

"This expansion into India marks an important milestone in our global strategy," said Steve Smith, SVP, Worldwide Sales and Services at Intelleflex. "Our international business has been expanding steadily, and India represents a significant new growth market for us in 2009 and beyond."

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