Always On: In fact cycle counting as we know it may with more sophisticated sampling software and RFID be a pervasive always on source of counting information. Or it could be on demand triggered by not only a physical stimulus but a software signal.

SW as an Initiator: For example in order to reduce load on servers etc, when we run Wave planning or Allocation batches, we can with the right middleware trigger a count or read event to the reader or cluster. This would improve some cross channel operations tremendously. For example during very heavy loading periods where shelf (where there is deep stacking) and back room inventory is used to feed web orders and pickup from stores.

Real-Time REALLY!!: There is often a debate of how often to synchronize the store inventory with the promising and booking system. If we have a reader cluster that can scan a requisite space of items, the sync is moot. When a customer is ready to checkout, run the scan on demand & this time it is REAL TIME – real physical reads to real promising of inventory.

…… more to come in next week’s post

Also some thoughts on physical counting – which IMHO is much more interesting for software, and ultimately result in a bigger saving if RFID is used.

During recent times, there have been many innovations in temperature sensor development which enabled more sensitive detection, accurate monitoring and real time notification, sensing capabilities of heat sensitive environments.

One such an example on RFID Weblog: http://www.rfid-weblog.com/50226711/the_temperature_sensing_rfid_tag.php

Applicability: it gives the retailer, distributor, restaurant a much better context visibility into the entire chain, thus enabling dispute resolution, better service and compliance etc. Better visibility for it’s own sake is like the ability to observe symptoms without the ability to offer diagnosis or medication.

There may be usage for such diverse areas as blood bank to hospital applications, produce on vehicle monitoring, on shelf monitoring, installation of sensors to ensure compliance. This kind of sensor may also be used for hazardous and safety needs, such as geothermal, utilities and any king of monitoring related to temperature.

Here is a sample video on YouTube from MIT Open Courseware which also discusses such applications of RFID:

Please post any comments and views.. also please check out my other blog on Risk Management – topics for  supply procurement, supply chain risk issues, global procurement considerations, operations and working capital management etc. Will also cover news, topical opinions, discussions and reports. http://blogs.oracle.com/risk

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/business/2008/the_box/default.stm

While watching Top Gear, this particular news item caught my interest - the BBC essentially wanted to explain the global supply chain and in inference - globalization (or is it the other way around?). Their intention was to track a container all over the world for a year! and in the process demonstrate how linked we all are.

Now this kind of technology and tracking capability is certainly available right now and it is possible to "see" where your goods are at any point in time. Of course we can improve on cost of the GPS, signal fidelity, clarity and strength and I foresee a time when these containers will come embedded with one or more tracking chips. The technology used to track them will evolve from a combination of GPS, RFID, RTLS/WiFi into other manifestations, but the essence is auto-id which is not only information on what but also where, where-to, where-from and with a mature infrastructure -- how fast?

In much the same way, the voice solution from Oracle partners also has voice directed picking and it is embedded on the Oracle Mobile Supply Chain Application - this can be either a mobile java (andriod like) or a terminal emulators for example the LXE MC7 or the Motorola MC9000 among others.

Go ahead and see the amazing capabilities of this multi-modal platform which allows you to speech enable your applications on the same mobile device & platform that runs your mobile applications!

We may even have an RFID enabled voice transaction for you which can be achieved through the mobile personalization capability in Mobile Applications - if there is interest, so is anyone interested in seeing an RFID/Speech demo on a multi-modal platform?

For inquiries email me at: daio.syngkon@oracle.com

I recently had an opportunity to chat with Ashish Chona, CEO and Founder of InSync and to discuss how InSync complements Oracle SCE suite and how this will benefit our customers.

Oracle and InSync recently a partnership marrying InSync’s RFID, GPS and Sensor-driven applications with Oracles eBusiness Suite.

I had a chance to ask Ashish Chona, InSync’s CEO, about what InSync Software delivers, and what the partnership means for Oracle customers.

So InSync…Isn’t that a Boy-Band?

(laughs) Yeah, we certainly get that a lot, but no, sorry. In reality the last thing you would want is to hear me sing.

Tell me a little about InSync and your products.

InSync was founded in 2004 by myself and Ravi Panja, our Chief Technical Officer. We’re headquartered in San Jose, CA, with offices in India and Asia. Both Ravi and I had worked extensively with RFID in our past lives, and we saw a lot of opportunity and excitement in this evolving area of technology.

