Nordic IDea Customer Magazine 2010

NORDIC ID’S CUSTOMER NEWSLETTER 2010

CASE STUDIES RETAIL - Kaiser’s Tengelmann - Euronics Friesoythe LOGISTICS - Assistor - Tuko Logistics OTHERS - London Underground - Martela - Premio Reifen + Autoservice

EDITORIAL

A European

LEADER in mobile RFID

We in Nordic ID have a strong faith in the future of RFID technology. Although RFID is still crawling up from the Trough of Disillusionment of Gartner’s hype cycle, RFID’s share of our revenue has increased rapidly, even during the economic downturn. That is why we are and want to remain the pacesetter in mobile RFID technology.

By introducing a new version of Morphic RFID, Nordic ID has taken a big step ahead. We have developed technology which makes it possible to utilize RFID extensively inside and outside storage areas. WLAN communications combined with GPS and identification makes the way for completely new powerful applications in supply chain control.

Our customers have a great number of successful RFID implementations. And more, they are serious with their future plans with RFID. Also in this paper we explain how, for example, Assistor Car Logistics and the London Underground have utilized RFID technology in their own logistics and maintenance activities. Nordic ID provides mobile devices for professional use enabling customers to improve their inventory management, customer service, communication and supply chain control.

To be successful, RFID must be made easy, understandable, and affordable. Made easy means ergonomics and ease of integration and ease of use. The first mobile phones re2 • Nordic IDea

sembled house bricks and could be used only in a limited area – pretty much like mobile RFID readers today. Look where the development has taken the phones.

When engineers try to push mysterious technology to the market, they will meet resistance. In the worst case, the new technology is seen as a threat, because new and unknown always contains the risk of failure.

In addition, in many countries the government sees RFID as violating people’s privacy rather than increasing productivity. All this, because the benefits of RFID, among them speed and cost efficiency, are not yet known to any great extent.

For the time being, the small and underdeveloped RFID market keeps prices high.

However, compared to barcode readers RFID readers have, generally speaking, lower manufacturing costs. Affordable but high performance readers will soon penetrate the market.

Today car immobilizers represent almost half of the whole RFID business. The next big bang in two years will be NFC. People carry their mobile phones everywhere so it’s natural that it will also function as your wallet and user interface for many services.

A payment with a debit/credit card takes seconds while touching NFC partner device takes only a fraction of that. Convenience is the word for today’s consumers!

Jorma Lalla, CEO, Nordic ID

RFID must be made easy, understandable, and affordable.

4

RFID OVERTAKES “You will soon be the Barcode

NORDIC IDEA 2010

able to read product information, service records and more by touching a tag with your smart phone.”

Contents 2

EDITORIAL

4

RFID OVERTAKES THE BARCODE

6

Nordic ID Morphic

RFID CASE STUDIES

NORDIC ID MORPHIC Two-in-one: a true union of data collection and voice communication

10

Furniture Inventory in Few Seconds Martela & Vilant

12

Assistor Car Logistics

14

London Underground’s Escalators Get an RFID Facelift

NEWS

NORDIC ID MONITOR

16

Product and Partner News

20

Container Centralen is Optimizing Horticultural Logistics

PRODUCT INTRODUCTION 22

Automated self monitoring for food retail

Nordic ID Monitor: Automated Self Monitoring for Food Retail

NORDIC ID SUPPORT 24

CASE STUDIES

Nordic IDea 2010 Editor-in-chief: Jorma Lalla, CEO Editor: Katja Kettunen Layout: Katja Kettunen Nordic ID Headquarters Myllyojankatu 2 A 24100 SALO FINLAND

Printed at Finepress Oy, Finland

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25

Handheld Solution Improves Efficiency at Tuko Warehouses

28

Looking Forward to a Peak Season Without Stress

30

Into the Future in Real-Time Kaiser’s Tengelmann Opts for Nordic ID Mobile Computers in all its Branches

32

A Sleek, Versatile Handset.

Electronics giant Euronics’ Friesoythe

C DIC E OLAB E OR

L

tel. +358 2 727 7700 fax + 358 2 727 7720 marketing@nordicid.com

Nordic ID RFID Demos

FINNISH WAYS 34

Art from Snow and Ice

36

LET THE COMPETITION BEGIN

441 678 Printed Matter

Cover image: Kimmo Metsäranta. The views, opinions or positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Nordic ID or any employee thereof. Nordic ID does not assume any liability or warranty for the provided information being up-to-date, accurate, complete or appropriate. All offers are without engagement. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. Nordic ID and Nordic ID Morphic are registered trademarks of Nordic ID Oy.

Nordic IDea • 3

Text: Carl Michener / ID BBN Photos: Katja Kettunen

Every year, RFID adoption picks up the pace, moving into different verticals and finding new applications.

The burning question is: will RFID replace the barcode, and if so when?

In some industries, RFID is a must-have technology. In retail, for example, it has taken the clothing industry by storm because the return on investment for that vertical is just so good: reducing stock-outs from double digits to less than one percent and taking store inventory counts from 90 hours to three, as examples. Wal-Mart and other mega-retailers are also driving RFID adoption, but for the great majority of retailers RFID hovers somewhere off in the future.

“Where you see a barcode today, in the near future you will see an RFID tag.”

So the short answer, according to two opinion leaders in Finland, is yes, RFID will eventually replace the barcode, but not quickly.

Jorma Lalla, CEO of Nordic ID, a manufacturer of mobile data collection handsets, explains that the slow pace of adoption is not due the cost of tags: “Early in the millennium, research institutes and universities forecasted a revolution in identification of

Jorma Lalla is the CEO of Nordic ID. And the oranges? See the video!

goods within a few years. As we all know,” he continues, “this didn’t happen. That’s because retailers had invested huge amounts of dollars in barcode technology. No one’s going to reinvest just because there’s a new technology available.”

BENEFITS AND STANDARDS: THE DRIVING FORCES OF ADOPTION Like any technology, the more RFID is used, the more valuable it becomes. In an open supply chain environment, RFID can play a major role in tightening inventory and shipping logistics along the entire chain. Because tags can store item-level information – from site and date of manufacture to stock keeping

unit (SKU) to transportation and logistics information – every item carries a complete, individual history of its journey from manufacture (or harvest) to sale. Taking it a step further, tags can have sensors built in to log moisture, temperature and other parameters over the course of their journey. And because of the robustness of RFID tags and the accuracy and ease of reading them, items can be scanned in bulk, while goods are still in boxes, greatly improving inventory awareness and timing. Security is also a plus, says Lalla.

“The FDA is having problems with counterfeit pharmaceuticals. RFID tags can have encryption built in – an easy way to find the fakes. And if you’re looking for a needle in a haystack, try high frequency RFID. Think libraries and music stores.”

A sticking point for any technology is the development of universal standards. We now have standards for many facets of RFID, including near field communication for payment cards and many industrial applications.

Although RFID is currently used to track goods in open supply chains, however, there are still various standards at play. The RFID ecosystem has not yet undergone a VHS/ Betamax-style battle royale, but the International Standards Organization (ISO) is taking a leading role in developing conclusive, comprehensive RFID standards across the board.

BEYOND INVENTORY Heikki Seppä, known in European circles as ‘Mr. RFID’, believes that we have reached a point of sufficiency in terms of standards. A professor with the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Seppä envisioned RFID technology 20 years ago and helped to bring it into existence. He thinks that

Heikki Seppä is a senior research professor with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, a nonprofit organization and the largest multi-technological applied research organization in Northern Europe. The fish is a pike.

existing data content and air interface protolife cycle of goods. In the grocery store, concol standards for tag-reader communication sumers will be able to scan RFID electronic are robust and ready for the open market, product codes with their mobile phones and and he’s taking bets on RFID becoming a find out about allergens, where and when the fixture of the consumer world within 5 years. product was produced or grown, and more.

“RFID is the Internet of things,” he says. You RFID is going to become a big part of the will soon be able to read product informaconsumer shopping experience.” Staying intion, service records and more by touching formed is one driver, but convenience could a tag with your smart be anphone. So much infor“RFID is going to become a big part of the other. mation can be stored Shopconsumer shopping experience.” on these tags that appers plications are virtually might endless. Take, for example, car maintenance. simply walk past a scanner at the exit; the The vehicle’s tag shows the details of all prescanner would read all items in the cart at vious service, as well as information from the once and charge the customer’s account car’s own diagnostic system showing what’s while adjusting the store’s inventory. wrong.” This scenario may not yet have made And the homely barcode? Lalla believes it to the consumer world, but it currently it will die a slow death as barcode reading plays out daily in the airline industry, where equipment reaches end of life and the cost high-memory tags allow maintenance crews of RFID tags continues to fall. “Let’s say to work effectively even if no WiFi connecI’m the retailer, my barcode reader is old and tivity is available.

RFID is part of the items. Efficiencies are such that I will not reinvest in barcode.” SepCONSUMERS WILL DRIVE pä agrees, but thinks that the barcode may ADOPTION be around for some time. “Industries will self-select. Some won’t find good reasons Retailer demand is currently leading adopto replace the bar code for years and years. tion of RFID throughout the supply chain, RFID tags can carry a barcode, and many but Lalla thinks that consumer demand will stores will adopt combined readers – in fact soon drive significant adoption. “People are they already exist.” curious, they demand to be informed. There’s SEE THE already significant interest in knowing the

PRICE GAP NARROWS But many more industries may soon be selfselecting out of barcodes and into RFID as chips increase in functionality while they shrink in price and size. “When I worked at Nokia in the 80s, we were making mobile phones that weighed up to ten pounds,” remembers Lalla. “We thought we were at the peak of development, but our visionary director said that one day they would be very small, quite cheap and everyone would have one. We thought he’d gone mad, but of course it happened, and the same thing has happened with RFID chip technology in the past 10 years. Where you see a barcode today, in the near future you will see an RFID tag.”

Many RFID readers are less expensive than barcode readers, and new manufacturing processes have driven costs down to pennies per tag. But inexpensive as the technology might become, it’s more the growing business case that will justify adoption. Five years ago the majority of manufacturers, logistics suppliers and retailers adopted a ‘wait and see’ attitude. The question, now that the technology has proven it’s here to stay, is: have they waited long enough?

FULL INTERVIEW AT www.nordicid.com Nordic IDea • 5

NORDIC ID MORPHIC

Two-in-one: a true union of data collection and voice communication Text: Kaisa Riikilä / OSG Photos: Katja Kettunen

The popular Nordic ID Morphic will appeal to a wider audience as new features, such as RFID and voice communication have been added to the device. The unit offers a price effective data collec-

Nordic ID has completed an updated version of its popular Nordic ID Morphic. The first Morphic version was released two years ago at a time when the recession hit hard.

