SDCExec.com |

Dallas — May 15, 2008 — Solutions provider Xterprise Incorporated announced today that its Clarity-RTI Re-Usable Transport Items solution is now available for beer keg tracking and return applications.

According to the Beer Institute it is estimated that U.S. brewers and beer importers lose more than 300,000 kegs annually, at a cost of approximately $50 million. The Clarity-RTI Solution is designed to help eliminate lost, stolen and misplaced beer kegs.

"The increasing number of lost and stolen beer kegs negatively impact the bottom line of U.S. brewers and importers," said Jim Caudill, vice president of marketing and strategy for Xterprise. "Our Clarity-RTI application can help producers significantly reduce, and even eliminate, keg loss."

A key part of beer production supply chains is optimizing the outbound shipment, distribution and return of beer kegs. From brewing to consumption, the emphasis is on delivering beer to the consumer as quickly and cost efficiently as possible, plus ensuring that all kegs are returned. Until now, there has not been an automated, accurate way to track [and optimize] the reuse of the kegs. Many end up "stranded" at distributors or in retail coolers, and others simply never return. An increasing percentage of kegs are also being stolen and sold to scrap metal processors. The cost of keg replacement is typically borne by the beer producer and directly impacts their bottom line.

In addition to the Clarity-RTI software application, the Xterprise solution uses the rugged IP68 Ironside Gen2 UHF on-metal tag from Confidex, tested in the Xterprise labs and with breweries by Confidex to ensure the tag will meet the needs of keg transport and storage environments. Options include tags for pallets and locator boards, readers in brewery lines, warehouse portals, mobile and fork-lift readers, and hand-held readers for delivery collection and maintenance.

The Xterprise professional services and consulting team works directly with the beer producers using the company's High Definition Enterprise RFID Strategic Assessment to develop strategic and execution plans for design/configuration, integration, pilots and eventual roll-out of a comprehensive Clarity-RTI solution on the Microsoft BizTalk Server platform.