Apr 12, 2018The following are news announcements made during the past week by the following organizations:
Zebra Technologies;
CyberData;
Zonar, Child Check-Mate System;
Tyco Retail Solutions;
Avery Dennison;
Smartrac;
Mainetti Group, Fast Value Global;
Identiv;
Primera Technology; and
FEIG Electronics.
Zebra Technologies Predicts 40 Percent of Parcels Delivered Within Two Hours by 2028
Zebra Technologies has announced the results of its Future of Fulfillment Vision Study, a body of research analyzing how manufacturers, transportation and logistics firms, and retailers are preparing to meet the growing needs of the on-demand economy.
Zebra's Future of Fulfillment Vision Study surveyed more than 2,700 professionals in transportation, logistics, retail and manufacturing firms regarding their plans, implementation levels, experiences and attitudes toward omnichannel logistics. Surveys were conducted in conjunction with research partner Qualtrics in 2017 across the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, Spain, China, India, Australia and New Zealand.
The study revealed that 78 percent of logistics companies expect to provide same-day delivery by 2023, while 40 percent anticipate delivery within a two-hour window by 2028. In addition, 87 percent of respondents expect to use crowdsourced delivery or a network of drivers that choose to complete a specific order by 2028. Only 39 percent of supply chain respondents reported operating at an omnichannel level. The survey found reducing backorders was the biggest challenge to reaching omnichannel fulfillment for one-third of respondents, followed by inventory allocation and freight costs.
Seventy-six percent of surveyed retailers use store inventory to fill online orders, and 86 percent of retail respondents plan to implement buy online/pick up in store in the next year. Retailers are investing in retrofitting stores to double as online fulfillment centers and shrinking selling space to accommodate e-commerce pickups and returns.
Globally, 87 percent of respondents agreed that accepting and managing product returns is a challenge. The increase in free and fast product delivery corresponds with an increase in product returns, a costly concern that retailers struggle to manage efficiently across many different purchasing models. Seven in 10 surveyed executives agree that more retailers will turn stores into fulfillment centers that accommodate product returns. More than 60 percent of retailers that currently do not offer free shipping, free returns or same-day delivery plan to do so, while 44 percent expect to outsource returns management to a third party.
Although 72 percent of organizations utilize bar codes, 55 percent of organizations are still using inefficient, manual pen-and-paper based processes to enable omnichannel logistics. By 2021, handheld mobile computers with bar-code scanners will be used by 94 percent of respondents for omnichannel logistics. The upgrade from manual pen-and-paper spreadsheets to handheld computers with bar-code scanners or tablets will improve omnichannel logistics by providing more real-time access to warehouse-management systems.
Radio frequency identification technology and inventory-management platforms are expected to grow by 49 percent during the next few years. RFID-enabled software, hardware and tagging solutions offer up-to-the-minute, item-level inventory lookup, heightening inventory accuracy and shopper satisfaction while reducing out-of-stocks, overstocks and replenishment errors.
Future-oriented decision makers revealed that next-generation supply chains will reflect connected, business-intelligence and automated solutions that will add newfound speed, precision and cost-effectiveness to transportation and labor. Surveyed executives expect the most disruptive technologies to be drones (39 percent), driverless or autonomous vehicles (38 percent), wearable and mobile technologies (37 percent), and robotics (37 percent).
The need for inventory accuracy will continue to rise in North America. Manufacturers, logistics companies and merchants ranked current inventory accuracy at 74 percent, and reported needing to be at 83 percent to handle the rise of omnichannel logistics.
Retailers in Europe and the Middle East are filling digital orders directly from their physical stores. Retailers and operations leaders are calculating that a network of stores can get digital orders faster and more efficiently than a handful of centralized warehouses. More than 80 percent use store inventory to fulfill orders, while 29 percent expect this to increase by greater than 10 percent during the next five years.
Ninety-five percent of respondents in the Asia-Pacific region rated e-commerce as the driving need for faster delivery. The region expects to implement same-day delivery faster than any other region, and 42 percent of those surveyed ranked drones as one of the most important disruptive technologies.
Finally, shipping fees and returns are undergoing a makeover in Latin America. Approximately 40 percent of respondents plan to discontinue free shipping, 55 percent expect to end free return shipping and 61 percent forecast the elimination of separate returns facilities that are managed by third-party companies.