Even so, Nordic ID’s faith in the future was strong, and the development work on Morphic’s next version was launched. Nordic ID is Europe’s leading RFID equipment manufacturer and leadership has its obligations.

“If the device is operated within the phone network, its use is naturally subject to charges, but, on the other hand, building a WLAN costs far more. For example, store chains are not especially willing to build expensive internal networks in their stores, because there are quite affordable service providers to be found on the highly competitive telephone network market,” notes Viktor Candolin.

The project group of Nordic ID rolled up their sleeves and got on with the job. The team included, among others, Jessica Säilä, who brought the customer and market perspective to the team; Viktor Candolin, who represented software expertise; and Toni Heijari, one of the group’s hardware experts.

As an alternative to the laser scanner or RFID reader, the new version of Nordic ID Morphic can also be equipped with a 2D imager capable of reading two-dimensional barcodes. This allows for using the handheld device in bookstores, pharmacies and in the health care and automotive industry.

“The reader can be chosen according to its intended use,” says Candolin.

tion solution for even the smallest retail outlets and kiosks. Even more excitingly, it opens up competitive update path from barcoding to RFID for all retailers. The voice communication feature makes any Nordic ID Morphic a phone and data collection device at the same time.

ON THE LEADING EDGE OF TECHNOLOGY The Nordic ID Morphic and its latest new features have been developed to support the most recent technologies, thereby ensuring its users a safe investment. Nordic ID Morphic eliminates the need for two separate devices: it is a mobile computer for data collection and voice communication purposes which offers a full range of wireless communication options, such as CCX4-approved WLAN/WWAN, Bluetooth and GPRS/ Edge.

“For the first time, an EPC G2 compatible RFID reader is more economical to obtain than a mere barcoding device,” Jessica Säilä says.

Moreover, the new device offers a MicroSDHC slot in addition to the SIM card slot, providing users with additional memory space to cope with large amounts of added data or even multimedia requirements.

EASY TO USE, EASY TO UPDATE ”Nordic ID Morphic is first and foremost a working tool. That’s why we‘ve designed it to be small enough to fit comfortably in the hand. Shaped like a mobile phone, the unit

“Because we developed and optimized this unit for our own requirements, we managed to leave all the unnecessary components out from the design. And because of that, the power efficiency is good,” Heijari emphasizes.

Nordic IDea • 7

drops to the user’s palm and offers straightforward operating logic. It will win favor with users across a range of industries and will prove rugged enough to withstand the working conditions no matter what the application environment”, Jessica Säilä points out.

Candolin mentions that the strengths of Morphic also include the ease of software updating for the device. With the optional software emulator, applications that have already been developed for the Nordic ID RF series can also be used for the new Morphic without changes. The remote management system of Nordic ID Morphic enables centrally launched software upgrades for devices already in use. Updating is swift and no user intervention is required.

COMPACT AND COST EFFECTIVE “For the first time, an EPC G2 compatible RFID reader is more economical to obtain than a mere barcoding device. Customers

requiring both devices have an easy transition path from barcodes to RFID, as both readers can be embedded in the same unit.”

Jessica Säilä says.

Jessica Säilä points out that an item-level RFID revolution has occurred with the launching of the new Nordic ID Morphic.

“Previous RFID readers were impractical due to their size. The central goal of the development work was to actually bring about a device, which is small and easy to both use and carry. The new Morphic is really the smallest RFID reader available on the market where you can find all these features,” she declares.

Working with the new unit is effective. The RFID UHF reader offers an output power of 100 mW, which allows it to read tags from a distance of up to 70 cm. The new Nordic ID Morphic versions have a larger mass memory, thus eliminating the need to empty data in the middle of the workday to make space for new data.

UHF READER SHAPED TO FIT “The Morphic is only slightly larger in size than your regular cell phone. For this unit size class, there wasn’t any UHF RFID reader module available that was even close to being small enough, so the task fell to us.

Heijari estimates that the new reader developed by Nordic ID is only about one-fourth the size of corresponding units found earlier on the market.

“Because we developed and optimized this unit for our own requirements, we managed to leave all the unnecessary components out from the design. And because of that the power efficiency is good,” Heijari emphasizes.

This small size otherwise put real challenges to the product development team, however.

For example, the placement of the antenna required an inventive approach.

“The unit has a total of five separate antennas for instance, Bluetooth, GPRS and WLAN.

Jessica Säilä, Head of Product Management and Viktor Candolin, Software Designer at Nordic ID, are more than satisfied with the new flagship product of Nordic ID. All the hard work lead to a device that will win favour among its users across different industries.

8 • Nordic IDea

Installing them so that all worked well and almost simultaneously was a big job from the perspective of radio technology,” Heijari relates.

RFID uses virtually the same frequency as GSM. These two frequencies operate very close to each other and therefore easily cause mutual disturbance. As a result, transmissions can easily cross over into the other frequency as outputs increase. A solution has been sought to the problem by, for instance, RFID radio filtering. In other words, an interfering signal is filtered out so that the RFID signal passes through.

Isolation of the antennas has also been increased, which slightly reduces the reading distance.

Due to the antenna solutions, the Morphic RFID is excellently suited for reading individual tags and writing in places where WLAN or GPRS, for example, can be utilised.

TAILOR-MADE SOLUTIONS FROM THE WINDOWS® CE OPERATING SYSTEM “We chose Windows® CE 6.0 for the operating system because it’s totally customisable. It can be adapted for use with all possible devices and doesn’t force you to use a standard interface. Windows® CE 6.0 represents a major step up. It’s now much closer to desktop Windows computers: It can multitask more programs, it’s technologically revolutionary and it can be used for even the heaviest applications,” Candolin explains.

“The primary benefit of Windows® CE 6.0 is its enduring technology. It won’t be obsolete in about five years and will be able to run applications introduced at that time.

The lifecycle for its competitor, Windows® Mobile, won’t be as long,” says Candolin.

According to him, the other reason why Nordic ID did not use Windows® Mobile as the operating system for the new Morphic is that the new version is no longer compatible with the old Mobiles. It is entirely new, with a fully redesigned user interface.

“In other words, the update path doesn’t exist anymore. The new Mobile is intended for consumer use – Facebook messaging and those kinds of features aren’t really suited for professional use,” Candolin emphasizes.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

NORDIC ID MORPHIC • Windows® CE operating system and a standard browser • 2 year warranty • multiple communication options • ergonomic design • one hand operation

• • • • • •

compact size very light robust sharp and bright colour display future proof technologies available in custom colours

Processor

ARM11 532 MHz

Operating platform

Microsoft® Windows® Embedded CE 6.0

Memory

128 MB DDR RAM / 288 MB Flash Micro SD card slot (SDHC)

Display

2,2”, 320 x 240 pixels (QVGA) touch screen adjustable backlight, energy saving function

Keyboard

21 keys, adjustable key backlight

Battery

LiPo >1100 mAh Charging time 1,5 hours from 0 to 90% 3 hours from 0 to 100% on average back up battery and real time clock

Colour

black or grey

Dimensions

147 x 54 x 24 mm or 147 x 54 x 28 mm

Weight

170 g - 190 g (incl. battery)

Protection

IP54

Drop resistance

1,5 m onto concrete

COMMUNICATION Bluetooth

Class 2 + EDR

WLAN

802.11 b/g/i/e, WPA2

(optional)

GSM / GPRS

EDGE 900/1800

(optional)

USB

via charger

Ethernet

via charger

IDENTIFICATION Barcode

Laser, GS1 DataBar 104 scans/second

(optional)

Imager

2D Imager

(optional)

RFID

UHF RFID (optional) Frequency 868 MHz Output power up to 100 mW Reading range 0-100 cm Typical inventory distance 15 cm Typical inventory speed 800-1200 tags/minute Supported standard ISO 18000-6C (EPC Class 1 Gen 2)

Notification

vibration alert, battery status indicator (LED)

Audio

integrated receiver, microphone, speaker All information is subject to change without notice.

Nordic IDea • 9

RFID CASE STUDY

Text: Kaisa Riikilä / OSG Viestintä Photos: Martela & Vilant

FURNITURE INVENTORY in few seconds Interior solutions provider Martela uses RFID technology to improve its newest service product. Thanks to the new technology, customers can outsource the management of their fixed facility assets to Martela. Practical inventory work is done using Nordic ID mobile handheld computers.

Martela is using RFID technology in the development of its service. To control fixed facility assets each and every piece of furniture is marked with RFID tag. On new furniture the tag is affixed during the production phase and on old furniture tags can be added during the first inventory. Martela employees visit their customers’ locations to take inventory using Nordic ID mobile handheld terminals.

The new technology significantly facilitates and speeds up the inventory management of Martela´s customers. It is exceptionally helpful in planning, for example, workspace alterations or moves. It also makes it easy to keep accounting up-to-date.

“Because the effective reading distance for a handheld reader is approximately 2.5 metres, all the inventory taker has to do is walk quickly through the room and point it in different directions.“

10 • Nordic IDea

Product: Nordic ID PL3000 Cross Dipole

FROM TEN MINUTES TO TEN SECONDS “Taking inventory used to be difficult, because there were often many of the same types of furniture at a location and the person taking the inventory had to constantly keep track of all the different colour and model codes in order to itemise them. Now, the code data is attached to the furniture itself,” explains Ville Lukkari, Business Development Manager of Vilant Systems Oy, which provided the inventory management software for Martela.

“Because the effective reading distance for a handheld reader is approximately 2.5 metres, all the inventory taker has to do is walk quickly through the room and point it in different directions. The item data for furniture in a given space is immediately stored in the reader.”

According to Lukkari, this also results in considerable time savings. “The work that

Vilant offers its customers turnkey RFID solutions which result in faster stock turnover, a lower inventory level and a more efficient supply chain process. The Vilant RFID solution includes Vilant’s own software and hardware or hardware supplied through a trusted partner network and services such as installation, consultation and support.

Vilant uses Nordic ID handheld readers as part of its standard hardware range.

Vilant has seven years of solid experience in providing handheld-based RFID systems to its customers.

“The partnership between Nordic ID and Vilant has been fruitful and Vilant is especially pleased with Nordic ID’s ability to serve market needs in terms of product development much more quickly than many larger handheld reader manufacturers. Examples of product development include intro-

www.martela.com • www.vilant.com

takes around ten seconds using RFID technology takes 10 minutes with the conventional method,” says Lukkari, assessing the improvement in efficiency.

CUSTOMERS SURPRISED

The system not only accelerates the work process, it also reduces human error in taking inventory. RFID numbers make it easy to locate pieces of furniture, even when personnel may have moved them from time to time.

