Amsterdam, 15 September 2004: Today IBM announced a broad suite of services to speed the benefits of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems to industrial companies and mid-market businesses. The announcement was made at the Frontline Conference and Expo here at Chicago's Navy Pier.
Services for industrial companies include consulting, development of the RFID business case, technological proof of concept, internal pilot, trading partner pilot and full rollout of the systems. The new services are geared toward the automotive industry, aerospace and defense, manufacturing, chemicals and petroleum, forest and paper and electronics companies. IBM's RFID consultants assess the company's operating environment and test parts and products for RFID performance. Testing is done at the client's site and at IBM's RFID test centers, located at IBM's Yamato, Japan, LaGaude, France and Gaithersburg, Maryland facilities. In addition, customers are supported by IBM Research to develop specialized systems and tools for unique needs.
"While IBM has seen explosive growth in demand for RFID in retail and consumer process goods, increasingly IBM's industrial customers are using RFID to cut costs and time to market on the plant floor, in warehouses and transportation," said Faye Holland, worldwide RFID Solutions Leader. "In addition, RFID is benefiting mid-market companies by helping them compete in a global marketplace."
One of IBM's manufacturing customers, Philips Semiconductors, entered the RFID arena early as an RFID chip maker. Philips Semiconductors initiated a joint project with IBM in November 2003 to improve the business processes within the manufacturing and distribution supply chain, inventory management and control as well as to enhance customer satisfaction. Piloted at Philips Semiconductors' Kao Hsiung manufacturing site in Taiwan and its distribution center in Hong Kong, IBM and Philips are tagging all wafer cases and carton packages with RFID chips
IBM's RFID offerings for the mid-market include a solutions development workshop, site survey, pilot and testing services. Mid-market companies are not only complying with RFID mandates, but innovating to leapfrog paper and fax supply chain systems for greater profitability and speed to market.
An IBM mid-market client in Japan is Kureha Environmental Engineering Co., Ltd. Kureha is one of the leading waste management companies in Japan, and is working with IBM to test the use of RFID tags for tracking medical waste, the first ever such pilot in Japan.
Recent mandates from the Department of Defense and the implementation of the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act also have spurred growth in the adoption of RFID systems outside of the retail industry. The Department of Defense said last year it wanted its suppliers to start attaching radio frequency identification tags to their goods by Jan. 1, 2005, and IBM is advising the U.S. Department of Defense on the use of RFID. The TREAD Act contains provisions requiring vehicle and equipment manufacturers to report on a wide variety of information that could indicate the existence of a potential vehicle safety defects.
Voor meer informatie kunt u contact opnemen met:
Tineke Mertens
Manager Communications
IBM Nederland
Mob: +31 6 200 150 92
tineke.mertens@nl.ibm.com