WhereNet said its G2 system, combined with the provider's software, provides an integrated wireless infrastructure for real-time asset location, messaging, telemetry and 802.11b applications.
The system, which uses identification tags and a wireless network of detection antennae, allows companies to keep track of assets as they move around a facility, potentially reducing labor costs, lost inventory and spoilage or shrinkage.
A major problem with supply chain visibility today is that there really isn't any visibility at the plant or warehouse floor level, said Dwight Klappich, program director for application delivery strategies at META Group. "Supply chain management and [enterprise resource planning] applications are handicapped by inaccurate, latent data. Companies increasingly need constant connectivity between mobile assets and data-starved information systems.
Today's enterprises rely on a host of disparate wireless systems for conducting day-to-day operations. Managing multiple wireless infrastructures for data collection and communication poses increasing challenges for information technology organizations, which devote major resources trying to integrate all of the unrelated systems together into a common IT platform. WhereNet said G2 offers a single wireless infrastructure that can provide low-cost location, messaging, telemetry and 802.11b applications for managing mobile resources in a local environment.
WhereNet announced that New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), the Toyota-General Motors joint-venture vehicle-assembly plant in Fremont, Calif., has already adopted the G2 system.
Pricing for WhereNet G2 wireless systems and associated applications is based on the configuration requirements of a customer's system. The provider said that a small WhereNet G2 system begins at $10,000. The system is available immediately.