“Our customers won´t believe their eyes when they see the speed of the inventory process.”

Designing new workspaces is also made easy, when there is up-to-date information on existing furniture. The owner of the furniture can also easily ascertain the functional value of its furniture holdings using inventory lists.

“Thanks to our new service, customers can outsource the management of all its fixed facility assets to Martela, thus allowing them to focus their resources on their core areas or operation,” explains Erkki Forsström, Service and New Business Manager at Martela.

According to Forsström, the system will revolutionise the entire furniture service sector.

The Vilant RFID software transfers inventory data to Martela’s information systems.

Martela’s system is based on Vilant Server 5 RFID software products.

“We chose Nordic ID handhelds together with the people over at Martela. We compared devices and wound up going with Nordic ID due to the user-friendliness of their handhelds. We’re using the Nordic ID PL3000 UHF RFID and Nordic ID PL3000 Cross Dipole terminals. They’re so easy to use and you can even operate them using just one hand,” says Lukkari.

ducing UHF RFID to handheld readers and modular antenna variants to the PL3000 and demanding GPRS, 3G or WLAN connectivity options. Nordic ID has been ahead of the market trends time and again”, says Antti Virkkunen, Managing Director at Vilant.

“Also, the geographical presence of Nordic ID has been beneficial in many global implementation projects supplied by Vilant. Support is always readily available for problem solving situations”, continues Virkkunen.

Vilant Systems is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of supply chain and asset tracking RFID systems. Most of Vilant’s customers come from the electronics, automotive or machinery manufacturing industry or operate in logistics.

Since its founding in 2002, Vilant has received numerous growth and innovation awards and has delivered installations to 20 countries on four different continents.

Nordic IDea • 11

RFID CASE STUDY

Text: Darby Thomas / Verda Photo: Shutterstock

CAR LOGISTICS

GROWING PAINS Assistor is a provider of complete logistics for vehicles and spare parts to the Baltic region via its ports and service centres in Hanko, Paldiski, Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa. Around 350 000 vehicles move through their facilities yearly including the brands of BMW, Mercedes, Chrysler, Citroen, Honda, Jaguar, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Porsche and Toyota. Assistor offers services such as sea transportation, forwarding, storage inspection, PDI, installation of extras, customs clearance, taxation, pre-registration, vehicle invoicing, on-line vehicle information, and ground transportation to Finland, Russia and the Baltic Rim.

12 • Nordic IDea

www.assistor.com • www.digia.com

Improved accuracy and efficiency of operations were needed to match their growing volume of operations and service offerings.

Updating their IT systems and processing methods was the logical place to begin. In consultation with Digia, the Helsinki based provider of ICT systems, Assistor chose a mobile RFID platform to allow efficient real-time tracking of operations. Now two years since its launch, Assistor’s experience can be seen as a textbook example of a successful RFID implementation.

LEGACY SYSTEM Prior to Assistor’s use of RFID they relied on a legacy bar-code and paper-based tracking system that functioned by the employees manually scanning the bar-coded label attached to the vehicle upon receipt to identify the 17-digit vehicle identification number (VIN). Additionally, the process was made more difficult by some manufacturers not providing bar codes that would require manual entry of the VIN number into the system. Combine that with the tough winter conditions found in Finland where vehicles can sometimes be completely covered with snow and ice and multiply the process by over 350,000 vehicles. The result was an ideal area for RFID application.

RFID ADVANTAGES Assistor recognized the VIN receipt and processing area as a possible competitive advantage and consulted with Digia to develop an appropriate ICT system to match the demands. Digia responded with a mobile RFID solution that includes ERP, forwarding, vehicle taxation, web portal for car resellers, 170 Nordic ID PL3000 UHF handheld terminals and integrations between all systems and networks. Implementation began in the summer of 2007 and the system is now operating smoothly.

IN PRACTICE Beginning when vehicles are offloaded from the ferry, passive UHF RFID Gen2 tags manufactured by UPM Raflatac, are hung from the vehicles rear view mirror. Each tag contains a 6-digit number in RFID and print format, which is associated to the VIN number in the ERP system.

When each vehicle is transferred to the warehouse area, the event information

Product: Nordic ID PL3000 UHF RFID

(warehouse and lot number) is recorded by PL3000 via RFID. The read range of PL3000 RFID handheld is 1,6 meters, which allows users to quickly pass by a vehicle and read its’ information no matter the condition. If the RFID tag is unreadable for some reason, the bar code is then utilized to update the information quickly.

RFID tag in the wrong vehicle. Now we have only one RFID tag in our hand when we combine it to the vehicle’s chassis number.”

Suvanto also offers this advice to companies interested in applying RFID technology to their operations: “If you plan to use RFID

Later in the process when the vehicle is needed to move from the warehouse to the inspection area, it is easy to locate with information available on the PL3000. During the transfer, the information is updated to the ERP system with a quick scan of the RFID tag. Any additional operations like adding accessories for the final customer such as upgraded stereo, are easily updated in real time with the handheld by workers as they go about their duties. The PL3000 links to the back-end system via WLAN, GPRS, or GSM to allow real time functionality.

RESULTS

The RFID tag is removed when the vehicle is processed for departure to the next operator. The tag is then cleared of the previous car’s VIN association and made reusable for the future vehicles in the Assistor logistics service.

THE LEARNING CURVE No implementation of such a wide-scope system goes without small hiccups and the Assistor RFID system was no exception.

However, the problems encountered were easily fixed and generally due to the user’s unfamiliarity with such technology. Many workers were nervous about using a new system that could be too technical or with the use of handheld devices that would be easily lost. After only brief training the problems never materialized as the users found it was virtually impossible to forget the handhelds as they would not know which car to go to next.

Tom Suvanto, deputy managing director of Assistor explains one of problem situations they did encounter: “When the vehicles arrived we added the recyclable RFID tags. In the beginning we did not understand how sensitive the tags were, so we put the wrong

technology, put aside your current way to operate and start from scratch.”

Assistor’s system now accurately identifies and tracks their vehicles throughout processing. All information is available in realtime at the hands of workers via the Nordic ID PL3000 and Digia’s Enterprise ERP system. Processing time has been reduced and most importantly errors have been virtually eliminated. Assistor is now able to handle more cars with the same amount of personnel and a reduced margin of error. Utilizing the handhelds, users move about their daily routines faster and more efficiently to process vehicles utilizing the handhelds. Tom Suvanto explains: “While it is difficult to assign a number, efficiency has increased a lot. With our old system we could not handle the amount of cars we do today.”

The RFID system implemented in Assistor car logistics was intended to simplify operations and allow for greater capacity. That goal was readily met and others were realized in addition. One such side benefit came about because of the adverse economic conditions felt especially by the auto industry. The use of RFID by Assistor has given the company the ability to recover more quickly from the poor economy encountered since the original implementation. Suvanto explains “We are now more flexible and agile compared to our old system, giving us the tool needed to quickly respond to economic situations.”

While the benefits of this RFID implementation are readily visible, the future of expanding the RFID system to include the entire car supply chain from manufacturer to sales floor represents an exciting prospect.

Suvanto explains, “We are waiting that car manufactures will add RFID to each vehicle and in this way simplify the follow up from plant to dealer.”

Nordic IDea • 13

RFID CASE STUDY

Text: Darby Thomas / Verda & CoreRFID Photo: Shutterstock

The escalators of London’s underground railway system carry 3 million passengers

LONDON UNDERGROUND’S ESCALATORS GET

AN RFID FACELIFT

from the street to the platforms and back every day. To ensure that the escalators on the London Underground system continue to operate safely and reliably, London Underground operates a carefully managed maintenance routine.

With over 30,000 individual escalator steps across the network, the challenge of ensuring that each step is tested, repaired when faulty, and then monitored when it is returned to use is a formidable one.

Millions of passengers use the escalators on the London Underground every day. The steps that make up these escalators are subject to constant wear from the feet of passengers and from the mechanical movement on the escalator track. A failure could cause serious injury. If an escalator step were to fail during the rush hour, lives could be put at risk and serious disruption to travellers would result.

To prevent such an event, London Underground has an inspection and maintenance regime that ensures the structural integrity of every step is checked at least once during the course of every year but, with over 30,000 separate escalator steps needing to be checked, this maintenance approach requires significant effort by their engineering staff.

The problem is complicated by the time needed to carry out tests. Because of the effort involved, only a small number of steps can be removed from the escalator to be tested during an overnight maintenance shift. These steps are exchanged for already tested ones. Any one escalator consists of an ever changing set of steps. Knowing when each step was tested and replaced is a major challenge. On some occasions steps were removed from escalators simply in order to identify them.

THE SOLUTION London Underground needed a system that would collect data automatically from individual steps, that could cope with the problems of dirt and grease and that would be robust enough to stand up to the constraints 14 • Nordic IDea

of one of the world’s most heavily used mass-transit systems. They turned to RFID as a technology to help them and after careful consideration they selected a system delivered by CoreRFID utilising a Nordic ID PL3000 mobile handheld RFID computer and Confidex tags.

PROCESS After having tried a number of alternative approaches, London Underground was determined to prove the suitability of RFID with a trial application. The assessment was designed to show that tags could be attached reliably to steps so that they would not become dislodged while in use and that tag data could be read from the steps while the escalator was running at its normal operational speed.

CoreRFID provided a solution based on the use of Confidex Ironside® UHF RFID tags, Nordic ID PL3000 readers and application software developed by CoreRFID. The Ironside tags have a read range of up to 8 metres, are designed for use in demanding environments and for successful use when attached to metal. The Nordic ID PL3000 readers are compact, rugged, hand-held computing devices running the Windows CE operating system. The backlit keyboard is also perfectly suited to the dark conditions found under

the escalators. The data collected from the PL3000 is then transferred to the backend system while docked using CSV format for easy integration.

CoreRFID worked with London Underground to determine the best method of fixing tags to steps for the trial and to determine the best location for fixing the tags on each steps as well as the best way to mount the Nordic ID PL3000 reader. CoreRFID also helped to develop a method of packing data into the 64 bits available on the tag as a way of ensuring that maximum read speeds could be achieved.

Tags were installed on each of the 92 steps of the St Paul’s Number One escalator. Data, including the step number, its year of manufacture and elements of its service history, was then written to each tag. Encoding the data on step tags proved that the work could be done well within the time available during a normal out-hours service shift.