CyberData Intros New RFID Access-Control Devices
CyberData has announced a release of two devices to its line of secure access-control devices geared toward the SMB security market: the SIP RFID Access Control Endpoint and the SIP RFID Keypad Access Control Endpoint. With these new releases, VoIP VARs and systems integrators can provide access-control solutions using customers' new or existing IP PBX server.
Traditional access-control devices may require control panels and proprietary software or hardware, and may carry additional costs for services, such as monitoring or system upgrades. With the SIP RFID Access Control Endpoint and SIP RFID Keypad Access Control Endpoint, VoIP VARs and installers can sell to customers that are looking to integrate access-control devices within an existing VoIP infrastructure.
CyberData reports that it has implemented a high level of mutual authentication security within these RFID endpoints. Data between the card and the reader is encrypted using AES128, preventing hackers from spy on the card's data being sent to the reader and duplicating that card. The SIP RFID Keypad Access Control Endpoint supports two-factor authentication.
Both devices are full-featured, with Web-based reporting and the ability to lock and unlock doors and gates. Each can also store up to 500 codes, including a "bad code" list that, when activated, will make a phone call and play a pre-recorded message, or broadcast a multicast message to IP notification endpoints.
"Arming VoIP VARs and Installers and their customers with quality endpoints that integrate into a customer's VoIP infrastructure and deliver the security features they require, while being more cost-effective than traditional devices, is our priority," said Phil Lembo, CyberData's president and CEO, in a prepared statement. "The fact that these devices can operate in either stand-alone mode or as a network device is a compelling offering to customers, as it takes into account their current needs, and what may be their future needs. The value proposition, especially as it pertains to the security within the devices, is undeniable."
Zonar, Child Check-Mate System Partner to Improve School Bus Safety
Zonar, a provider of smart fleet-management technology, has announced an agreement with Child Check-Mate System to sell the company's technology and integrate it with Zonar's fleet-management solutions. School district fleets may leverage this technology to be compliant with the Paul Lee School Bus Safety Law, which requires busing fleets to be equipped with a child-safety alert system to help ensure all students have exited a bus. As part of the agreement, Zonar will offer an option to integrate the Child Check-Mate System into its ZAlerts and Electronic Verified Inspection Reporting (EVIR) software, creating digital recordings of missed inspections and sending real-time alerts to notify dispatch of issues.
"We want to make sure bus drivers and school officials have an easy way to help ensure that no student is ever left on the bus – after all, their top concern is to keep the children in their care safe," said H. Kevin Mest, Zonar's senior VP of passenger services, in a prepared statement. "In addition to selling the Child Check-Mate System on its own, using the technology with Zonar's ZAlerts builds on the intent of the law by sending real-time alerts to management when child checks fail to happen, creating another way to help make sure your kid gets home safe."
Digital alerts are important, the company explains, because there are incidents where an alarm sounds in a large bus yard or parked at a driver's home or a satellite terminal or parkout without supervisory personnel present to hear the alarm. A ZAlert ensures a notification is sent to dispatch when an alarm goes off, identifying exactly which bus was not properly checked and showing its current location. The digital recording of incidents can also be used by school bus fleet managers to track how often incidents occur, identify trends and coach drivers toward better safety practices.
"More than 20 million students ride school buses each year and our goal is to make sure no child gets left behind on a vehicle," said Brad Both, Child Check-Mate System's CEO, in a prepared statement. "When paired together, our solutions are not only easy to implement and use, but help school drivers and fleet managers prevent these types of incidents and even increase their standards of safety and general practices."
The Paul Lee School Bus Safety Law was established in recognition of a Whittier student who passed away after being left unattended on a school bus for several hours. Under the new law, schools are required to equip all buses with a child-safety alert system to ensure that all students have exited a bus upon ride completion. Drivers must manually contact or scan the device at the interior back of the bus to confirm the completed visual inspection before leaving the vehicle unattended after each route. School bus drivers will also be required to complete annual inspection training to receive their renewed safety certificates.
