Savi launches integrated RFID product tracker
joined up with GPS provider Comtech Mobile Datacom to develop an
integrated tracker that identifies cargo while in-transit and
on-the-move.
The companies claim that commercial users can mount the two-way communication kit to the roof of the driver's cab, enabling them to automatically locate, manage and now redirect cargo in near real-time while and wherever it is being transported.
This is a vital consideration to suppliers and manufacturers under pressure to realise better cost margins. A recent report carried out by Deloitte Research for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT), suggest that rather than taking a holistic, global view of their businesses, most global manufacturers focus on addressing the individual pieces of their far-flung global network - the complex web of suppliers, production facilities, distribution centres and customers - that comprise their supply chain.
This piecemeal approach means that more than 80 per cent of them fail to capture the full returns of their global investments.
To address this issue, Savi has combined its technology with Comtech to provide complete supply chain visibility. "This packaged offering brings a new level of in-transit visibility between supply chain chokepoints, providing end-to-end visibility from the shipment's origin to its ultimate destination, while also enabling users to dynamically manage their shipments in support of the customer," said David Stephens, Savi's senior vice president - public sector.
Comtech's next generation Movement Tracking System integrates the Savi Mobile Reader (SMR-650) active RFID reader board with Comtech's mobile satellite transceiver (MT-2012) and Comtech's worldwide GPS location and satellite communications system. The Savi SMR-650 reader board reads Savi's active RFID tags affixed to containers and other cargo transported by the vehicle.
Then, Comtech's MT-2012 uploads that data (including GPS location) via an embedded satellite modem to a satellite system that communicates with the customer's server and software system. Comtech's Movement Tracking System also provides the driver with near-real-time messaging capability.
The power level of the Savi SMR-650 reader board can be adjusted. When turned up to a higher power, vehicles can continuously drive past stockpiles of tagged cargo at supply depots and automatically read and relay captured data via satellite to software systems.
These new capabilities provide a "mobile infrastructure" that is able to continuously track and manage consignments, supplies and material from the factory.
In Europe, RFID is being driven hard by retailers such as Metro, which see RFID as the natural replacement of industry's current bar code-based tracking systems. This will allow companies to automatically track inventory throughout an entire supply chain.
Metro and its industry partners, including Kraft Foods, have been delivering pallets and hanger goods equipped with smart chips since November 2004. Metro now plans to extend its RFID roll-out to unit levels by the end of 2005. By January 2006, Metro Group plans to have 300 suppliers sending RFID-tagged pallets and cases to its distribution centres, and retailers worldwide are exerting more pressure on suppliers to adopt RFID technology.