InSync provides customers and partners with solutions to locate and track assets, improve operational efficiencies, and reduce risks.

InSync uses a common software platform, Edgeware, for all our applications with specific add-on packages like GREENTrace, and Yard Manager that complement our  Edgeware. Our products are hardware agnostic and we support all forms of AIDC, including , RFID, GPS, barcode, wireless sensors, environmental sensors, actuators, scales, conveyers and more. Our products also support mobile devices, and our applications can run on handheld devices for mobile personnel in warehouses and beyond.

We target three distinct markets, they are supply chain, asset management, and food safety. In the supply chain category, provide solutions for warehouse automation, returnable container tracking and more. In asset management we focus on yard management and data centers. Finally, for food safety we’ve developed the GREENTrace™ solution which is used to provide customers with field-to-fork  track and trace capability for perishable foods.

What aspects of InSync technology will Oracle Customers be able to now Leverage?

Oracle customers can take advantage of InSync’s many applications as well as our patented Edgeware development platform to develop and deploy applications for locating and tracking assets, inventory visibility and management,

and much more.

InSync’s technology provides Oracle customers with a device to dashboard solution.  InSync’s products allow customers to configure, monitor and maintain sensory devices such as RFID antennas and readers, barcodes, etc. onsite-or remotely. Data gathered at sensory points, such as a dock door entrance, shipping line etc, is filtered by InSync’s application against pre-defined business logic and workflows. The result is actionable and relevant information that is integrated into Oracles eBusiness Suite, and can then be leveraged to automate processes such as sending ASNs or Invoices, alerts, or triggering additional events - All based on real-time asset movements, condition and processes.

InSync’s applications also provide real-time process metrics and process optimization capabilities. For example, in the Fresh Food industry we find that our systems bring to light logistical bottlenecks,  that in the end cause increased levels of scrap and spoiled product.  Using our system these fresh food customers are able to optimize the order truckloads of fresh produce are weighed, and unloaded into a cooler based upon the amount of time the produce has spent since harvest, maximizing freshness, and minimizing waste.

How will the Oracle and InSync relationship benefit Oracle’s customers?

InSync is basically enhancing the capabilities of Oracle’s products. Oracle customers can now incorporate sensory-based applications seamlessly into their business systems to better manage and track assets, inventory and business processes. Our products allow for scalability, so customers can prove a concept locally then scale rapidly without incurring additional deployment and integration costs.

The first one is a presentation from Patrick Dixon, here is that video.

this excellent video on how RFID is used in the warehouse. Since the video is recorded in a warehouse, it's a great visual learning video, here is the video

Can you tell me a little bit about Ekahau and its history?

Ekahau is one of the leading vendors in the RTLS (Real-Time Location System) market, and a pioneer in Wi-Fi based RTLS solutions, having launched the first commercial Wi-Fi based tracking system in 2002.

When hospitals and manufacturing facilities today have a need to deploy asset- and people-tracking applications, to improve productivity or staff safety, they very often today select Ekahau RTLS. The primary reason they choose Ekahau is our solution runs over any standard Wi-Fi network, and is therefore the most cost effective solution for accurate asset tracking within enterprise campus.

Ekahau was founded as a spin-off from Helsinki University in Finland, in 2000, and has today its headquarters in Saratoga, CA with sales offices in Reston, VA and throughout Europe. We currently have more than 100 resellers worldwide—including Siemens, Nortel, McKesson, Fluke and others-- distributing Ekahau products and solutions..

Ekahau’s technology and location algorithms, which are protected with over 10 patents, were first invented by the university scientist team called Complex System Computation Group (COSCO). Former COSCO team members include for example Linus Torvalds, the inventor of Linux. Our location algorithms are very important because they avoid the inherent problems with traditional triangulation methods. They give our RTLS solution unrivaled accuracy and allow us to deliver an all-software solution that can be deployed on top of any existing Wi-Fi infrastructure.

You mentioned that Ekahau’s RTLS system is Wi-Fi based, what are the main benefits of that, and what system components does your solution include?

It is possible to use UWB, Zigbee, Infrared and RFID for location tracking, but the problem always is the prohibitively high cost of these proprietary infrastructures. I should also mention GPS, but GPS does not work indoors. The fact is, most enterprises already have Wi-Fi networks for data and often for voice purposes, so it makes lot of sense to use that same standard wireless platform also for asset tracking. Because Ekahau RTLS can be deployed right on top of existing Wi-Fi networks, the benefit is that we eliminate the infrastructure cost and shorten the deployment time.

