Designed to help customers meet compliance requirements, increase efficiency
Chicago — August 30, 2004 — SSA Global, a provider of extended enterprise solutions and services, said today it has a radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabled product offering for SSA Warehouse Management in support of Wal-Mart and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) compliancy.
Both entities have set a January 1, 2005, deadline for suppliers to include RFID on their products for easier tracking in the supply chain.
SSA Global said its RFID offerings are designed to help manufacturers and distributors increase their material handling productivity to manage and track the movement of materials. As a result, SSA projects, is that customers can meet compliance mandates and enhance their competitive advantage with a quicker return on investment.
SSA RFID for Distribution is the first of several RFID solutions for warehouse management and manufacturing.
"There are areas where RFID fits well today and where value is reasonable, including asset tracking, palette license plates and security," said Dwight Klappich, vice president at META Group, a provider of IT research, advisory services and strategic consulting. "SSA can call upon its background in warehousing, transportation and manufacturing to leverage RFID across its portfolio of applications."
SSA Global said its early adopter customers are already realizing benefits from SSA RFID via their ability to determine the exact location of inventory and shipments in the supply chain. Among them is DC Logistics, a company piloting SSA RFID for Distribution at their RFID Deployment Center in Dallas.
The Center's goal is to enable customer compliance with shipping into Wal-Mart's RFID Pilot Distribution Centers in the North Texas area. These services will expand to facilitate adherence to future RFID mandates from Wal-Mart, the DoD and others. Additional capabilities will include tagging, cross-docking and consolidation services, making this the first full-function facility.
Douglas Chaney, president, DC Logistics Inc., said, "We found the automatic collection and analysis of data through SSA RFID for Distribution invaluable to our successful development of the RFID Deployment Center. Our ongoing relationship with SSA Global has resulted in a solution that improves current processes and delivers immediate value."
SSA said its RFID for Distribution is built to meet the industrial needs of consumer goods and direct store delivery companies. It was built in collaboration with several partners, including IBM, Sun Microsystems, R4 Global Services and SIS Technologies Inc.