Tyco Retail Solutions Unveils IoT RFID Inventory-Management Portfolio
Tyco Retail Solutions showcased its portfolio of Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled RFID solutions, providing real-time in-store visibility and inventory insights, at this week's RFID Journal LIVE! conference and exhibition, held in Orlando, Fla. Tyco Retail's RFID products are intended to provide retailers with real-time visibility into available inventory throughout the store and across the supply chain. Features include
Fitting Room 360 and Personalized Customer Service: Collaborating with Kurt Salmon, part of Accenture Strategy, the 1:1 RFID Retail solution enables retailers to enhance the customer experience and improve conversion rates by gaining real-time insights into shopper preferences and fitting room inventory. Touch-screen devices installed in fitting rooms automatically display the products customers are trying on by reading RFID tags. Customers can request assistance or alert store associates via the app to bring in different sizes, styles and colors button. This RFID-enabled personalization and customer engagement can help retailers drive sales, increase basket size and improve shrink management, to help prevent potential loss situations.
RFID Cycle Counting With TrueVUE: Offering a real-time view of inventory to help retailers maintain a consistent in-stock position on the selling floor, the system boosts customer satisfaction and topline sales. The combination of Tyco's RAIN RFID Cycle Counting, interactive restocking and inventory analytics helps retailers know what merchandise is available on the sales floor. It identifies items that need restocking and directs associates to comply with inventory standards for merchandising and displays. Frequent high-speed inventory counting using handheld RAIN RFID readers and TrueVUE analytics helps store associates know which items should be moved from the stock room to the sales floor to address out-of-stocks.
RFID Cycle Counting With TrueVUE EXPRESS: Designed for small to mid-sized retailers, this cloud-based application enables retailers to help gain item-level visibility and assist in managing daily retail inventory operations. TrueVUE EXPRESS helps deliver inventory accuracy, facilitating faster back-to-front replenishment, reduced out-of-stocks, improved customer service and increased sales. A Bluebird mobile Android device, equipped with the TrueVUE EXPRESS app, is connected to the handheld reader, enabling retailers to count RFID-tagged merchandise, search stock and write to tags. This lets retailers count inventory and establish a high level of accuracy for inventory in the back room and on the sales floor. Utilizing this application for regular cycle counting allows stores to improve inventory visibility.
Secure Mobile Self-Checkout: Resulting from the collaboration of Tyco Garage and partner Shopic is a new application to enable self-checkout with automatic detachable RFID loss prevention tags. Store shoppers can purchase items on their mobile devices and easily detach security tags from a convenient self-service kiosk, providing security for retailers and self-checkout for shoppers. The application leverages a new RFID hard tag with an integrated retractable pin and a RFID detacher, while the new tag can be quickly attached and detached.
Avery Dennison Expands UHF RFID Portfolio With High-Performance ETSI Solution
Avery Dennison has announced the addition of the AD-324u8 to its portfolio of UHF RFID inlays. The tag was originally released as a solution for retail brand owners to enable high-speed tracking and management of apparel items and other valuable merchandise.
The AD-324u8 features UCODE 8, NXP's latest integrated chip, with 128 bits of EPC memory and a range of functionalities including self-adjust, memory safeguard and an optional, customizable brand identifier feature. Both read and write performance are increased over the previous generation of chip, the UCODE 7, the company reports.
The AD-324u8 is intended for use cases within the retail environment, but its ability to be read on glass and plastic also makes it suitable for applications within the health-care and pharmaceutical markets, such as medical vials and boxed supplies. The inlay is available in three formats, including a dry inlay (1-UP, Opaque PET), a wet inlay (1-UP, Opaque PET) and a pressure-sensitive paper label.
Features include global performance (860 to 960 MHz) with peak performance in the ETSI region (865 to 868 MHz); Class K certification by the University of Auburn's ARC program; a UCODE 8 chip; the same antenna size and pitch as the older generation; a 48-bit unique serialized TID number; performance capability on a range of product contents; Permalock; and a kill command.
Smartrac Showcases Industrial Internet of Things Solutions
At this week's RFID Journal LIVE! 2018 conference and exhibition, held in Orlando, Smartrac showcased several products and solutions, along with those of its partners. The company's focus at the event was on applications for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and enhancing the consumer experience.
Smartrac presented a mix of RAIN RFID and NFC innovations designed to provide supply chain visibility in order to increase efficiency and safety in industry and logistics. The company's Smart Cosmos IoT solutions suite allows customers to leverage the range of opportunities offered by RFID-based IoT solutions.