Ekahau RLTS is a turn-key system that includes the following components:

· Ekahau Site Survey(ESS) software for deployment,

· Ekahau Positioning Engine (EPE) server software, which calculates the location and provides API to other applications, such as Oracle Asset tracking,

· Ekahau Vision application software as a front-end interface for end users, and

· Ekahau Wi-Fi tags that can be attached to any assets or carried by people.

In addition to locating our Wi-Fi tags, Ekahau can also locate device that has a Wi-Fi radio already built inside--things like laptops, PDAs, and VoIP phones.

What makes your RTLS solution different to other Wi-Fi based tracking systems on the market?

We are using this slogan “Open-Easy-Accurate”, and it quite well sums up the competitive advantage we have on the market. First of all, Open, meaning that our solution works over any brand of Wi-Fi network infrastructure as long as it is 802.11 compliant. Most of our competing systems are proprietary solutions to one Wi-Fi network vendor only. Easy, means that with Ekahau solution, there is no cabling required. For installation you only need our software and wireless tags. The system is really fast and easy to install. And lastly, Accurate, means that, unlike competing systems that require additional hardware chokepoints or exciters to be accurate, Ekahau delivers high accuracy over any existing enterprise grade Wi-Fi network, with no additional infrastructure needed. It is just software and tags.

Tell me about the Wi-Fi tags, what’s the difference to traditional RFID tag?

The main difference is that passive RFID tags are used mostly for ID purposes and periodically read by portals and scanners as assets pass by, while RTLS tags are used for real-time location and they can report the location continuously as long as they are within the wireless network coverage area. Wi-Fi RTLS tags can also support two-way communications like receiving text messages or acting as a wireless pager. It has a battery inside that lasts typically 4-5 years depending on the use case.

One significant difference to competing solutions is that Ekahau Wi-Fi tags behave as any standard Wi-Fi client devices, and therefore it does not require any proprietary features from the network vendor. This characteristic ensures that our tags can work over any vendor Wi-Fi infrastructure.

Don’t the tags demand large amounts of network bandwidth if you have thousands of them in your campus?

No, Ekahau tags are very efficient. They transmit only 60 bytes of information per each location scan, and most of the tags are in a sleep mode until triggered by motion sensor to track location. So, bandwidth is not an issue in our deployments.

So what is the typical benefit the average enterprise customer is expecting to gain by using the RTLS system?

The ROI drivers for this industry are:

· 1: Better asset utilization through asset visibility. For example in a hospital campus with RTLS the staff can find the medical equipment, for clinical use and preventive maintenance, faster than before.

· 2: Improved enterprise processes through better process visibility. It is much easier to improve the workflow and process when you actually see the process, bottlenecks etc.

· 3: Safety and security. We are tagging miners underground, nurses in psychiatric care wards and hazardous area workers in heavy manufacturing. When there is an emergency it is important to know where your staff is.

How would you say the Oracle/Ekahau combination will benefit Oracle’s customers?

The key benefit from this partnership to enterprise customers is that Ekahau makes Oracle applications location-aware. When Oracle Asset tracking application is running in a manufacturing facility, it can now receive real-time asset location information simply by using the existing enterprise Wi-Fi network. And the same way this solution runs in one factory, you can be sure it runs anywhere where there is a standard 802.11 Wi-Fi network in place, hence is it network agnostic. So Ekahau also helps Oracle’s eco-system partners to develop new location-aware Oracle applications that are easy to scale across 100% of the enterprise Wi-Fi market.

To learn more about Ekahau, please visit www.ekahau.com .

http://www.cisco.com/go/semreg/motvjuly15/163994_8

Some key content from the presentation material:

• What qualifies as Context Aware information

• Ecosystem of a Context Aware enterprise mobility solution

• Common usage scenarios

• Cisco Appliances for Context Aware Mobility

I understand there are going to be additional subsequent release to Motion which will further enrich the solution and provide customers with more choice.

Video on youtube on RFID applications in the Supply Chain.

Centered around the user, multi-modal computing is as much a hybrid approach to user input as multiple drive trains are to a Prius. we will attempt to answer the following questions:

• What is multi-modal and how is this different
• What are it's uses?
• And most importantly how does this benefit companies adopting it?

