RedPrairie, BT to offer mobile asset management for businesses using RFID technology
Stokenchurch, United Kingdom — June 14, 2005 — Technology provider RedPrairie and BT, which offers networked IT services and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, today announced a partnership to offer RFID-enabled mobile asset management as a fully managed service.
According to the companies, many businesses operate fleets of high-value mobile assets such as totes, roll-cages, trailers, beer kegs and medical equipment, and keeping track of such assets as they move between sites can be difficult. Businesses can waste time and resources searching for their assets, and as a result carry buffer stocks to address typical annual losses of 10 to 40 percent per year. Increasingly, the providers said, organizations are also under pressure to meet corporate and regulatory governance standards that require asset and equipment management.
In response, RedPrairie has chosen to work with BT to offer mobile asset management as a managed service. The companies said that by attaching RFID tags to the assets and placing RFID readers that are connected to the Internet in fixed locations in the physical environment, businesses now just need to access a Web screen to find out where resources are located and to build location, status and maintenance audit trails. Alerts can also be set up to highlight events such as assets not being returned to base or serviced at the right time.
Martin Hiscox, EMEA Leader, RedPrairie commented, "The savings can be huge. We've deployed mobile asset management at one North American client and reduced the average time taken to find mission critical equipment from 61 minutes to 8 minutes, giving a net saving on wages alone of over $200,000 annually."
BT said it will install, manage and maintain RFID tags and readers, undertake site engineering work and host RedPrairie's mobile resource management (MRM) software. RedPrairie will configure its MRM software for individual customer requirements.
"The great thing about offering asset management as a managed service with BT is that we are able to offer our customers a complete solution for a fixed fee or on a per-asset, per-month basis," said Hiscox.
Ross Hall, CEO, Auto-ID Services, BT, added, "In today's digital networked economy, an efficient supply chain underpins relationships with partners and customers. Being able to track valuable assets, particularly those that are moved frequently from location to location, is therefore vital. RFID technology is a proven and reliable data capture tool. By using it to empower asset management systems with accurate and timely information, businesses will be able to save both time and money."
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