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SAP Unleashes Next Wave of Business Process Innovation with RFID
The SAP object event repository ushers in a new era of business value derived from "serialized" objects - products, shipments, or assets labeled with electronically readable, unique serial numbers such as EPC on RFID tags, barcodes, or sensors. It will enable companies to combine serialized data with data from enterprise resource planning (ERP) and other business applications to enable greater visibility, accountability, and accuracy in areas such as regulatory compliance, manufacturing, and supply chain and asset management. PTA, the first business process tapping into the SAP object event repository, enables companies to track and authenticate the serialized products that they manufacture and distribute, both within their own enterprise and when products are in the custody of trading partners. In the pharmaceutical sector, for example, prescription drugs can be identified with unique EPCs according to the EPCglobal standard. Trading partners can exchange this information to validate the drug's authenticity as well as its chain of custody along every point between manufacturer and retail pharmacy. Companies such as defense contractors and automotive suppliers will be able to verify the usage of qualified parts and prevent usage of duplicate or unwarranted parts by tracking the unique serial numbers, business events and transactions associated with the parts. The SAP object event repository and PTA offerings mark key milestones in SAP's pioneering vision of adaptive supply networks using "real-world aware" technologies - RFID tags, barcodes, and sensors that deliver actionable insight to decision-makers and enable businesses to sense and respond automatically to supply chain events. By embedding RFID capabilities into its market-leading supply chain management applications, SAP played an instrumental role in driving the first RFID wave, which focused largely on inbound and outbound logistics. Today with more than 200 customers in 16 industries productive with SAP® solutions for RFID, SAP is helping customers deploy "real-world aware" technologies in innovative applications such as tracking medication to improve patient care, safeguarding chemicals deliveries, and monitoring safety equipment. Supporting the EPCglobal's EPCIS specification 2, as well as the U.S. Department of Defense's UID standard, the SAP object event repository will help companies meet key industry requirements such as the pharmaceutical industry's anti-counterfeiting measures for product serialization and e-Pedigrees. Basel, Switzerland-based company Novartis is working closely with SAP on an end-to-end solution that meets pharmaceutical industry requirements and is currently implementing a serialization project in its U.S. operations based on SAP software, including SAP® Auto-ID Infrastructure and the SAP object event repository. The aim is to track each Novartis medication bottle, display carton, shipping case and delivery pallet in real time, verifying the authenticity of products as they travel through each stage of the supply chain. Intel R1000 Chip Makes an Impact on Reader Vendors
CAEN RFID has been in collaboration with Intel to integrate the Intel IXP455 network processor into its line of readers. Following this announcement, CAEN has decided to also integrate the Intel UHF RFID Transceiver R1000 to create the A528, an OEM UHF compact module that can operate in both U.S. and European regulatory environments. The A528 is designed to be ideal for integration into multiregional RFID printers, label applicators, handheld devices, and other UHF tag required mobile devices. Alien Technology has also announced that it will offer R1000 tag based reader to help the company's expansion into new markets. The readers will be offered in new, smaller form factors with Gen 2 and software enhanced features. Susan Pearson, Vice President of Alliances of Alien Technology says: "Intel's commitment to RFID underscores the substantial market opportunity, and we look forward to working together in addressing this rapidly expanding market." ThingMagic has introduced its R1000 tag based reader, the Mercury5e embedded RFID reader. The reader offers more 100% tag reads through the latest version of Yagi MercuryOS, the ability to identify and filter interference through the support of a Gen 2 Dense Reader Mode, and maximum battery life through the consumption of very little battery power. For more information on the Intel R1000 chip, visit www.intel.com/pressroom. Cortegra - Where Healthcare Turns for Packaging
Cortegra will be the new name these expansions will be carried out under - and with the leadership of - the newly appointed President, Victor Dixon. Dixon has an extensive background in industrial manufacturing from both the manufacturing and sales side of the operation. Most recently, Dixon was the General Manager and Vice President of the Scientific Glassware business for Kimble Glass. Dixon also held a number of senior management responsibilities including running the Flexible packaging business for the Healthcare vertical at Alcoa. Dixon explains: "The name reflects the geographic changes and our increased capabilities, and it will also serve as a platform for our growth. Cortegra represents our company's core values and integrity, hence the word Cortegra."  Victor Dixon The push for growth came after parent company, Menasha Corporation saw a great growth potential after recent acquisitions of a few small companies including Creative Press, and the construction of a new facility in North Carolina. While their current focus lies in the pharmaceutical and healthcare arenas, this growth will open new opportunities for Cortegra to continue leadership in RFID and other associated technologies. Cortegra will begin with a "three pillar business model" that includes healthcare packaging manufacturing, a technology and innovations group, and a solutions group. The company's core packaging manufacturing for the healthcare industry remains in tact as the first pillar of the model. Folding cartons, pressure sensitive labels, inserts/outserts, and flexible packaging will continue to be a key focus within Cortegra's business strategy. A technology and innovations group will focus on developing new ideas and solutions for the company and the customer base. "This is a group that helps us deliver new solutions, new ideas, new innovations to our customer base in terms of potential licensing technologies, cutting-edge ideas in terms of RFID and brand authentication, as well as cold chain monitoring in the healthcare industry," says Dixon. The third pillar of the business model is a solutions group; a service oriented group aimed at helping customers with their management of various programs. "We are positioning ourselves to service our core market, and we also want to look at adjacencies. Our mission is that we will be a scalable business that will be well positioned for growth to support all of the different emerging sectors along with our existing customers," says Dixon. Along with focusing on their core markets, Cortegra will also look towards expanding into areas adjacent to pharmaceutical, such as biotech, medical devices, and animal healthcare. They will enter this growth trajectory with momentum as they look for new partners, marketing agreements, and joint ventures that will benefit both parties. This reinvention marks a milestone as well as a birth for a newly expanded company with the same core values and customer appreciation under a name that represents it all. "We have an ever-changing marketplace and I think it's important for companies, like ourselves, to reinvent themselves periodically. We are certainly going to take the best of what we offered to our customers in the past and expand on that to offer some new and exciting things," says Dixon.
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Intel's new R1000 chip is receiving a swarm of attention from RFID reader vendors based on the expectation that this chip will introduce smaller RFID reader technology at a lower price. The Intel R1000 delivers high performance with significantly lower power consumption allowing it to support a full range of reader dorm factors and applications, from short-range handheld readers to long-range dock door reads. The newly announced Gen 2 chip has spurred the adoption of compatible readers for vendors such as CAEN RFID, Alien Technology, and ThingMagic.
By HaLeigh Boutin