RESULTS Following the installation of the tags, the escalator was run at normal speed to test how successfully data could be read from the steps of a moving escalator. In the trials, data was successfully read with the Nordic ID PL3000 from 100% of the steps with one

BENEFITS The successful implementation of the RFID system into the London Underground’s escalators has given not only the maintenance staff a massive boast in their efficiency but the users of the Underground gain better service through less disruptions from escalator down time. Additionally, the safety of the escalator system is improved by accurate tracking of maintenance activities.

• • •

Massive boost in efficiency of escalator maintenance Significant reduction in escalator downtime – better user experience Improved safety through accurate tracking of maintenance

CoreRFID is a solution integrator specialising in mobile applications using RFID. They have implemented systems for health and safety management, asset management, and tool tracking as well as for workin progress checking in manufacturing.

or at the most two complete rotations of the escalator a very substantial improvement on previous systems which required the escalator to be inched forward a few steps at a time and involved the escalator being out of service for 45 minutes or more. The difficult tag reading conditions found in the escalators such as dirt, grease, various angles and the moving speed of the tags, were all handled well by the Nordic ID PL3000 devices.

Following the success of the trial, London Underground are now in the process

of implementing the solution across their network, working with their escalator suppliers to have new steps tagged at the point of manufacture and with CoreRFID to help develop and implement the operational system and to train London Underground engineering staff in its use.

The London Underground experience shows how a complex RFID project can be given a greater chance of success with careful planning, a well-executed pilot and the right equipment.

SOLUTION • • • • • •

Nordic ID PL3000 RFID handheld interrogator Confidex Ironside® UHF RFID tags CoreRFID software User’s experience Rapid on-site access to individual escalator step’s records Easily locate required step www.corerfid.com www.confidex.com Nordic IDea • 15

NEWS

MARKET-LEADING WI-FI ON NORDIC ID HANDHELDS

Nordic ID PL3000 Cross Dipole

CERTIFIED BY THE EECC The European EPC Competence Center (EECC) has tested and certified the Nordic ID PL3000 Cross Dipole UHF RFID interrogator.

A strategic alliance with Summit Data Communications, the leading provider of embedded Wi-Fi® solutions for business-critical mobile devices, provides the next level of better performance for Nordic ID PL3000 and Morphic computers with Summit solutions inside.

“Our strategic alliance with Summit ensures that Nordic ID will be at the forefront of Summit technological innovations and Summit service. Summit WLAN ensures secure and reliable connection in all conditions, ” said Hannu Heino, Technical Director of Nordic ID. Summit Wi-Fi solutions are certified for Version 4 of Cisco Compatible Extensions, or CCX, and support all key Wi-Fi industry standards, including the top security standard, known as the Enterprise version of Wi-Fi Protected Access™ 2, or WPA2-Enterprise. With Summit Wi-Fi inside, the security on Nordic ID computers is also sufficient for the retail industry security standard known as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). www.summitdatacom.com

The Nordic ID PL3000 Cross Dipole UHF RFID was tested for the following criteria: transmission power, receiver sensitivity, antenna radiation pattern and suitability for daily use. The test results were very good in all categories. Nordic ID PL3000 Cross Dipole achieved the best value ever measured in an EECC test procedure for “receiver sensitivity”. It got excellent values in practical tests of reading performance and speed.

Due to the cross-polarizing antenna developed by Nordic ID, the device is capable of reading the tags horizontally and vertically. The direction of the tags therefore does not have to be checked separately, so working succeeds quite smoothly. The reader is well suited for item level tagging with barcode reading when needed. This functionality is particularly useful in the processing of garments or pallet logistics. Nordic ID PL3000 Cross Dipole achieved full ten points in run-time test proving the unit’s effective operating time that allows for continuous work without needing to charge or change the battery.

“Feedback from the clients has been highly encouraging.

This device has been rigorously tested and developed to the point where we can be confident of its ability to perform under even the most demanding conditions,” Hannu Heino, Technical Director at Nordic ID, explained.

In addition to superior RFID performance, the Nordic ID PL3000 Cross Dipole UHF RFID is also fully ready for commercial applications. The device’s latest Windows Embedded CE 6.0© operating system allows for integration with all back-end systems and provides tremendous speed. State-of-the-art remote management and a number of easy-to-use functionalities are available or included with the device.

As with all other Nordic ID devices, the PL3000 Cross Dipole can be equipped with several communication options and other functionalities. Technologies such as GPRS, WLAN, Bluetooth, USB and a barcode reader all combine to ensure seamless connectivity with back-office systems.

“The Nordic ID PL3000 Cross Dipole UHF RFID truly represents a major step forward in professional RFID handheld technology. We believe the device will be well-received by our customers in their daily operations and set the bar for our competitors,” Mr Heino concluded.

GS1 Germany, Deutsche Post World Net, Karstadt and METRO GROUP jointly founded the EECC with the aim to confirm RFID technology and the Electronic Product Code (EPC) as an international, cross-sector standard in Europe. To render the constantly growing RFID market more transparent, various RFID hardware solutions are tested and certified by the EECC. A particular focus is on practical use. www.eecc.info • www.nordicid.com

16 • Nordic IDea

NEWS

Image: Jörn von Soldenhoff

GERRY WEBER CHOOSES NORDIC ID as Their Handheld RFID Supplier Gerry Weber International AG, a fashion and lifestyle company, recently chose Nordic ID as their handheld RFID supplier. The international, chain-wide RFID project stipulated high mobility requirements, which Nordic ID’s PL3000 Cross Dipole UHF RFID computers fulfill.

The RFID handhelds will be most heavily used in goods receiving and inventory management at about 150 stores.

“Nowadays it takes us about two days to complete the inventory on a 200-squarefoot retail space,” says Christian von Grone, CIO at Gerry Weber. “After the rollout, this process will take only about ten minutes“.

Nordic ID handsets were chosen after a meticulous selection process, including extensive testing of different devices. The fact that the PL3000 Cross Dipole is able to read tags from up to four feet away, even through closed boxes, was the deciding factor in its choice. For Gerry Weber, this is especially important when tagged goods, in individ-

ual boxes, are transported in bulk on pallets.

Because of the innovative cross-polarizing antenna the device is capable of reading tags both horizontally and vertically. For the Gerry Weber project this was one of the factors to choose Nordic ID PL3000 Cross Dipoles, since in the reading process in rapid succession, the orientation of the RFID tags are negligible and this speeds up their processes significantly.

Gerry Weber, an international fashion and lifestyle company, is listed on the Frankfurt exchange. With internationally recognized brands, Gerry Weber’s outlets can be found

RFID in fashion?

RFID technology is a perfect match for the fashion industry. This is one reason why this industry is taking over a leading role in implementing RFID projects. Leading companies in the fashion retail industry already keep track of the complete value chain starting at the production line in SouthEast-Asia. Improving the flow of goods and increasing sales in the shop and within staff productivity and customer service is the unique goal.

all over the world. Gerry Weber International AG is a clothing manufacturer that introduced RFID technology in order to optimize its logistics and retail processes.

RFID will also improve cost savings through loss prevention, efficiency and process transparency.

www.gerryweber-ag.com

BENEFITS • • Unlike barcodes, RFID handhelds can identify cargo packages without the necessity to open boxes. In the shops they can conduct detailed inventories without removing a single item from its shelf. With the sweep of a single handheld reader, a whole shelf can be listed and identified. This not only allows inventory updates but also identifies items that are not in their proper place or which will run out of stock soon. Nordic ID offers solutions that combine readers for both RFID and barcodes.

•

• •

• • •

Improved customer service Enables staff to access additional product information to assist in customer enquiries Enables orders for out-of-stock items from other stores and solves customer congestion during rush hour sales Better shop floor management Provides info about campaigns direct to shopfloor staff thus enabling more efficient merchandising Smoother inventory management Ensures accurate stock takes and coordination of stock levels Facilitates order-making and speeds up the processing of goods-in

Nordic IDea • 17

PARTNER NEWS

BLUESTAR EUROPE is Nordic ID’s New Distribution Partner In Europe Distributor for Auto-ID and POS, BlueStar Europe has teamed up with Nordic ID. Companies have signed a distribution agreement. BlueStar sells the mobile computer Nordic ID Morphic and RFID handhelds by Nordic ID.

Nordic ID Oy with branches in the Benelux countries, Great Britain, Germany and France aims at increasing its presence in Europe in the years to come. Plans also include an ongoing improvement of the support offered to resellers. Atte Kaskihalme, Sales Director at Nordic ID Oy regards the partnership with BlueStar as a key component in strategic focusing: “We were looking for a reliable partner with know-how in the sector and the ability to complement our sales activities in a way that makes sense. Through

additional telesales activities and because BlueStar offers a broad spectrum of AutoID products all from one source, we can win more resellers for our equipment in future - in a very efficient way. Both concept and know-how make BlueStar the ideal partner for us.”

Alexander Stahl, Managing Director at BlueStar Europe GmbH looks forward to the cooperation, too: “BlueStar offers the complete product range of renowned manufacturers in the Auto-ID sector. With Nordic ID’s portfolio, we increase our offer further. Their mobile computers rely on a user-friendly design, low weight, long battery life and a standard operating system with Windows CE 6.0– all these are elements that render Nordic ID very attractive to our resellers as a manufacturer and partner.”

www.bluestarinc.com.

Nordic ID is

Nordic ID joined

A UPM PRO RFID ALLIANCE MEMBER

RFID LAB FINLAND

UPM Pro RFID Alliance is a new global partner network of principal RFID professionals and companies. As the leading manufacturer of passive HF and UHF tags UPM Raflatac has gathered the best and most dynamic group together with the goal to take the RFID industry further. Partner companies cover the whole RFID value chain and can offer the end-users RFID solutions to meet and even exceed the most challenging requests and inquiries. www.upmrfid.com

BlueStar Europe GmbH is the European headquarters of BlueStar, Inc., the leading American solutions-based distributor for Point-of-Sale, Auto-ID and RFID products. Working together with the leading manufacturers, BlueStar Europe keeps a substantial range of products and solutions for Europe-wide shipment in its warehouse located in the Hessian town of Usingen.

Nordic ID is a member of RFID Lab Finland.

RFID Lab Finland is a publicly registered, nonprofit association with about 40 member companies and organizations including all the major players in the RFID industry in Finland. The objective of RFID Lab Finland is to enhance the business development based on Finnish knowhow in the area of automatic identification and especially in RFID technology. RFID Lab’s development initiatives focus currently on RFID/EPC in technical trade, in health care, and in recycling. www.rfidlab.fi

INTERESTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NORDIC ID? Please contact Nordic ID Partner Manager Mrs. Miia Kivelä: miia.kivela@nordicid.com, tel. +358 2 727 7700

NORDIC ID AND TOSHIBA TEC Announce Partnership for Mobile Solutions TOSHIBA TEC Europe and Nordic ID have entered into a European strategic alliance, providing significant wireless and mobile telecommunications solutions for retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and warehousing and security industries. RFID-ready barcode printers from TOSHIBA TEC’s Auto ID & Printer Division are now being jointly offered with Nordic ID’s barcode and UHF RFID mobile devices, to optimize the use of emerging technologies with standard communication systems.