"Our portfolio does justice to the importance of the world's largest RFID industry event and underpins Smartrac's RFID technology innovation leadership," said Ted Danhauser, Smartrac's VP of sales for the Americas, in a prepared statement. "Together with our customers and partners, we are showcasing the way to advance the Industrial Internet of Things and how enhanced customer experience can bring real benefits to your business."
Smartrac's Circus Tamper Loop tags enable NFC-based security and consumer engagement solutions at the point of sale and post-sale. The tags enable digital seal functionality for smart packaging and brand protection, which indicates when a product or its seal has been tampered with.
Also showcased was Vitamix's Ascent and Venturist food blenders utilizing Smartrac's NFC technology. With NFC readers built into the appliance base, custom-built NFC tags embedded in the supplied and separately sold containers and cups can automatically change multiple operating parameters. NFC plays a key role in both functionality and safety, and is a key element for a sophisticated wireless interlock system.
Smartrac's Temperature Logger NFC, intended to meet the needs of the pharmaceutical and food industries, enables temperature monitoring at the package or item level. The battery-powered label solution helps customers to make informed decisions regarding shipment quality, inventory and logistics. Sensor data can be read using a smartphone app.
Smartrac's Experiences solution, powered by Blue Bite, digitalizes branded products. NFC-enabled smart products, like the official Telstar 18 FIFA World Cup soccer match ball, become a network of digital touch-points. The integrated solution combines Smartrac's Circus Flex NFC transponders with its Smart Cosmos suite.
Shortlisted for RFID Journal's Best New Product Award, Smartrac's Midas FlagTag is an on-metal solution for the authentication of retail, pharmaceuticals, health care or industrial items, to address the challenge of cost-effectively tagging metallic packaging and liquids. The tag uses the metallic surface as part of the antenna structure, to provide high performance in less demanding physical environments.
Smartrac's reduced-size Frog 3D inlays and tags allow RFID tagging of smaller and more challenging items. Offering high read performance for fixed RFID readers regardless of the angle between the tag and the reader, Frog 3D inlays and tags are designed for item-, case- and pallet-level tagging applications in industrial and supply chain logistics use cases.
The company also showcased its Maxdura hard tag series for industrial applications. In automotive, for example, Maxdura tags can endure high temperatures in all production stages, the company reports.
Mainetti Group Enters RFID Market by Partnering With Fast Value Global
Mainetti Group has announced that it has entered the global RFID market by forming a strategic partnership with Fast Value Global (FVG) of Japan. The FVG business was launched in Japan in 1961 by Sadae Nishino, and is run today by his son, group CEO Toshihiro Nishino. Traditionally, the business was Japan-centric, providing tags, labels, stickers, care labels and woven labels. In recent times, the firm has extended its footprint and entered the RFID market, producing and selling a variety of RFID products mainly for the Japanese market.
FVG has developed into a full solution provider for the retail industry and is the major or sole provider of RFID products and services for a number of Japanese retailers. The firm has offices and production facilities in Japan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia and Bangladesh.
"Mainetti has been partnering with FVG for a number of years already on various RFID projects," said Paul Withers, Mainetti Group's global head of packaging, in a prepared statement. "In formally coming together the combination of FVG's cutting edge technical and production capabilities combined with Mainetti's fantastic global reach and unrivalled customer base allow us to offer the market a new and different choice. We believe that by developing solutions which focus on our customers' specific requirements rather than those of the provider, we can create added value and unlock the true potential of RFID technology".
Identiv Offers Intelligent Transponder Solutions for Internet of Things
Identiv presented its portfolio of RFID, Near Field Communication (NFC) and inlay solutions this week at the RFID Journal LIVE! 2018 conference an exhibition, held in Orlando. The company is focused on the design and manufacture of embedded high-frequency (HF) and ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) transponders for objects, such as medical devices, books, toys, athletic apparel, perishable food items and pharmaceuticals.
Identiv's RFID, NFC, and inlay portfolio of solutions feature various transponder form factors, including dry inlays, wet inlays, labels, tickets and more. These transponders are designed to deliver RFID connectivity to any object in the Internet of Things (IoT) market. Applications range from brand authenticity, consumer engagement and item-level tracking to tamper detection, and embedded sensors.
