Metro RFID Future Store Initiative

Nice video of Metro Group's Future Store Initiative that relies on RFID for supply chain visibility. ...

Pharma RFID Integrated ePedigree with ERP

Acsis can reduce the time required to integrate ERP systems, RFID serialization systems and electronic pedigree (ePedigree) solutions through collaboration with pharmaceutical companies and SupplyScape ePedigree software. ...

... "The pharmaceutical supply chain is undergoing dramatic changes as manufacturers, distributors and retailers accelerate various initiatives to protect patient safety, product integrity, supply chain security, company brand and product revenue streams. To help meet this challenge and the related federal and state mandates, Acsis, in conjunction with SupplyScape, is deploying the industry's first scalable end-to-end RFID serialized solution, providing bi-directional integration of ERP systems and ePedigree applications. As part of the solution, Acsis integrates serialization information between the manufacturing shop floor and the ERP system, facilitating serialized Rx Advanced Shipping Notices (RxASN) and ePedigree records. " ...

Via Acsis: ERP, ePedigree and RFID Device Management Solutions for Pharmaceutical Marketplace

RFID eSeals Track Cargo Support ISO-18185

Savi Technology will license its intellectual property used in electronic cargo seals (e-Seals) to support global standard, ISO 18185. Active RFID technology is used for security and tracking of cargo that improves visibility and efficiency in the world trade supply chain. ...

... "E-Seals combine mechanical locks with wireless RFID communication systems to automatically notify users about security breaches and container locations. Program participants gain access to Savi's patent-protected, intellectual property on how these active, battery-powered RFID tags communicate with readers. Savi Technology launched the program May 1 with its QuickStart program, and continues licensing through its Basic program. The U.S. SAFE Port Act of 2006 calls for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (USDHS) to define the voluntary use of container security devices in accordance with international standards. USDHS considers ISO 18185 (International Standardization Organization), which enables interoperability of products from multiple vendors, as an applicable container security standard. " ...

Via Savi Tech: RFID E-Seal Licensing Program

Airbus RFID ODIN Expertise

Airbus partners with ODIN tech for RFID technology experience. ...

... "ODIN will provide solution design, deployment, testing and support services for the first of three ambitious phases to provide real-time automated visibility across the Airbus value chain. Airbus plans to employ ODIN expertise for numerous projects throughout its supply chain and assembly operations, and make ODIN's RFID services and performance optimization software available to Airbus suppliers and customers. " ...

Via ODIN technologies: Airbus Deal

RFID Fast Moving Consumer Goods

TOSHIBA TEC is working to demonstrate fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) in an integrated Supply Chain Management system, called the RFID EXPRESS POS Project. ...

... "The TOSHIBA TEC set up consisted of a barcode printer at the manufacturing side to print RFID tags and the innovative RFID-driven Express POS terminal in the retail shop. The combination of barcode and RFID technologies allows a gradual integration of RFID into the retail organisation while at the same time protecting their ICT investment. " ...

Via TOSHIBA TEC: TOSHIBA TEC tests Supply Chain Management program for item-level RFID consumer goods

DOD RFID Contract Continues With Unisys

U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) awards Unisys its follow-on contract to enhance supply chain visibility for military logistics. ...

... "The contract, which includes firm fixed-price and time and materials work, is worth approximately $28 million in the first year, if the government continues to order time and materials work at the current level. The total value of the contract could be approximately $112 million if the government exercises all options and continues to order time and materials work at the current level. In addition, the contract provides for the award of additional fees if performance metrics are exceeded and the imposition of penalties if the metrics are not met. Award of this contract allows Unisys to continue its efforts on the RFID program that began 13 years ago. Unisys has been working with DoD to develop, maintain and enhance an in-transit visibility system utilizing radio frequency identification technology. Providing visibility almost instantaneously into the location of supplies and shipments enables the military to increase its agility to supply units and soldiers with critical supplies in a timely manner, focus on mission-critical activities and respond quickly to mission changes.

Unisys tracks approximately 125,000 shipments of supplies each week, including ammunition, food/rations and water, medical supplies, vehicles, vehicle parts and aircraft. Attached to these shipments are RFID tags that store information vital to the soldier. Unisys tracks shipments across all modes of transportation - truck, rail, ship and air - to their final destinations in combatant commands worldwide. Fixed and handheld readers send and receive radio signals to and from the tags. Because data written to each tag are replicated among five servers, users worldwide have access to the same information on each item. Consequently, decision-makers at all levels of command and throughout the logistics supply chain can plan, prioritize and redirect shipments accordingly and collaboratively. " ...