“We expect this partnership to drive sales for both companies and produce significant savings for our joint customers’ business networks in retail, industry, healthcare, warehousing and security,” said Angel de Juan, Retail Sales Director, TOSHIBA TEC Europe Auto ID & Printer Division. “Nordic

ID will be getting the expertise of TOSHIBA TEC as one of the world leaders in RFID and barcode printing technologies, along with the assurance of achieving maximum efficiency regardless of setup.”

“Nordic ID has a long history in the creation of handheld devices with ergonomic single-handed operational design and user friendliness. Building on this experience, and feedback gathered from retailers, Nordic ID deliver a compact and user friendly design coupled with a robust and flexible platform that can adapt to future technologies.” Atte Kaskihalme, Sales Director, Nordic ID said.

With its knowledge of retail, supply chain and healthcare markets TOSHIBA TEC Europe will be able to support Nordic ID with customer audits, resulting in further optimization of installations and operations.

What does it mean ...

Q–VALUE Defines the number of slots in which the tag randomly places the answer. The bigger the Q value is the less is the probability that more than one tag randomly selects the same slot thus causing a data collision.

www.toshibatec-eu.com DRM/ DENSE READER MODE

NORDIC ID & CISPER ELECTRONICS Signed European Distribution Agreement

Nordic ID and CISPER Electronics BV, a RFID distribution specialist signed a distribution agreement for the European Community. The agreement authorizes CISPER Electronics BV to offer Nordic ID’s mobile devices to RFID solution providers throughout Europe.

“Finding technology partners who are leaders in today’s RFID market is key to our future success,” says Leon de Ridder, CEO at CISPER Electronics BV. ”With Nordic ID we have added high performance RFID Products to our RFID portfolio, enabling us to offer customers a one-stop-shop for RFID products and sub-systems. Combining Nordic-ID products with Cisper’s extensive experience in RFID will prove to be a driver for success.”

Nordic ID aims at increasing its presence in Europe in the years to come. Developing the RFID solutions and building good partnerships with experienced companies’ essential in achieving a leading role in mobile RFID. In regards to the partnership with Cisper a key component is strategic focusing: Cisper is a reliable partner with know-how and experience in the RFID auto-ID products.

Cisper Technologies is the Authorized Value Added Distributor for Top Players in the Global RFID market. Cisper is specialized in providing high-quality/performance UHF RFID hardware and tags to the European RFID market. Besides hardware, company provides professional consulting services to businesses in the RFID industry.

The reader can be forced to use only certain channel or channels of the frequency spectrum. DRM is especially suitable if there are multiple RFID interrogators operating in the same area.

SESSION SETTING There are four different values for session setting (0-3). The session setting defines how frequently tags send out their EPC. With session setting 0 tags send the EPC constantly meaning higher probability of data collisions. With session setting 1, 2 and 3 the tags remain silent for a fixed amount of time before sending the EPC again. Data collisions are less likely to occur.

Nordic IDea • 19

Operation Chip It

Text: CC and Nordic ID Image: Ronald Tilleman & Container Centralen

Container Centralen is

Nordic ID and Container Centralen have

OPTIMIZING HORTICULTURAL LOGISTICS

ising Nordic ID to market and sell Nordic

signed a cooperation agreement authorID handheld readers and software to the European horticultural industry. With the certified readers from Nordic ID, the industry will be able to take advantage of the benefits that are made possible with the implementation of RFID, which is part of Container Centralen’s “Operation Chip It”. Operation Chip It is the tagging operation where all 3.5 million CC Containers in Europe will be RFID tagged before the cutoff date: November 1, 2010.

Retailers and other parties in the horticultural industry are increasingly demanding optimised logistics in general, and RFID is an important step towards servicing them and all others in the future.

20 • Nordic IDea

Euro Dolly (rolling ¼ pallets) with great success.

Implementation of RFID in the horticultural industry is done in co-operation with IBM as the main technology partner.

RFID READERS FOR THE EUROPEAN HORTICULTURAL INDUSTRY In co-operation with Landgard, FloraHolland, VGB and GASA Group, Container Centralen introduces RFID technology to the horticultural industry to ensure that all CC Container users are able to respond to an increasing demand for optimized transport and logistics, while at the same time protecting the CC Container pool. The RFID technology can benefit all organizations in the horticultural industry as it makes identification of the CC Container simple and quick, while providing a platform for future integration with IT Management systems.

RFID TAGS – PROVEN EFFICIENCY In order to introduce a flawless RFID identification system, the group behind the project has already tested RFID tags and readers (“scanners”) in Denmark, Holland and Germany. The testing was done first as “lab tests”, and then in closed loops in real horticultural sector working environments.

RFID tags have already been implemented in other CC load carriers, such as the CC

“The cooperation with Container Centralen gives us a head start in delivering RFID scanners to the horticultural industry throughout all of Europe”, says Atte Kaskihalme, Sales Director at Nordic ID. Container Centralen has certified the Nordic ID PL3000 handheld reader with the horticultural industry software to be marketed and sold to CC Container users so they can achieve the benefits made possible with RFID.

MOBILERFIDSHOP.COM Nordic ID recently launched a web shop, where RFID scanners can be purchased.

Nordic ID also sells RFID products through a comprehensive partner and reseller network in Europe. If your company is interested in working locally together with Nordic ID in the horticultural industry, please contact sales@nordicid.com.

We will be happy to tell you more about how you can utilize mobile RFID in your business.

CONTAINER CENTRALEN Container Centralen A/S (CC) has a leading position in transportation equipment pooling systems within the European flower and plant industry. The system has been extended to other continents, making it as simple to export or import goods to and from any country in the world, as it is within Europe. At the same time, CC serves many customers in the retail food industry, including a number of the biggest supermarket chains in Europe.

CC uses a concept based on two principles: CC’s well-acknowledged CC Pool System with 1:1 exchange as well as products of standard dimensions: Full trolleys or crates are simply exchanged for empty ones and vice versa. CC takes care of repair and maintenance. For more information about Container Centralen, please see www.container-centralen.com

BENEFITS WITH RFID

Tagging the CC Containers with RFID chips opens up a range of opportunities and benefits for all users of CC Containers.

SIMPLE AND PROMPT COUNTING CC Containers can now be counted and verified automatically with handheld scanners, or when passing through the gates at large depots.

ENABLES DEVELOPMENT OF TRACK & TRACE SYSTEMS With the RFID technology already built into the CC Container tag and implemented into the CC Pool System, the foundation for future integrated ICT system developments has been laid.

The ability to identify CC Containers can be utilized for future more complex systems integrating information flows within your organization. Furthermore, at a later stage software and hardware systems can be acquired and developed to enable the full utilization of the advantages RFID technology offers.

EASY TO AUTHENTICATE THE CC CONTAINERS With a built-in RFID chip, which has a unique identification code, you can always check (with a handheld reader or through an RFID gate) if you receive genuine high-quality CC Containers.

Only genuine CC Containers will be accepted at the CC depots and many other places.

IMPROVES GENERAL QUALITY OF THE CC POOL SYSTEM Using RFID ensures that only the original, high-quality CC Containers circulate in the CC Pool System, which means fewer damaged and unusable containers stopping your work flow.

www.mobilerfidshop.com • www.cc-rfid.com • www.operation-chip-it.com Nordic IDea • 21

PRODUCTS

Text: Darby Thomas / Verda Images: Jörn von Soldenhoff & Shutterstock

AUTOMATED SELF MONITORING FOR FOOD RETAIL WITH NORDIC ID’S WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORK

Food retailers and restaurants are now required to comply with stringent food safety requirements that stipulate careful logging and reporting of storage conditions. A flexible tool is needed to record and coordinated activities involving the storage of food products in addition to regular daily tasks such as inventory management and customer service.

The Nordic ID Monitor system offers food retailers and restaurants an easy solution for fulfilling the legislative requirements of food quality control. The system includes a wireless sensor network for temperature monitoring complete with a handheld computer for managing quality control tasks and reporting. The functionality is ideally suited for retail and food service environments where operations must remain simple and high quality must be maintained. The Nordic ID Monitor also improves efficiency by delivering valuable reporting and controlling capabilities to the workers on the floor.

The concept and functionality of the Nordic ID Monitor system was created through a series of customer interviews and researches that established priorities of operations.

Nordic ID responded with the system of wireless sensors that measure temperatures of cold or warm devices such as freezers,

22 • Nordic IDea

fridges or fresh food sales counters and sends the temperature information over wireless network to the Monitor system’s database.

Nordic ID Monitor removes the need to manually record and monitor temperatures and archive them. As long as all temperatures are within set limits everything is automatic.

CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS A client of a restaurant claimed too warm sandwiches to be a source of a food poisoning. With data collected by the Nordic ID Monitor the restaurant was able to show that sandwiches as well as all the raw materials were stored continuously in correct temperatures. Nordic ID Monitor made handling customer complaint easy.

ADVANTAGES • • • • •

TECHNOLOGY • •

Automates self monitoring bureaucracy Moves quality tasks from back office to the shop or restaurant floor Easy to modify and update Extensive reporting Data can be used with PC or with handheld regardless of place and time

• • • • •

Sensor temperature range from -35C to +80C Coordinating access point with USB or with Ethernet connection Routing access points require only power connection Automatic networking of sensors and access points System supports multiple sites Temperature alerts to handheld, e-mail or SMS Temperature measurements and scheduled monitoring tasks

The system consists of a wireless sensor network and server applications. Wireless sensor network consists of a coordinator, routers and the wireless temperature sensors.

temperatures and reporting tasks is often seen as something extra to ones work. A store associate is an expert of customer service and chef is an expert in food preparation; filling in forms and archiving papers always takes time away from their main work.

And when there is a deviation, the system alerts the user through handheld, e-mail or SMS. The Nordic ID Monitor system includes also tools for scheduling and reporting tasks and recording notes of quality deviations.

The system also provides a holistic tool for self monitoring. The functionality is not limited to temperature monitoring but also includes scheduling and reporting of quality tasks. When there is something to be checked the system notifies the user. The user can then report the task on the spot with handheld, additional paperwork is avoided.

Everyone can focus on their main tasks.