Fig 1a: Tethered Modern Worker

We are all used to carrying multiple devices with us and the modern forklift warrior is also encumbered by having to use a number of devices and input devices to update a system with what he/she has done. Depending on the work situation, this would include any number of inputs and communications types.

For example if the user is working in a distribution center handling returns or maintenance/repair, a typical workflow would look like the following:

• Scan received carton/case.
• Inspect the item received for damages, special instructions etc.
• Confirm the quantity into mobile unit after inspection
• If this is a custom high value line e.g. custom trucks like Peterbilt, there may be a need to possibly call the customer/returnee to get more details
• If the DC has implemented task interleaving and it is high volume season, then tasks alerting and dispatching is done using a mechanism that can page
• If there is speech available as a capability, then a worker could use this input variation along with scanning
• If there are sensor capabilities like RFID, which is one of the top uses of RFID returns for high value goods, and a hazmat or hands free operation is required then scanning, RFID and speech may all be used in conjunction.

As you can surmise, the above operations in combination or singly can involve one or many modes of inputs in the form of scanner, sensor, speech, manual mobile input and some form of automation.

Multi-modal or Aria as branded by some industry exponents, is as much a device solution capability as well as software that enables the orchestration of these machine events and inputs into a synchronized business flow.

Keep a lookout for key capabilities, TCO impact and ROI measures.....

• Reduce Costs, Raise Output
• Track Assets and People in Real Time
• See the Power of Context-Aware Mobility

Improve Asset Visibility Through Context-Aware Mobility:

Register Here: http://www.cisco.com/go/semreg/motvjuly15/163994_8

Live Video Webcast, Tuesday, July 15, 2008
10–11 a.m. Pacific Time/1–2 p.m. Eastern Time

Locating assets and people in real time in today’s fast-paced, highly mobile business world can enable your organization to reduce excess costs, improve business process efficiency, and minimize errors and delays. Now, learn how context-aware mobility solutions can provide this visibility across your entire enterprise.

This live 60-minute Mobility TV webcast will show you how companies are already using technologies such as received signal strength indication (RSSI) and time difference of arrival (TDoA) to manage their high-value assets more effectively. Benefit from their real-world experiences and insights as they share best practices and practical tips.

Find out why Cisco technology partners such as Oracle chose the new context-aware mobility software from Cisco as the platform for integrating their applications to deliver customized business solutions. Take deep dives into the top deployment considerations, including site survey, configuration, and troubleshooting. Finally, learn why context-aware mobility provides unmatched flexibility with:

• Support for the widest range of location technologies, enabling deployment in virtually any environment
• An open platform, empowering third-party application providers to create more relevant business solutions
• Simplified licensing and deployment that let you expand coverage at your own pace

Live Q&A with the Experts

Cisco context-aware mobility experts will also be available to answer your questions throughout this live Mobility TV video webcast.

Topics covered include:
• Moving beyond location applications to context-aware solutions
• Overview of technologies, including RSSI, TDOA, and chokepoint
• Integration with Oracle enterprise applications
• Deep dive covering top deployment considerations
• Customer case studies sharing best practices

Also Watch:

Cisco Takes the Mobility Network to the Next Level
Learn how to enable business mobility with ease and from more places than ever before. See the innovative network architecture from Cisco that will enable you to eliminate the silos that divide your networks, applications, and mobile devices.

As part of Cisco's Motion release, we are going live with a webcast. I will be appearing on the webcast to explain the design collaboration and solutions that Oracle and Cisco are planning to offer. These solutions impact Logistics, Mobile Applications and Visibility in the Healthcare, CPG and Distribution industries and leverage RFID, RTLS technologies.

Keep a lookout - webcast details coming soon, for more details contact daio.syngkon@oracle.com

We have been receiving interview requests, inquiries from customers, analysts regarding the nature of our partnership with OAT. From Oracle's POV, our strategy and vision of device/technology convergence means that we are looking to leverage this Live Heartbeat data that comes from RFID/RTLS to enable our applications to enable better decisions - this is akin to having real-time streaming stock quotes instead of day old information. A simile can be drawn with the current efforts by google, msn to get live streaming quotes on their financial portals, information depreciates much more rapidly than your honda and it's usefulness is best leveraged at the instant when an event happens.

