Teams to evaluate customers' options for radio frequency identification, install and maintain systems
Everett, WA — March 10, 2005 — Intermec Technologies Corp. has created a specialized group of experts designed specifically to help companies evaluate, install and maintain radio frequency identification (RFID) systems.
The Intermec RFID Deployment Services Group, whose members have a combined total of more than 25 years of RFID experience, will be charged with helping end-users make informed decisions when choosing and implementing RFID.
The group's set of services, dubbed RFIDeploy, includes process analysis, to validate RFID business plans against actual and proposed processes; site analysis, to verify that a company's proposed physical environment can effectively accommodate the technology; and site installation, to place and test designated RFID devices for optimal performance.
"The Intermec RFID Deployment Services Group helps users establish whether or not RFID is an appropriate technology to help achieve their business objectives," said Intermec Vice President Scott Medford. "This group can help customers understand RFID and if it supports their current and proposed processes."
Intermec has provided RFIDeploy services to dozens of companies since 1999, including to Worley, one of the United States' top third-party logistics(3PL) companies.
"We're currently working with Intermec on process and site analysis in preparation for our RFID deployment," said Worley Executive Vice President Blaine Worley. "The level of preparation and information that Intermec provides is essential to understanding how Worley can best implement and use RFID."
Intermec said that RFIDeploy services will facilitate a phased approach to implementation of the technology to help eliminate error or waste, with the potential for a faster return on investment in RFID. The Process Analysis and Site Analysis phases provide validation of the RFID business case as it applies to current and proposed processes.
"Intermec has been creating, selling and installing traditional data collection equipment for decades, and we have years of experience with real-world RFID," Medford said.
RFID is a complement to industry's current bar code-based tracking systems, allowing companies to automatically track inventory throughout an entire supply chain. RFID automatic data collection typically does not require line of sight or manual scanning as do most bar code-based systems.
For example, information from RFID-tagged cases on a pallet can be read automatically using fixed, mobile or handheld readers rather than requiring individual bar code scanning. Read/write RFID tags and labels can be reprogrammed to update the information on each tag as it proceeds through manufacturing and supply chain processes, providing new levels of up-to-date information for timely decision making.