NORDIC ID MONITOR AUTOMATES THE BUREAUCRACY The task of quality monitoring is achieved efficiently and cost effectively. The system automates the ‘bureaucracy’ of self monitoring, saving working and management time. Recording

IMMEDIATE PAYBACK SAVING TIME

LOSS PREVENTION

In a supermarket there is 15 freezers and fridges, temperature of each was measured with manual thermometer every second day. Once a month a summary was collected and archived. Nordic ID Monitor automated temperature monitoring and saved monthly 50 hours of working time to customer service.

After a short electric break a compressor of a freezer failed to start automatically. The temperature started to rise slowly. Just before closing time of the retail store the Nordic ID Monitor system alerted about the temperature increase. The store personnel were able to restart the compressor before any goods were lost and saved estimated 5000€ worth of frozen goods.

The overall payback on the system is immense when considering benefits such as massive reductions in manual temperature data logging time and costs, decreased equipment failure costs thanks to quick response to problem situations and better energy efficiency of machines due to the precise monitoring of temperatures. Users are given a valuable tool to coordinate not only the monitoring of food storage but also many of their other daily tasks to allow them to focus on their key duties.

Nordic IDea • 23

NORDIC ID SUPPORT

Text: Janne Mäkeläinen

https://support.nordicid.com/extranet/

NORDIC ID RFID DEMOS The Nordic ID PL3000 comes with three pre-installed RFID demo applications.

The applications give the user an excellent picture of the RFID performance of the handheld and a small glimpse of the various settings, which can affect the performance. All applications were developed with Nordic ID’s MHL abstraction layer, which means all the features of these applications are also easily available for anyone who is developing RFID applications for Nordic ID PL3000.

RFID CONVERSION RFID Conversion is a simple application for writing the content of the barcode into the EPC Class 1 Gen 2 tag’s EPC bank. If preferred, the user may also edit the content of the barcode or write a new one from scratch.

First the user scans the barcode by pressing the yellow scan button on the keyboard or the corresponding button on the display. The barcode content will now appear in the content box. The user then needs to read an RFID tag to which the barcode content will be written.

This is done with the circular button. Note: No more than one tag is allowed to be in the reading zone during this process. After the successful reading of the tag, the barcode content can be written to the EPC bank of the tag’s chip by pressing the rectangular key.

TAGRW TagRW is a program intended for testing maximum reading distances with the handheld. With the application the user is able to adjust the output power of the RFID module to see how it affects the maximum reading distance. The user is also able to change the session settings which play an important role, especially when large tag populations need to be identified as fast as possible. TagRW can also display the current settings of the module and the firmware version, which is needed on occasion.

RF power cannot be changed during scanning.

RFID INVENTORY

The user can access the session settings in the main window by pressing the 0 button. Session settings define how frequently tags are sending their EPC codes to the reader. The best session setting depends on the situation, for example, session 2 or 3 is best for inventory purposes where a large number of tags are simultaneously in the reading range.

As the name suggests, RFID Inventory is meant for taking inventory of multiple Gen 2 RFID tags. The application can read up to 2500 individual tags. The RFID Inventory application is simple to use. After the application has been launched, press the scan button to start scanning tags in the range.

The scanning can be stopped by pressing the scan button again.

Information regarding the current RFID module settings and driver versions are shown to the user by pressing the Info button in the main window.

In the main window, a scan is initiated with the circular or rectangular button of the keyboard.

The circular button commences a continuous scan while the rectangular button begins a single scan.

If the “Show items as they appear” box is checked when the scan begins, the EPC codes of the scanned tags are shown in the list. If the box is left unchecked, only the number of scanned tags are shown.

Depending on the RFID module inside the PDA, different tag types and bitrates can be set. If the device is equipped with a ThingMagic RFID module, the RF power can be toggled between 60mW and 200mW. The

24 • Nordic IDea

CASE STUDY

Handheld solution improves efficiency at

TUKO WAREHOUSES

Driver Ville Noroaho picks up a Nordic ID Morphic handheld computer from the dispatch department at Tuko Logistics’ Kerava terminal and begins loading goods onto his truck. The new handheld computers have brought more structure and efficiency to logistics management.

Tuko Logistics Oy renewed its entire distribution management system at the end of last year.

Solteq Oyj delivered a new MerxD distribution management system that includes Nordic ID’s Morphic handheld computers.

“Paperless dispatch department work and customer-specific monitoring of identified transport units is an important competitive edge for us,” says Kaarlo Svensson, Director of Distribution and Terminal Services at Tuko Logistics

Text: Pirkko Soininen Photos: Markku Ojala

Nordic IDea • 25

CASE STUDY

Ville Noroaho reads the preliminary information for the goods from the Nordic ID Morphic. After he has loaded the products onto the truck, he returns the handheld to the dispatch department and receives his delivery lists.

“User experiences have been positive. Many of our drivers are using a handheld device for the first time and they have learned the operating logic well.”

“The new system has allowed us to move from kilogram-based to unit-based charging. This significantly improves cost correlation and makes invoicing easier as the drivers produce the invoicing material themselves on their PDA’s. We also wanted to switch to tracability based on barcode scanning. The target was to improve transparency, traceability and cost correlation throughout the delivery chain,” says Svensson as he summarises the reasons behind the new system.

The company didn’t want to renew the old system because it wanted something completely new that could be built specifically to meet Tuko’s needs. Solteq’s Merx system provided the foundation, and a new additional module was added to meet Tuko’s needs.

26 • Nordic IDea

EASY TO USE AND RELIABLE “The idea behind renewing the distribution management system was a vision of how we wanted the handheld computers to work.

The starting point was a new handheld device that would be easy to use and reliable,” explains Tuija Landen, Terminal Manager at Tuko Kerava.

She’s responsible for the dispatch department at the Kerava warehouse and ensuring that goods get to the right place at the right time.

”We offer our customers the best possible handheld solution. The MerxMorphic solution that we developed with Nordic ID is reliable and good, and it’s continuously being developed according to customer requests,” says Jan Salminen, who is responsible for the solution at Solteq.

“User experiences have been positive. Many of our drivers are using a handheld device for the first time and they have learned the operating logic well. The handheld computer is easy to hold, the buttons are set at a good distance from each other and you can also use it with gloves on, which is really important if the temperature in the department is only five degrees,” explains Juha Salo, who is the main user for the new system.

“The cooperation between us and Nordic ID has been excellent and functional. We appreciate the good availability, maintenance, service reliability and development capacity of Nordic ID devices,” continues Salminen.

When drivers arrive at the Tuko Logistics terminal, they pick up a handheld from the dispatch department. Then they log in to the system with the user ID for their transport company, which are listed on the wall of the

Product: Nordic ID Morphic Barcode, WLAN/GPRS

TUKO LOGISTICS Tuko Logistics is a procurement and logistics company operating in the grocery business. The company’s owners and customers are Wihuri Oy, Suomen Lähikauppa Oy, Stockmann Oyj Abp and Heinon Tukku Oy. Turnover (2008): EUR 835.5 million Personnel: appr. 800 Items: 25,000 Warehouse items: 16,000 CUSTOMER BASE Grocery stores: 1,000 Catering customers: 4,500 Express wholesalers: 40 Suppliers: nearly 1,000 Warehouse space: 72,000 m² Storage locations: 60,000 Collection locations: 19,000 Forklifts: 290

department in barcode format. After that, the drivers use the handheld terminal to scan every trolley or pallet loaded onto their vehicle, which ensures that information about all goods remains in the system.

“The traceability of goods has improved significantly. This is also important for customer service if customers call and file a claim.

When customer service employees have access to the same system, they can easily find out where a product has gone,” says Kaarlo Svensson.

Kerava forwards goods to other distribution terminals elsewhere in Finland and directly to sales outlets and small wholesalers. Approximately 500 vehicles load or unload their goods every day.

“Our goal in the future is to extend the chain even further. Hopefully, drivers at other distribution terminals will also have handheld terminals that will allow the goods to be entered. We want to make the entire delivery chain transparent,” states Svensson.

CAREFUL CONSIDERATION OF EQUIPMENT SETTINGS Kerava currently has nearly 50 Nordic ID Morphics and a few dozen more at terminals

run by its partners. All of the computers are programmed with Naurtech’s CETerm.

“The new handheld computers have better scanning speed, because they utilize different technology than the older versions. They use the same network as other devices, and this makes it easier to transfer data. The batteries last longer than in the old device and the devices are also more durable, even when they are dropped on the floor,” states Juha Salo.

The device itself hasn’t received any negative feedback. The Morphics have been reliable – if a device needs servicing, a replacement has been available immediately.

“I certainly believe that the new device has made our work more efficient. The drivers resisted the change to start with, but we haven’t heard any complaining since we actually began to use the devices. The load scanning procedure already seems to be a simple one for the drivers. The device is easy to use and has good functionality. It’s hard to make a mistake with this device, because it’s pretty much foolproof,” states Tuija Landen.

MerxMorphic solution • Improves the efficiency of warehouse functions • The MerxMorphic device communicates with Solteq Merx over the company’s WLAN network or the operator’s GPRS network using an emulator program, which has been configured from the perspective of Solteq Merx and IBM iSeries.

• All the buttons and functions necessary for Merx use are available in the handheld device.

• Nordic ID Morphic: Windows® CE 6.0, 128MB of memory, weighs 185 g including the battery, WLAN or GPRS

“We worked with Nordic ID to optimize the equipment settings in relation to Merx.

Putting time and effort into equipment configuration makes the device easy to use,” concludes Jan Salminen.

Nordic IDea • 27

CASE STUDY

Text: Jutta Freisen / Möller Horcher GmbH Images: Bernd Brinkmann

Looking forward to

A PEAK SEASON WITHOUT STRESS Whether in early spring or late autumn: the picture of booming tyre garages is always the same. This is the time when conscientious motorists have their tyres changed.

Besides good business, it means above all on thing for the dealers: non-stop tyre changes and lots of stress. Peak season is particularly stressful for dealers who have a large number of regular customers consisting of final customers and vehicle fleet operators and who, besides mere tyre changing, also offer warehousing services. This is the case with Premio Reifen + Autoservice franchise companies. To reduce the chaos and stress in connection with tyre warehousing to a minimum, Munich-based Robert Jäger GmbH, one of the largest Premio partners in Germany, has decided to introduce a complete solution including Nordic ID mobile computers as well as the tyre warehousing system RESy by MMC.

