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Asset Management Headlines RFID Conference Sign Up to receive Daily News Alerts in your E-mail Inbox
Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 6:05:00 PM |
As RFID providers look to push the technology beyond its so-far limited use, new applications are beginning to surface that redefine RFID as not just a supply chain technology, but as an enterprise management tool.
This week, OATSystems Inc., AXCESS International, and ThingMagic Inc. announced RFID tags that variously allow visibility at retail locations; protect mobile assets in the enterprise; and even locate people on company grounds. And, if the thought of RFID-enabling company assets sounds too complicated, Fluensee Inc. rolled out a new out-of-the-box starter kit.
The RFID World conference in Dallas this week served as the backdrop for these announcements. During an opening keynote, ThingMagic executives demonstrated the use of the company's new Mercury5e RFID reader technology, using it in conjunction with the Google Maps service to locate people and objects in real time. The newest Mercury5e reader uses the Intel RFID Transceiver R1000 chip, which integrates a number of components into a single RFID circuit. The result is a smaller reader that is low in energy consumption, the company said, allowing it to be used in items such as labels and employee badges. Such a set up could help locate employees in the event of an emergency, officials said.
While tracking assets and people can strengthen an organization's internal control, OATSystems is proving that RFID can be leveraged as a marketing tool as well. The company announced its Real-Time Promotion Execution Solution and OAT RFID Mobile TAG solution, a combination of EPCglobal passive tag technology and RFID readers that can help manufacturers manage promotional displays on location at retail sites.
Product promotions account for about 15% of revenue for manufacturers, according to OATSystems officials. But those promotional displays, meant to direct the consumer to a sale, are left to be managed by the retailer, which very often does not move the display onto the store floor at the beginning of the promotional period. When that happens, manufacturer can lose early sales opportunities. The OATSystems solution is deployed on the display itself and feeds back to the manufacturer data about where the actual display is, including dashboard alerts that let them know if they need to take action — like visit the retail site.
Kimberly-Clark is currently using the OAT Mobile Tag technology for some of its promotional displays. Details of the deployment were not disclosed, but early industry reports identified Kimberly-Clark and Procter & Gamble's Gillette unit as early adopters of "tagged" promotional displays at Wal-Mart stores.
This is a bit of a twist on Wal-Mart's RFID mandates, through which the retailer uses the technology to track shipments from the manufacturers who supply its stores. In the case of Kimberly-Clark and Gillette, it is now the manufacturer who is checking up on the retailer.
"This is something that CPG vendors can proactively influence, as opposed to shipping off product and saying, 'It is out of our hands now,'" said Venkat Krishnamurthy, OATSystems' CTO, in an interview with Managing Automation. "For the first time they can take action and they are in control."
In order for RFID to be useful, however, it must be easy to deploy, cost-effective, and provide a level of value-add that a company has not yet been able to achieve. For companies just starting to test the RFID waters, Fluensee Inc. is now marketing an RFID starter kit, called AssetTrack Express, that starts at less than $10,000. It includes asset tracking software, a rugged, handheld RFID reader, up to 250 assorted passive RFID tags, a quick set-up guide, and support services. The deployment can be up and running in as little as a day, officials said, and can be used to monitor the movements of assets including laptops, furniture, reusable containers, and even manufacturing tools.
Similarly, AXCESS International this week announced a battery-powered active RFID tag. The tag, based on the company's ActiveTag system, can attach to laptops and other computer equipment and transmit a wireless message up to 100 feet to palm-sized receivers that connect into the corporate network.
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