RFID News Roundup

The following are news announcements made during the past week by the following organizations: SML Intelligent Inventory Solutions, SML Group, Xterprise ; ITL, Overheer Systems; Asset Vue; L-com Global Connectivity; and InvoTech Systems.

Xterprise Rebrands as SML Intelligent Inventory Solutions, Plans 2015 Announcements

To better reflect its strategy to provide RFID-enabled inventory-management solutions to the apparel market, Xterprise, the item-level RFID software subsidiary of SML Group, a global RFID label manufacturer based in Hong Kong, has announced that it has changed its name to SML Intelligent Inventory Solutions (SML IIS).

SML Group acquired Xterprise in June 2013 (see SML Group Buys Software Company Xterprise). Since then, SML Group says it has combined its RFID tags and inlays with Xterprise's Clarity software suite, and the combination has helped it win numerous key accounts with a technology solution designed to help customers quickly, easily and affordably deploy item-level RFID on an enterprise scale. SML IIS will continue offering its flagship inventory-management software suite under the Clarity brand.

"Clarity is well established as a best-in-class software application suite for RFID item-level inventory management," Frew said in the statement, "and as SML IIS we will continue to invest and innovate on it, incorporating the latest technologies and applications, such as omnichannel fulfillment, fixed reader technologies, loss prevention, customer experience and brand authentication."

In a blog posting about the re-branding, SML mentioned that SML Intelligent Inventory Solutions plans to launch several major innovations during the first half of 2015, "including mobile-ready inventory management applications and a new version of Clarity that will make retailers believe SML has been reading their minds (hint: it has)."

As part of these upcoming launches, SML IIS plans to unveil iOS- and Android-compatible versions of its Clarity item-level RFID software so that retailers can leverage their investments in in-store mobile technology, according to Paul Knepper, SML IIS' director of marketing and business development. Knepper says these updates equal "big cost savings, since a Bluetooth sled affixed to an iPod Touch that the retailer may already be using for a variety of other apps is much cheaper than having to buy a special-purpose device just for RFID."

The new release of Clarity, Knepper reports, will have several new features and functionalities designed to make the software more scalable, and make it easier for store employees to get work done. This will include including enhanced replenishment, stock-taking and advanced architectural changes, he says.