With their coverage of Active, Passive and WiFi technologies, this means lower integration costs for our customers with one standards based intoperability handshake between Oracle and OAT, that translates to a much better ROI, which is our ultimate goal for customers.

OATSystems Foundation Suite to Provide Oracle Applications Customers With Advanced RFID Capabilities

WALTHAM, Mass., - June 4, 2008 - OATSystems, a member of the Oracle PartnerNetwork, today announced a relationship to RFID-enable Oracle® Applications.

OATSystems has long been a leader in deploying RFID-enabled solutions in the retail, consumer product goods and industrial manufacturing segments. This relationship will enable Oracle customers to gain a new level of real-time visibility into Oracle's existing suite of supply chain and retail applications. Oracle's customers will gain the ability to improve operational precision with real-time edge process management and monitoring.

"One of the most challenging areas for businesses is obtaining accurate inventory and asset information," said Paul Cataldo, vice president of marketing, OATSystems. "A recent industry study demonstrated that for certain industry segments, inventory information is often grossly inaccurate. RFID addresses this problem directly by providing enterprises with greater visibility and operational precision. The bottom line is that for most companies having the right assets in the right place at the right time saves money and increases sales."

Oracle customers will benefit from OATSystems' proven solutions in several industries and flexible deployment architecture. This deployment architecture, unique to OATSystems, enables businesses to deploy RFID business logic using a lightweight and low-cost infrastructure, while maintaining centralized management and control capabilities. It mirrors the business model and meets the IT requirements for many of Oracle's retail and supply chain application customers. In essence, it enables businesses to improve local processes such as shipping and receiving while gaining integrated management and monitoring across multiple and remote sites.

"OATSystems RFID expertise and proven solutions will enable Oracle's supply chain management customers to use real-time RFID data to improve edge processes and gain deeper visibility into their operations," said Jon Chorley, vice president, product strategy, Oracle. "With these capabilities, our customers can save money through greater operational precision and the ability to transform business processes."

Today, Oracle and OAT have joint customers such as Tesco and Best Buy among several others. This relationship will enable them to leverage combined strengths to deliver more value for their market leading customers.

About the Oracle PartnerNetwork
Oracle PartnerNetwork is a global business network of more than 19,500 companies who deliver innovative software solutions based on Oracle software. Through access to Oracle's premier products, education, technical services, marketing and sales support, the Oracle PartnerNetwork program provides partners with the resources they need to be successful in today's global economy. Oracle partners are able to offer their customers leading-edge solutions backed by Oracle's position as the world's largest enterprise software company. Partners who are able to demonstrate superior product knowledge, technical expertise and a commitment to doing business with Oracle qualify for the Certified Partner levels. http://oraclepartnernetwork.oracle.com.

About OATSystems, Inc.
OATSystems, Inc. is the recognized RFID solution leader with software that empowers businesses to achieve competitive advantage and ROI from radio-frequency identification (RFID) enabled applications. As a pioneer in developing RFID technology, OAT has been setting the standards in RFID for over half a decade and is responsible for industry firsts that include the largest scale and largest scope of deployments, as well as the most innovative approaches to providing enterprise-wide RFID solutions. OAT's multinational client base consists of over 100 customers in retail, CPG, consumer electronics, manufacturing, life sciences, aerospace and defense. OAT is headquartered in Waltham, MA, and has a development office in Bangalore and various direct sales offices and resellers around the globe. To learn more about the company's latest developments, visit www.oatsystems.com.

Trademarks
Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates.

For more information, contact:
George Cohen (for OATSystems)
George Cohen Communications
(617) 325-0011  
george@gccpr.com

Most of you may have heard about Cisco's announcement around its Motion approach to mobility and Mobility Services Engine product. Oracle along with Cisco collaborated for the next generation buiness mobility and pervasive solution for enterprises.

The approach is really in tune with our vision of Convergence of pervasive technologies as the enablers to streamline and elicit process improvements. This information, real-time and clear can be channeled through the API into Oracle's enterprise applications, in order to run rfid, rtls enabled business processes and enable advanced mobility applications.

Information on Cisco's website:
Online press kit: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2008/hd_052808.html
Press release: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2008/prod_052808.html
Also, we have related videos on YouTube. www.youtube.com/CiscoMotion

Please contact daio.syngkon@oracle.com for further details about this exciting direction and alliance. Lookout for more details on this page.