Via Unisys: Unisys Wins Bid to Continue Operating and Maintaining One of World's Largest RFID Networks for Department of Defense

RFID PathMinder System Building Block

RFID PathMinder is a system building block that is configured to meet RFID application-specific needs in the industrial space. ...

... "The RFID PathMinder combines the RFID integration and domain expertise of URS/EG&G with Siemens advanced automation and RFID product technology to deliver the reliable, real-time, asset tracking required in supply chain logistics, retail distribution centers and manufacturing.

The RFID PathMinder offers a wide array of optional, fully integrated functionalities, including RFID reading (UHF), advanced event triggering, pre-processing/filtering RFID readings, wireless networking, PLC control, motion control, optical data matrix reader interfaces, status indicators (light column, audio alarms, HMI) and UPS protected power. The RFID PathMinder can also be configured to include an all-flash memory based industrial PC (Siemens Microbox controller) to support application specific software locally. " ...

Via Siemens: Siemens & URS/EG&G Introduce RFID PathMinder

RFID Trade Lane Project Enables Shanghai Route

Shanghai-Savannah Express Trade Lane Project will use RFID technology to manage this supply chain route. ...

... "SIPG and Savi Networks have jointly developed a localized China RFID solution which includes electronic seal and GPS integrated handheld for this project. This solution builds on a project previously conducted by SIPG from Shanghai to Yantai and will facilitate SIPG's objective of being a global information and logistics hub. The solution will be built upon an open, international standards-based network platform, including compatibility with ISO standard 18000-7 for active RFID devices and ISO standard 18185 for electronic container security devices, both operating at the 433.92 MHz radio frequency. " ...

Via Savi Technology: Shanghai International Port Group, Georgia Ports Authority and Savi Networks Plan Real-Time Information Pilot on Cargo Shipped From Shanghai to Savannah

RFID Growth in Farm Supply Chain

New market research shows that the use of RFID systems and tags will increase to $5.8 billion spent in managing the food supply chain by 2017. ...

... "The allied sector of RFID on animals and in farming is similarly rising rapidly in dollars spent, an already robust figure of $462 million in 2007 rising to $2.6 billion in 2007. " ...

Via Research and Markets: RFID for Animals, Food and Farming

RFID Research in Retail Supply Chain

Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals funds RFID research. ...

... "Hardgrave's research team has already been collaborating with WalMart Stores Inc. in the use of RFID at the pallet and case level, and found that using the tags can reduce out-of-stock inventory by 30 percent. " ...

Via The Morning News: RFID Lab

Metro Supplier RFID Tag Pilot

METRO Group's Tag It Easy! pilot uses Checkpoint RFID labels to manage the inbound supply-side of its supply chain in Asia to Germany. ...

... "The METRO Group expects that the RFID pilot will optimize efficiency and transparency in the international flow of goods. Access to more-accurate, real-time shipment data will help the retailer improve control over its international supply chain, resulting in lower warehousing costs and reduced out-of-stock situations.

METRO Group has standardized on UHF EPC Gen 2 tags for compliance to all regional requirements: 917 - 922 MHz for China; 920 - 925 MHz for Hong Kong; and 865.6 - 867.6 MHz for Europe. The RFID tags on the labels provided by Checkpoint will store the Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC), which will be read at several points along the supply chain from Hong Kong to Unna, Germany. The METRO Group will receive an electronic delivery note in advance of the shipment, detailing the container content. The supplier also benefits, by gaining detailed proof of package delivery. The pilot will run for three months, and the METRO Group expects to extend the project to include several other Asian suppliers at a future date if the concept proves to be feasible. " ...

METRO Group and Checkpoint Systems Partner to Help Suppliers Tag it Easy

DHL RFID Pharma Temperature Controlled Logistics Innovation Recognized

DHL is recognized for innovative application of RFID technology in the pharma supply chain. ...

... "Today's pharmaceutical products generally consist of temperature-sensitive ingredients that can lose their effectiveness when they are placed in an environment that is too cold or too hot. The DHL Innovation Initiative developed an inventive solution to monitor temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products during transport. RFID sensor tags made by the development partner Infratab monitor the temperature of pharmaceutical shipments. The stored measurement data can be read by a RFID reader without physical contact using radio waves. In the process, the shipment does not have to be opened. The link to the database is handled by solutions created by IBM, one of the global innovation partners of the DHL Innovation Initiative. Thanks to the new service, pharmaceutical companies can react to temperatures that exceed or fall below limits even while the shipment is still being transported.

The battery-powered memory chip is equipped with an integrated alarm function that records each time that the temperature rises above or falls below predetermined limits. In the future, unusable medications can be removed more quickly from the supply chain. Based on the temperatures to which the shipment was subjected, the sensor chip also determines the individual expiration date for medications. As a result, physicians and pharmacists can distribute the medication whose expiration date comes first, preventing medications from going bad after they have left the transport chain. " ...