Premio Reifen + Autoservice was founded in 1996 as a customer focused chain of specialised dealers by Goodyear Dunlop Handelssysteme GmbH (GDHS) and has proved very successful: There are now more than 230 Premio franchise companies and branches in Germany offering motorists competent help and advice on tyres and complete car service. The main characteristics of this tyre and car service chain - also strongly expanding on international level - are among others a standardized appearance, 100% customer focus as well as binding quality standards. Robert Jäger GmbH in Munich counts among the ten largest Premio partners. The company’s warehouse that is located about twenty kilometres from the garage holds more than 25,000 customer tyres. Given the large number of tyres and numerous transport operations, owner Robert Jäger and his staff faced problems when trying to keep track of storage positions and service processes during peak season.

28 • Nordic IDea

TIME CONSUMING SEARCHES FOR REQUIRED SETS OF TYRES “Our old software did not provide us with the necessary functions to correctly track down individual sets of tyres and to check what was done to the tyres when and by whom,” explains Robert Jäger, owner of Premio in Munich. “Coming to think of it, it was nothing but paper chaos - without barcode labels and mobile computers.“ With an increasing volume of tyres stored in the warehouse, the warehouse staff spent more and more time looking for the required sets of tyres and sometimes even had problems delivering these tyres on time. Moreover, the situation was aggravated by comparatively high error rates in providing the tyres. In short: something had to be done. “We aimed for an error-free workflow with optimized, timesaving processes,” says Jäger. “After all this also serves to improve customer satisfaction.” The Munich-based Premio dealer took the decision to introduce a tyre warehousing software that, in connection with powerful mobile computers, was intended to cover and clearly document the complete tyre warehousing process.

THE UPGRADABILITY AND RUGGEDNESS OF PL3000 MOBILE COMPUTERS PROVED CONVINCING “We first came into contact with the RESy software by MMC a couple of years ago and the good impression it made on us has stayed,“ thus Robert Jäger explains his decision in favour of the tyre warehousing system

(RESy) by the Dusseldorf-based Michael Müller Computing GmbH (MMC). Only the powerful handheld terminals were still lacking. Jäger came across the Finnish company Nordic ID via the GDHS holding company. “We made contact with Nordic ID via MMC,“ says Jäger. “MMC inspected the PL3000 mobile computer by Nordic ID and deemed it very good.“ The PL3000 handhelds’ upgradability, ruggedness and good price/performance ratio also accounted for the decision in favour of Nordic ID. “When the device was later put to use, we also came to appreciate the function-related keyboard illumination,“ Jäger adds. The time span between ordering RESy from MMC and delivery was only six weeks. MMC painstakingly adapted its MDE software to the Munich Premio partner’s requirements and successfully integrated the PL3000 device. “We had no difficulties whatsoever with the development for PL3000,“ says Dirk Jansen, Head of Software Development at MMC. This is partly due to the fact that PL3000 is consequently based on standards – among others the operating system Windows CE 6.0.

Product: Nordic ID PL3000 Barcode

www.premiomuenchen.de www.mmcgmbh.de

“Today we deliver all tyres just-intime, for we know where they are.“

THE COMPLETE TYRE WAREHOUSING PROCESS IS MAPPED The RESy software that is installed on both the host system and the handhelds at Robert Jäger GmbH currently covers the complete tyre warehousing process, enabling clear traceability of the individual tyres from the moment they are taken off to their delivery, via the corresponding transport, storage and service processes. Five employees permanently use the PL3000 handhelds by Nordic ID: mainly in the warehouse, but also at inspection stations and even the drivers of the transport trucks work with them.

PL3000 handheld devices. “This history

exactly tells us at any time what was done to the tyres when and by whom, along with the services that still have to be performed,“ reports Robert Jäger.

to arrange for a tyre change or vehicle pool managers can retrieve up-to-date information on the tyre inventory status.

When customers call at the change of the season to arrange for a renewed change of their tyres, service staff members can directly view the status of the tyres in the planner connected to RESy via an interface and propose a date and time. The warehouse staff is given the information which tyres have to be brought to the garage the other day on

As the Munich Premio partner works with a large number of temporary staff in peak season, ease of use of both the handhelds and the software has been a prerequisite.

“We have designed the complete solution as simple and plain as possible,” explains Dirk Jansen from MMC and Robert Jäger adds: “MMC has even enhanced the clarity of the system. Every staff member is only provided with the functions relevant to him or her.“

their PL3000 handhelds and can print out a packing list of the orders. This allows for optimised routes to prepare the orders.

TIME OPTIMIZATION IN THE RANGE OF 80 PERCENT AND MINIMAL ERROR RATES

“Today we deliver all tyres just-in-time, for we know where they are,“ says Jäger. By scanning the barcodes, RESy automatically checks whether the staff really has packed all requested tyres. The transport process as well as the arrival of the tyres at the garage is then recorded in the same way as the delivery.

“The RESy software and PL3000 mobile computers have considerably improved the quality of our processes,“ Jäger resumes.

“Thanks to the excellent documentation based on the scanning processes, timeconsuming searches for tyres are now finally a thing of the past. We have been able to achieve a time optimization in the range of 80 percent and to reduce our error rate to something below two percent. At the same time, we can make much better use of our storing capacities on account of the possibility to track down the tyres in the warehouse.”

The solution comprises three components: Besides the software solution RESy by MMC and the mobile computer Nordic ID PL3000, label printers by TOSHIBA TEC are used. The labels printed by the latter even withstand tyre cleaning. A complete solution from one source - one investment that quickly pays off.

When a customer enters the garage today and asks for a tyre change including warehousing services, a warehousing order is entered in RESy by a service staff member who records the services requested by the customer in the system and starts the barcode label printing. Having been taken off, the tyres are provided with the labels, loaded in the truck and transported to the distant warehouse, and all the while the individual processes can be precisely recorded with the Nordic ID mobile computers. By means of scanning processes, the tyres are firmly assigned to a defined storage location. “This way, we can also store tyres belonging to one set in separate locations which enables us to use the warehouse space more efficiently”, explains Robert Jäger.

JUST-IN-TIME DELIVERY OF THE TYRES All services processes commissioned by the customer, e.g. washing, compressed air filling, tread depth measurement or balancing, are meticulously recorded in RESy via the

In case of major customers and vehicle pool operators, Robert Jäger GmbH also changes the tyres directly at the customer’s site.

“The next expansion stage will also include providing the drivers of this mobile service with handhelds and putting an end to all the paper chaos,” announces Jäger. “The orders will be indicated on the mobile computer displays and can be completed by the drivers directly on site by the simple touch of a button.” MMC has specifically implemented a software web interface for Jäger’s vehicle pool customers. Using an online access, company car drivers can e.g. use the system

These results have already convinced other Premio partners, too, who have come to take a look at the combination of Nordic ID mobile computers and MMC software. Given the attractive prospect of managing peak season without stress, this is hardly an astonishing fact.

Nordic IDea • 29

CASE STUDY “The mobile computers ensure that the employees can spend significantly more time on the sales floor. That is our objective, because after all our purpose is to sell, not manage goods – trade more goods and administrate less.”

- Lutz Endrikat, Head of Organisation at Kaiser’s Tengelmann

Change is upon Kaiser’s Tengelmann AG. The supermarket chain is just rolling out its new Compex merchandise management system throughout its branch network. Thanks to the itemlevel real-time inventory management, Compex will ensure transparent business processes. To be able to perform standard procedures like merchandise

INTO THE FUTURE IN REAL-TIME Kaiser’s Tengelmann Opts for Nordic ID Mobile Computers in all its Branches

planning and inventories on a paperless basis and in real-time – all at item level – Kaiser’s Tengelmann was in search of online-capable mobile computers. Kaiser’s Tengelmann found what it was looking for, Nordic ID. Today the Nordic ID PL3000 mobile data recording devices are already employed in hundreds of the company’s stores. As a multi-functional interface to the merchandise planning and control system, the mobile computers enable the employees to spend more time on the sales floor, closer to customers.

30 • Nordic IDea

SMOOTH TRANSITION Before introducing its merchandise planning and control system, Kaiser’s Tengelmann did their research well: All 700 supermarkets were equipped with WLAN for the mobile data recording devices, quick VPN DSL and new POS software. “To familiarise our employees with the new system, we opted for a smooth transition”, states Lutz Endrikat, Head of Organisation at Kaiser’s Tengelmann. “Therefore the roll-out of our merchandise planning and control system was preceded by a technical roll-out.” The employees were also supposed to test the mobile data recording devices and the barcode scanning in the new technical environment. The problem was that the existing mobile computers did not meet the following two requirements of Kaiser’s Tengelmann: “We needed equipment that guaranteed both, high availability with minimum failures and an extremely stable WLAN Roaming performance” explains Endrikat. Kaiser’s Tengelmann decided to introduce new mobile computers to the company. Following an intensive selection and testing process, the Nordic ID PL3000 mobile computers were chosen.

Product: Nordic ID PL3000 Barcode, WLAN

Text: Jutta Freisen / Möller Horcher GmbH Images: Sebastian Lasse

STABLE WLAN ROAMING AND USER FRIENDLINESS “Besides the outstanding WLAN Roaming behaviour, what really convinced us in the PL3000 were remote maintenance and software distribution options and the standard Windows CE 6.0 operating system”, says Endrikat explaining their choice. The persons responsible at Kaiser’s Tengelmann are also pleased with the fast and reliable support that Nordic ID offers in response to service and configuration requests. 660 Nordic ID PL3000 mobile computers were introduced at 300 Kaiser’s Tengelmann supermarkets all over Germany, before rolling out 840 more PL3000 devices at the remaining 400 outlets. “We use the handhelds throughout the company – from sales floor to the warehouse and the cold storage”, explains Lutz Endrikat.

INTEGRATING OLD AND NEW WORLD Nordic ID mobile data recording devices have a standard web application and through it, the employees communicate by WLAN and VPN with the merchandise planning and control system at the computing centre of Kaiser’s Tengelmann. Since the merchandise planning and control system is used for fruit and vegetable products to begin with and then rolled out step by step to the full range of products, the BI capability of the PL3000 was particularly important. “Nordic ID has developed a special software tool for us, the KTAG loader, that recognises upon booting whether or not the range of goods has already been switched to the new system”, describes Endrikat. “If the range of goods is recognized, the system connects online to Compex. If not, the old processes run.” So Kaiser’s Tengelmann was able to start using the advantages of the PL3000 before the roll-out of the new merchandise planning and control system was fully completed.

NORDIC ID PL3000 AS A MULTI-FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE TO COMPEX In the branches, the Nordic ID PL3000 devices represent the multi-functional interface to the merchandise planning and control system: The handheld computers enable the employees to spend more time on the sales floor – and that means closer to customers.

Using barcode scanning and the web application on site, the employees can plan material requirements directly for the shop floor

shelves or the warehouse, handle incoming and outgoing goods, carry out continuous inventory or inventory transfers. Every article movement is automatically recorded by the merchandise planning and control system. Thanks to the handhelds, the employees are informed about the branch’s current inventory at any time – including storage, delivery status as well as sales and write-offs for the last four weeks. Online communication makes major part of the tedious documenting obsolete.