Identiv's customer, AUM Cardiovascular, has been named a finalist for the Best RFID Implementation in Health Care category for the 12th Annual RFID Journal Awards. During the awards presentations, Jixing Yao, the company's VP of R&D, presented a live demonstration of the AUM Cardiovascular CADence System, a non-invasive handheld acoustic and ECG device that helps physicians detect physiological and pathological heart murmurs. Using RFID technology, Identiv's HIPPA-compliant intelligent inlays protect patient privacy by de-identifying sensitive information stored in the single-use patient booklets that come with the CADence System.
Primera Technology Intros On-Demand Color RFID Label Printer
Primera Technology, a designer and manufacturer of specialized digital printers, has announced its RX500 color RFID label and tag printer. The announcement was made this week at the RFID Journal LIVE! 2018 conference and exhibition, held in Orlando.
The RX500 is a full-color on-demand RFID label and tag printer. Labels are encoded, verified and printed in a single pass. Finished labels are then cut with an internal guillotine-style cutter and dispensed one at a time. On-demand printing makes the printer suitable for applications such as visitor or trade show badges, for which a single label at a time with unique information is required. Batches of many labels or tags at a time can also be encoded and printed.
A built-in UHF RFID reader-encoder module is supplied by Honeywell. It is compliant with the EPCglobal Gen 2 Class 1 and ISO 18000-b/c specifications. Print resolution is up to 4800 dpi, while print speeds are up to 2.5 inches (63.5 millimeters) per second. A single full-color ink cartridge provides ease of replacement in the field. The printer weighs 7 pounds (3.2 kilograms), making it easy to pack and transport.
"Printing full-color RFID labels and tags adds a new, value-added feature to the technology," said Mark D. Strobel, Primera's VP of sales and marketing, in a prepared statement. "With RX500, you can add color coding, graphics and high-resolution photos to RFID labels and tags. With color, you're essentially adding an extra layer of accuracy and safety in applications such as medical file folder labels, visitor badges, photo wristbands and specimen tracking labels."
Supported substrates include matte and gloss inkjet papers, vinyl, polypropylene and polyester. A high-degree of water, smudge and smear-resistance is provided through third-generation dye-based inks and the print surfaces of inkjet labels, such as Primera's TuffCoat microporous labels. Most popular UHF inlays from major RFID companies can be encoded.
The printers are now available at Primera's website, as well as via authorized resellers and distributors worldwide. It is priced at $2,495. Sample printed and encoded labels are available upon request for evaluation and pilot programs.
FEIG Electronics Announces New UHF RFID Gate Antenna
FEIG Electronics, a global supplier of RFID readers and antennas, has introduced a new UHF gate antenna designed to detect the RFID tags that pass through the gate, provide an accurate count of individuals and record their direction of travel. The FEIG U500 Gate Antenna is suitable for event management, retail loss prevention and access control.
RFID readers and antennas combine to create a well-defined detection zone that provides a solution to monitor doorways, corridors, or entrance and exit points. FEIG's integrated RFID portal systems can be used for various applications, ranging from preventing theft by detecting tagged items to reading RFID-enabled tickets to streamline event entry, keeping people and things moving to avoid bottlenecks, and safeguarding valuable assets.
"The new FEIG UHF Gate Antenna addresses a variety of challenging applications, ranging from event management and monitoring secure areas to retail loss prevention and patient tracking in hospitals," said Klaus Schoeke, FEIG's VP of technical sales and support, in a prepared statement. "A unique feature of our UHF Gate Antenna is the ability to identify both the item and the direction in which assets and people are traveling. This capability, in combination with FEIG's highly sophisticated software algorithm, prevents false reads caused by UHF tags outside the portal or false alarms; for example, when a customer returns an item to a store rather than leaving with it."
"The small size, integrated design and versatile color options of the FEIG UHF Gate Antenna, enables an unobtrusive system that fits into the aesthetics of the surroundings while protecting valuable assets," said Carsten Berlips, FEIG's senior product manager for Germany, in the prepared statement. "Plus the ability of FEIG's software to suppress false alarms to eliminate unnecessary noise and inconvenience was important in the product design."
The modern design of the FEIG U500 Gate Antenna includes alarm lights and the ability to work in standalone and EAS mode, while also enabling a comfortable aisle width. The antenna offers high read performance with 3D detection and an optional people counter.