Via DHL: TEMPERATURE-MONITORED PHARMACEUTICAL LOGISTICS WITH RFID

RFA RFID Technology Provides DVD Theft Protection in Supply Chain

NXP Semiconductors and Kestrel Wireless collaborate to develop an RFA (Radio Frequency Activation) RFID solution to provide DVD theft protection throughout the supply chain. The solution enables the ability to disable DVDs at manufacture and enable at the point of sale, rendering the in-transit goods useless while in the supply chain, which eliminates the motive for theft. ...

... "The first application of NXP and Kestrel's RFA / RFID solution will be integrated into optical media. The solution, however, is applicable to all consumer electronics products, such as MP3 players, electric shavers, toothbrushes, flat screen TVs, ink jet cartridges and flash memory. NXP and Kestrel's network-based RFID solution opens up new opportunities for the distribution of optical media and consumer electronics. It eliminates expensive security devices, restrictive packaging and display cages, enabling a more comfortable shopping experience for consumers. Minimized product packaging creates more environmentally friendly solutions, such as paper instead of plastics. Additionally, the costs and problems of returns for DVDs and other disc-based media are reduced. " ...

Via NXP: NXP and Kestrel Wireless partner to eliminate theft of DVDs in retail

RFID Discovery Services

Afilias will offer its Discovery Services for free to RFID supply chain pilot programs through 2007. ...

... "Afilias Discovery Services provide a unique standards-based solution that companies can implement to link their supply chain partners to historical information concerning the life cycle of RFID tags, while still keeping competitive data secure. " ...

Via Afilias: Free Discovery Services for RFID Pilots

WalMart RFID Technology Expansion Continues Per CIO

Executive Vice President and CIO Rollin Ford describes WalMart's plan to continue implementation of RFID technology in a keynote speech at the RFID Journal Live conference in Orlando, Florida. ...

... "WalMart Stores continues to expand its RFID capability to additional facilities, enabling an additional 400 WalMart stores by the end of this fiscal year, WalMart Executive Vice President and CIO Rollin Ford said in a speech Monday. Ford also discussed the technology's current and future benefits to both business and consumers including broad benefits for improving sustainability. He said current benefits include a 30 percent reduction of out-of-stocks, reduction of excess inventory in the supply chain, and sustainability impacts. Ford also outlined advancements including pallet locators now being used at Sam's Club locations. On a daily basis, more than 24 million people shop our stores. If 100,000 extra trips are avoided by having items in stock, we will save customers $22.8 million a year in gas savings and reduce greenhouse gases by 80,209 metric tons. " ...

Via WalMart: WalMart Continues RFID Technology Expansion

Kimberly-Clark RFID Data Enables Demand Forecasting and Lower Out-Of-Stock Conditions On Retail Shelves

TrueDemand Software closes enterprise-wide license deal with Kimberly-Clark that integrates RFID technology into the demand forecasting and replenishment system. ...

... "Kimberly-Clark will leverage the TrueDemand Forecast and Replenishment Manager (FRM) Release 2.1 to improve sales by reducing retail shelf out-of-stocks (OOS) for its global consumer product brands, which include Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups and Kotex. TrueDemand's FRM solution will leverage RFID data to provide Kimberly-Clark with greater insight including: perpetual inventory by retail store and selling floor, a daily forecast by product and store, and OOS root causes and lost sales by product and store and retail DC, with prioritized actions for replenishment analysts, retail partners and field operations teams. As a result, Kimberly-Clark will be able to more accurately predict product availability, inventory, execution and out-of-stock problems at the aggregate level across all stores, as well as at the detailed product-store level, and take the appropriate preventive action. TrueDemand’s unique predictive software will recommend specific replenishment, forecasting and store operations actions that Kimberly-Clark can take to help improve sales and market share. It provides out-of-stock root cause analysis and recommendations for continuous improvement for regular replenishment." ...

Via Kimberly-Clark: Kimberly-Clark to Power Shelf-Back Supply Chain (PDF) ...

RFID Zero-Sales Preventer Avoids Out-of-Stocks Through Real-Time Supply Chain Visibility

New Zero Sales Prevention module enables manufacturers to improve the real-time performance of their retail businesses by leveraging RFID-enabled supply chain information to avoid stock-outs and support decision making. ...