“Nowadays we work with handhelds on a paperless basis, as earlier we used to have vouchers for everything”, outlines Endrikat with satisfaction. “The mobile computers ensure that the employees can spend significantly more time on the sales floor. That is our objective, because after all our purpose is to sell, not manage goods – trade more goods and administrate less.”

REMOTE MANAGEMENT AND CUSTOMISING To ensure that the work with the PL3000 devices run smoothly right from the start, Nordic ID thoroughly trained the managers of the four service locations at Kaiser’s Tengelmann and also other roll-out managers in handling the PL3000 as well as the remote management tool and the customizer.

Remote management means that Kaiser’s Tengelmann can administrate the software on the mobile computers from a central service location and update the devices centrally. The customizer tool enables Kaiser’s Tengelmann to implement specific required settings on its own. For support purposes Nordic ID provided Kaiser’s Tengelmann with a customer-specific user manual for the Nordic ID PL3000. The roll-out managers trained by Nordic ID and Kaiser’s Tengelmann train the branch managers in their areas in using the handhelds and the Web application.

Lutz Endrikat comments the experiences: “So far we have only got positive feedback from the stores – as far as the handling of the Nordic ID machines, their availability and the stability of WLAN Roaming is secured.”

Customers benefit as well. At the Kaiser’s Tengelmann supermarkets customers do not have to look long for skilled employees, they can be found where the customers are present at the shelves.

THE INITIAL SITUATION Kaiser’s Tengelmann was rolling-out a new merchandise planning and control system in its branches and the system was supposed to ensure transparent business processes through item-level real-time inventory management. In that context Kaiser’s Tengelmann looked for online-capable mobile computers to be able to perform standard procedures like merchandise planning and inventories on a paperless basis and in realtime.

THE SOLUTION Nordic ID PL3000 mobile computers represent the multi-functional interface to the merchandise planning and control system. Using barcode scanning and the Web application the employees can plan material requirements directly for the shelves or the warehouse on site, handle incoming and outgoing goods, carry out continuous inventory or inventory transfers.

THE RESULT All article movements are recorded in real-time. Thanks to the handhelds the employees are informed about the current inventory at any time, concentrate on work on a paperless basis and – to the benefit of the customers – are much more present on the sales floor.

www.kaisers.de

Nordic IDea • 31

CASE STUDY

Electronics giant Euronics Friesoythe location puts staff back in front of customers thanks to

Text: Jutta Freisen / Möller Horcher GmbH and Carl Michener / ID BBN Image: Jörn von Soldenhoff

Nordic ID Morphic stock-keeping handsets.

A SLEEK, VERSATILE HANDSET:

fast integration, EXCEPTIONAL USABILITY With more than 11,300 stores in

STOCK KEEPING: A BIG TIME WASTER

Europe and 2,000 in Germany alone, Euronics is Europe’s second-largest consumer electronics retailer. Each store carries tens of thousands of products, making inventory management a challenge.

Euronics Friesoythe, an ownermanaged location near Bremen, Germany decided it was high time to improve inventory management, cut back on administration and get staff back in front of customers.

The major problem that Euronics Friesoythe was trying to solve was cutting down on time wasted on inefficient stock keeping. Although the retailer had been using mobile stock keeping devices since 1999, staffs weren’t able to load the master data for stock keeping units (SKUs) onto existing inventory tracking devices. As a result, serial numbers couldn’t be matched and employees couldn’t tell whether an article was already entered in the system or not. This led to extensive and time-consuming manual reconciling.

“Our aim was to make the inventory processes simpler, faster and above all more accurate,” says Markus Block, Managing Director of Euronics Friesoythe. “In particular our range of small appliances will be subject to more frequent intermediate inventories.” To find an answer to their problem, Euronics Friesoythe consulted their ERP system supplier, High Quality Software GmbH (HQS), who recommended Nordic ID’s Morphic handsets.

ERP PROVIDER CHOOSES NORDIC ID FOR ITS CUSTOMERS Dieter Wilke, Head of Technology and Partner at HQS explains why he chose Nordic ID: “We started looking for a mobile computer featuring the latest technology and ensuring the best possible interaction with our software in autumn 2008” he says. “We opted for Nordic ID Morphic because it has Windows CE 6.0 as operating system, it is clearly laid out and intuitive in use and the excellent cost-performance ratio is convincing.”

In collaboration with Nordic ID, HQS developed mobility and computer applications in order to automate processes. “Our ERP system and the mobile data recording device were matched in the best possible way, enabling data transmission and processing to run in the most parts automatically,” says Wilke. After a thorough testing phase in their own environment, HQS began offering Nordic ID handsets to their own customers in 2008.

32 • Nordic IDea

Product: Nordic ID Morphic

RETAILER LOVES IT “All I can say is that this complete package fits like a glove. Everything runs smoothly,” says Block, Euronics Friesoythe’s Managing Director. He was particularly impressed with ergonomics and usability: “All our 23 employees working with Nordic ID Morphic immediately understood how to operate the device.”

For Euronics Friesoythe, implementation was a snap. By transferring all SKU master data onto the Morphic handsets, staff were able to scan stock keeping codes when a shipment arrived and to automatically enter the new inventory into their existing system.

Employees only need to enter the relevant quantity of a product and perform a scan to enter information. All other details are automatically provided by the ERP system, which means no reconciling and a significantly reduced margin of error.

HIGH ACCURACY + TIME SAVINGS = ROI When an SKU not entered in the system is scanned, Nordic ID Morphic sends out an alert. But if a bar code doesn’t turn up product details, a text search is another alternative. These features eliminated manual checks based on reference lists. And when handsets are docked, data updates arrive via USB, to be sent on to the server via network connection.

Thanks to immediate result checking, timewasting manual inventories were no longer necessary, resulting in significant economies. Automatic matching also increased inventory accuracy. Another advantage of the new inventory process was overall time savings, easily seen during storewide inventory counts. “In the past, we were busy with inventory from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on average.

When we used Nordic ID Morphic for

the first time in March, the whole process already took considerably less time,” said Block. “Altogether this mobile computer in connection with ProfiSoft puts us in a position to carry out intermediate inventories for small appliances more frequently”.

TOP FEATURES: NORDIC ID MORPHIC • Standard Windows® CE operating system • Standard browser • Many communication interfaces • Compact, lightweight & durable • Ergonomic, single-hand operation • Bright, sharp colour display • Future-proof technologies

www.euronics.de

Nordic IDea • 33

FINNISH WAYS

Text: Kaisa Riikilä, OSG Viestintä Image: Kemi SnowCastle

34 • Nordic IDea

ART FROM SNOW AND ICE

Kemi SnowCastle is rebuilt every winter

104,000 VISITORS

and offers arctic experiences for the whole family. The area includes the SnowHotel, SnowChapel and SnowRestaurant, all of which are made entirely of snow and ice. Light effects enhance the charm of the snow structures and ice sculptures.

Construction of the SnowCastle traditionally begins in December, when there is sufficient snow and cold temperatures.

It usually takes about six weeks to build the castle, with the opening ceremony held at the end of January. The castle is open until April.

“Foreigners in particular are always amazed that we build the SnowCastle every year in a different way. They always marvel about the fact that it takes six weeks to build and is only open for two months. It’s an incredible amount of work for just two months,” explains Castle Manager Marika Tomminen.

The construction phase involves spraying snow onto moulds, which are removed once the snow has frozen. The ice and snow used for construction come from the neighbouring Bothnian Bay. Sea water is used to make artificial snow, while the restaurant tables and all the Castle’s ice sculptures are made from ice taken from the sea.

To begin with, about 10 people are involved in building the castle, but the team grows to about 50 ice sculpting professionals as the castle nears completion.

“The SnowCastle had 104,000 visitors this season, with about 10% of them coming from 40 different countries outside Finland. This is a particularly popular destination with people from Spain, Germany, Holland and Belgium,” says Marika.

The temperature inside the SnowCastle is always about -5°C, so visitors should dress warmly in, for example, quilted outer wear and thick-soled shoes.

A hat and gloves are also a must.

The SnowHotel has 21 rooms of varying sizes – all made completely from snow. Guests spend the night in warm sleeping bags, and the fresh -5°C air guarantees a great sleep. The recommended night-time attire includes a hat, socks and long underwear.

“The majority of Snow Hotel guests are foreigners, who always find this a very exotic and unique experience.

Around 1,000 people stay at the SnowHotel over a two-month period,” explains Tomminen.

The SnowRestaurant serves lunch and dinner, with a menu that includes traditional Finnish delicacies like cold-smoked salmon soup, reindeer filet and blueberry pie.

The SnowChapel provides an excellent spot for quiet contemplation.

The chapel is ecumenical and available to groups of all denominations. You can arrange weddings, christenings and other religious events in the chapel.

The SnowCastle also has plenty for children to do, including a slide and ice carousel. Every weekend there is a programme designed especially for the smallest members of the family. www.snowcastle.net

Nordic IDea • 35

The most innovative

RFID CASE

LET THE COMPETITION BEGIN! Nordic ID vision includes becoming the biggest mobile RFID company in Europe.

There is a need for leadership and trendsetting in RFID to bring the technology forward. Nordic ID wants to fulfill this need by being able to answer questions concerning RFID and its benefits and by providing mobile devices for professional use enabling customers to improve their inventory management, customer service, communication and supply chain control.

In accordance with the vision Nordic ID is pleased to announce a competition on the most innovative RFID case. The competition is open to all partners, cooperation partners and interest groups that have an RFID case where Nordic ID mobile computers are part of the solution.

THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE MOST INNOVATIVE RFID CASE ARE:

Deadline for submitting your RFID case study is 30th November 2010 and the descriptions of the RFID implementations should be send to: marketing@nordicid.com

1. New way of implementing mobile RFID technology to its full advantage.

2. Clear and visible value adds and results.

3. User friendliness of the solution.

The most innovative RFID implementation will be rewarded with a gift certificate worth of 1,000â‚Ź for Kemi SnowHotel!

Entries will be critiqued by a panel of eminent judges from Nordic ID and RFID Lab Finland, the leading Finnish application center for RFID technology. This publicly registered not for profit association is enhancing business development based on Finnish know-how in the area of automatic identification and especially in RFID technology.

The winning entry will be announced by the end of year 2010 and the award will be given to the winner in a Nordic ID RFID seminar held in the beginning of the year 2011.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact: marketing@nordicid.com tel. +358 2 727 7755