Supply chain news round-up

RFID integrated into air-conditioners for assembly tracking

TECO Group has announced its home appliances division has begun incorporating passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags into air-conditioners manufactured at its site in Taiwan. The launch this year follows a two-year pilot that involved the tracking of 600 tagged air conditioners through assembly, distribution and consumer purchase. Tags will now be integrated in all of the 200,000 air conditioner units the firm manufactures annually. The technology enables TECO to track the assembly process of each unit from one station to the next, providing supply chain visibility through the distribution center and to store, by collecting data related to every unit’s operation once it is purchased. For customers, the built-in EPC Gen 2 RFID tags, created specifically for this application, act as proof that the appliances they buy are authentic TECO products. Each tag also serves as a “black box,” storing what has happened to the air conditioner to which it is attached, in the event that the unit malfunctions, as well as sharing error code information with maintenance personnel. Technicians can then access the tag’s data via an EPC UHF RFID reader, in order to identify what is wrong with the air conditioner prior to its disassembly.

AirTrak records waste bin location with RFID

Specialty Solid Waste & Recycling, a California waste collector, has been using Air-Trak’s RFID-enabled WasteConnect solution to record waste bin location, Air-Trak has announced. Specialty Solid Waste & Recycling, which provides collection services for the city of Sunnyvale, California, is employing the WasteConnect system not only to track the locations and activities of its trash-pickup trucks, but also to monitor which bins are dumped during rounds of waste and recycling collection. Air-Trak provides GPS-based vehicle-tracking solutions for companies that dispatch trucks or vans on daily rounds and want to gain visibility into the movements of those fleets. The WasteConnect system consists of GPS tracking units, a hosted network operations center to manage data collected from those devices, and access to that information by Air-Trak’s customers via a portal. The GPS unit, typically installed beneath a truck’s dashboard, captures the GPS coordinates and forwards that data to the server every fifteen seconds, via a cellular connection. In that way, the company’s management knows which truck went to which destination (for example, the streets it traversed), and the firm can thereby determine if a set of residences may have been overlooked.

Barcoding partners with eBizNET solutions

Through a strategic alliance, systems integrator, Barcoding, and software provider eBiznet, say they are delivering end-to-end cloud-based supply chain execution solutions. Barcoding is a leader in enterprise-wide mobility solutions and eBizNET Solutions, a provider of SaaS-based supply chain execution solutions. Through this partnership, the companies say customers will be able to receive end-to-end, fully integrated supply chain technology solutions, incorporating hardware from Barcoding and eBizNET’s suite of supply chain execution software. As an eBizNET technology partner, Barcoding is recommending, procuring, configuring and supporting hardware – such as mobile devices, wireless infrastructure, barcode printers, and consumables- to ensure a more seamless implementation of the eBizNET Supply Chain Suite. Available primarily on a SaaS/cloud-based model, the eBizNET Supply Chain Execution Suite features scalable modules including warehouse management, reverse logistics, cargo and transportation management.

Royal Mail invests in barcode tracking for business mail

Royal Mail has announced a £70m investment plan that will see barcodes added to letters so that large companies can track their mail through the postal network. The initiative, planned for  a 2014 launch is aimed at improving the value of business mail through the ability to track bulk mail consignments through to delivery round. Each customer will be able to add barcodes to their mail that will give them access to daily online reports detailing which mailings have been processed and sent out for delivery. The barcode service means business customers will know when customers’ statements and business mail will be delivered, enabling companies to better monitor the success of marketing mail campaigns with improved insight into customer action as a result of receiving a mailing. Previously, according to the operator, this information had only been available through higher cost tracked services. The initiative will also allow businesses to more accurately link associated communications activities with delivery of their mail, such as sending the customer a text or email with supporting information on the day their mail is delivered.