... "The new service represents a revolutionary advance in how manufacturers use and view RFID data to find supply chain issues, understand root causes and quickly resolve problems to ensure sales are not negatively impacted. Manufacturers such as Ocean Spray Cranberries, an early adopter of the service, are now able to prevent more out-of-stocks and zero sales days because of the visibility provided by TR3's On-Demand RFID Solutions. TR3's Zero Sales Prevention module is a new addition to the company's TR3 On-Demand Solutions suite - currently in use by more than 30 leading manufacturers - that enables product managers to dramatically improve promotions and perishables management and prevent out-of-stock situations. By automatically converting the millions of RFID scans received from retailers on a daily basis, TR3 On-Demand sifts, organizes and extracts critical issues that were previously invisible to product and supply chain managers. Within a single dashboard, manufacturers can view the performance of each product line and have visibility to prioritize and fix supply chain issues in real-time. " ...

Via TR3 Solutions: TR3 Solutions Extends Leadership in RFID Solutions with Release of Zero Sales Prevention Module

RFID Open-Standards Benefits Container Tracking Per Pilot

Recent active RFID pilot project using Oracle and Savi Technology infrastructure validates the need for common standards to realize benefits in port operations. RFID-enabled seaborne shipping containers provide real-time tracking status in the Asian supply chain tested in the pilot, using EPC Information Services (EPCIS), a draft standard championed by GS1 EPCglobal. The objective of this effort is to enable greater transport visibility across stakeholders, countries and continents. ...

... "The benefits seem clear, but many vendors and end users believe that the prerequisites for greater RFID adoption in this sector are a common nomenclature for RFID data, and a standard framework for the way in which that information is shared via open standards such as EPCIS. The EPCglobal pilot with Savi and Oracle represents a significant step towards the practical realization of a truly useful standard, notes Liard. It is the first real-world demonstration among port operators of the potential created when multiple trading partners and service providers can speak the same language. " ...

Via ABI ResearchContainer Tracking Pilot Highlights the Benefits of RFID Standards in Port Management

LIME RFID Tag Secure Encryption of Item-Level Data

SecureRF Corp introduces the LIME RFID-Tag, which is a battery-assisted passive tag with security technology that authenticates and encrypts data communications on the tag. It can be used at the item-level that only allows authorized readers to access the sensitive information on the tag. The company will begin deployment of the LIME tag in the pharmaceutical industry supply chain. The RFID tag will support authentication and data protection to address drug counterfeiting through cryptographic methods that translate into an electronic seal. ...

... "The company's strong LIghtweight Multistream Encryption Tag (LIME Tag) is based on SecureRF and industry standard security protocols. SecureRF's solutions include integration technology that allows its tags to be used with most of today's Gen 2 compliant readers without the need for firmware upgrades. This will allow currently deployed systems to easily upgrade to a fully secured supply chain with little cost or change to their current network. Mike McGregor, formerly a lead RFID chip designer at Alien Technology Corp. and one of the industry's foremost RFID chip engineers, is in charge of creating the new LIME Tag. SecureRF's founders include three world-class mathematicians / cryptographers who developed the cryptographic algorithm. " ...

Via SecureRF: LIME Tag authenticates and encrypts data communications on the tag ...

RFID Solution Center Certified

EPCglobal Inc. certifies Alien Technology's Dayton RFID Solution Center with its Performance Test Center Accreditation mark. ...

... "The Accreditation Mark signifies that the Alien RFID Solution Center has successfully completed the EPCglobal Performance Test Center Audit and that it uses a standard set of performance test profiles to simulate real-world conditions in testing the readability of end-user products that are tagged with the Electronic Product Code. In successfully completing the audit, the Alien RFID Solutions Center is now accredited to provide RFID-tagged unit performance testing services in dynamic conveyor and dock door portal environments, in order to provide organizations with the assurance of a uniform level of readability for their tagged items across the supply chain. " ...

Via Alien Technology: Alien RFID Solutions Center, Dayton accredited for EPCglobal-certified RFID conveyor and dock door testing ...

RealTime RFID Cargo Tracking Pilot in Asia

Oracle and Savi Technology collaborate to implement real-time the location tracking of cargo containers shipped from Hong Kong to Japan. The pilot project with GS1 EPCglobal has been completed. ...

... "The milestone project was the first time that real-time information generated from active, battery-powered RFID tags on sea containers was exchanged with EPC Information Services (EPCIS), a draft GS1 EPCglobal standard enabling trading partners to communicate in a common computer language on objects moving throughout the supply chain. The communication interface with the EPCIS Server and Repository was enabled through integration of Oracle Sensor Edge Server, a component of Oracle Fusion Middleware, as well as Savi Site Manager operating software and active RFID tag and data collection systems. " ...

Via Oracle: Oracle and Savi Technology Provide Critical Information Link to Track Active RFID-Tagged Containers Shipped from Hong Kong to Japan ...