Members of the Auto-ID Lab at Cambridge, in the United Kingdom, have formed a company called RedBite Solutions, which has developed track-and-trace software designed to be highly configurable and easy to deploy in conjunction with radio frequency identification or other automatic-identification technologies.
“We tried to understand why the RFID adoption rate was slower than expected despite hardware costs coming down and performance improving,” says Alex Wong, a former associate director of the lab, and currently RedBite’s CEO. (The company’s other founders include Professor Duncan McFarlane and Alan Thorne, both of whom are still on staff at the Cambridge Auto-ID Lab as directors.) “We concluded that it was due to complex software integration and other bespoke software components that were too expensive to develop. We decided, therefore, to create a track-and-trace platform that would make RFID deployments easier and less expensive in total-cost terms for users—one that could be customized depending on what you are tracking, without the need for additional custom coding.”
Wong says the software has the ability to manage RFID readers, determine the location of an object fitted with an RFID tag and incorporate business logic necessary to turn RFID data into actionable information.
The company, which was formed in stealth mode in 2006 and received some initial funding in 2007, has developed several applications. RedBox is a standalone, generic track-and-trace platform designed to streamline the collection of RFID data and convert it into information useful to businesses. RedBox filters, logs and manages data, providing basic business logic for decision-making. The RedBox platform can be extended by adding specific modules, named RedLog, RedWarehouse and RedAsset.
All of the products are cross-industry solutions for tracking items in a supply chain, and can be used as a standalone application or integrated with existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. RedLog is a logistics application for tracking outbound and inbound goods across multiple sites along the supply chain, from factories to warehouses to distribution centers to retail stores. RedWarehouse manages goods for storage and shipments within warehouses, while RedAsset is an asset-management application configured for various usages, including the management of spare parts, tools and mobile equipments.
When used as standalone solutions, RedLog, RedWarehouse and RedAsset enable users to drag and drop icons in a graphical user interface to customize workflows. The products handle common business tasks. RedLog, for instance, automates inbound and outbound processes, generates advance shipping notices (ASNs) and acknowledges when pallets have been received at a destination. RedWarehouse handles put-away and picking processes. RedAsset, which is focused primarily on store management, handles goods receipts, automated goods issue, stock checks and so forth. The solutions can all be configured to trigger alerts, such as when products arrive or assets move.“We are really focused on simplicity and ease of deployment,” Wong says. “Our solutions do not just utilize RFID. They can handle bar code and sensor data as well.”
All of RedBite’s solutions support EPCglobal‘s Application Level Events (ALE), Low Level Reader Protocol (LLRP) and EPC Information Service (EPCIS) standards, though users need not be using RFID hardware based on EPC standards to benefit from the RedBite products.
The solutions are written in Java and built on open-source software—which, Wong says, makes them less expensive than other applications, though he declines to indicate how much cheaper they are relative to other software suites currently on the market, such as those from OATSystems, Tyco Retail Solutions and Xterprise. He says his company is presently working out a pricing model.
“Our overwhelming target is value—providing the simplest, cheapest RFID-based solution that meets customer needs,” McFarlane states. “Some customers want to keep their track-and-trace systems simple and separate from their business information environment. RedBite’s offerings enable that, but support integration where that is desired.”
Wong initially believed that RedBite’s products would be attractive to small and midsize businesses since they offer a less expensive route to achieving visibility of products and assets than other options currently on the market. But to date, he says, the firm’s customers have primarily been large corporations.One of RedBite’s initial customers is Sony Europe, which has been employing the logistics application to track televisions from a manufacturing plant in Asia through a distribution center in the Netherlands to stores in Germany. (Sony Europe’s Netherlands DC has been using RFID since 2006: See Sony Europe Implements Video-RFID Tracking System.) Sony also utilizes the software to handle reverse logistics for items returned by customers.
“They felt that customizing their SAP ERP system to handle RFID data for track-and-trace applications would have been a challenge because of the costs associated and complexity of the ERP system,” Wong explains. “They liked our approach because they could benefit from being able to track products through the supply chain without the high integration and infrastructure costs associated with customizing ERP software.”
Wilmar International, one of the largest agribusiness groups in Asia, has deployed RedBite’s RedAsset and RedWarehouse to manage several facilities throughout that continent. RedBite recently received additional funding from Wilmar Consultancy Services (WCS), owned by Wilmar International and one of Asia’s largest systems integration companies.
According to Wong, RedBite would like to sell its products through systems integrators, but would like to work with those that have experience in RFID deployment and knowledge of specific vertical markets. While RedBite is based in Cambridge, he says, it is a global company, with the ability to deploy track-and-trace systems around the globe.
“We are establishing a second development team in Asia,” Wong says. “We will utilize WCS’ resources to deploy systems in China, or other manufacturing hubs in Asia. A further benefit of this relationship is that goods that are manufactured there can be source-tagged and then tracked from the point of manufacture through to the point of consumption in Europe or North America.”