SAMSys' RFID Hardware Deployed at Bradshaw International for Wal-Mart RFID Compliance Project
SAMSys' Open Architecture Will Accommodate Changing Tag Protocols
TORONTO, March 6 /CNW/ - SAMSys Technologies Inc. (SMY: TSX), an
international provider of Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) hardware
solutions has been deployed at kitchenware supplier Bradshaw International as
part of an enhanced warehouse location tracking system designed to comply with
Wal-Mart's RFID mandates. Bradshaw holds the No. 1 market share for kitchen
accessories sold through the grocery, drugstore and mass merchandise channels
with its Good Cook(TM) brand, and is among the 137 suppliers involved in the
rollout phase of Wal-Mart's RFID project.
SAMSys' MP9320 UHF Long-Range Reader is being used to perform
verification functions ensuring the readability of RFID tags applied to
Bradshaw pallets and cases destined for Wal-Mart's pilot RFID distribution
centers in Texas. MobileXe, the supply chain consultant and system integrator
that designed and implemented Bradshaw's RFID system, selected the SAMSys
hardware because of a proprietary open architecture that provides a wide
choice of tags as well as the ability to change tag protocols now or in the
future without the need to change readers.
The system that MobileXe designed for Bradshaw's 1-million-square-foot
distribution center in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, incorporates Electronic Product
Code (EPC) tag generation in a standard "pick to label" process. This approach
to meeting RFID requirements is enabling Bradshaw to eliminate the cost of a
standalone "slap and ship" or middleware solution.
EPC labels are printed and applied only to EPC-flagged items, then given
to an order puller or checker. Once a pallet is full or the order is complete,
the EPC items are delivered to a special verification conveyor where the
SAMSys reader is installed. A photo eye triggers the reader and determines a
good or bad read. A bad read stops the conveyor, triggers a light tree, and
requires a manual push-button reset.
This pilot system or a variation is expected to expand to other areas of
the Bradshaw facility as RFID adoption spreads, potentially creating a need
for RFID equipment at each of the dozens of doors in the company's warehouse.
"Tag verification is a critical step in the RFID process, and we needed a
reliable reader that provided maximum flexibility in tag selection," said
Brian Foster, IT manager at Bradshaw International. "SAMSys is not affiliated
with any particular tag vendor, so their multiprotocol support allowed us to
pick any tag while also giving us the assurance that we will have a
protocol-agnostic upgrade path as new tag technologies emerge."
"Companies like Bradshaw are leading the way on RFID through their
participation in Wal-Mart's electronic product tracking initiative, and their
choice of RFID equipment is setting an example for the rest of the industry,"
said Cliff Horwitz, chairman, CEO and president of SAMSys Technologies Inc.
"The use of our readers at Bradshaw, Jack Link's Beef Jerky and for other
Wal-Mart compliance projects is therefore positioning us to capture
significant market share as RFID gains momentum, both to aid product tracking
for trading partners and to help businesses improve their internal
operations."
The SAMSys MP9320 UHF Long-Range Reader deployed at Bradshaw supports all
EPC tag protocols including EPC Class 0, 0+, Class 1, ISO18000-6A, 6B, 6B
"fast", Philips U-code 1.19, 1.19 "fast", Intermec Intellitag, and EM Marin
4022, 4222, 4223, and is upgradeable to EPC Class1 Gen 2. It also offers
multi-regional support via configurability for North America FCC (902-928 MHz)
and European ETSI (865-869 MHz) regulatory environments. |
