RFID NFC Smart Cards

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1 Product Guide 2015 by RFID im Blick Product Guide 2015 Handout RFID NFC Smart Cards by Heading for Success with the Right Product

2 RFID NFC SMART CARDS System Integration Articles written by

3 36 Product Guide 2015 RFID. NFC. SMART CARDS by RFID im Blick Car Rental Service RFID in the Car Key of Car Rental Service Sixt Sixt has implemented a UHF RFID solution in ten countries, accelerating the car rental process of more than 150,000 verhicles annually Antti Virkkunen Country Manager, Austria, Germany, France, Switzerland Vilant Systems AG From three minutes down to twenty seconds the average time taken by the car rental service provider Sixt to find car keys without or with the UHF RFID solution, implemented by Vilant Systems. As the benefits for the customer are clearly aparent, Sixt decided to have Vilant Systems integrate the solution for key tracking and documentation purposes. About 200 counters and 200 safes for automatic key return were equipped with RFID-readers. The implementation plus pilot phase took only six months. The Car Rental Service Sixt The internationally active company is found at 2,151 rental locations worldwide. About half of those stations are corporate stations in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Great Britain, Benelux, and the US, and the other half of the stations are operated in a franchise system. The introduction of UHF technology falls in line with other innovations the company was the first car rental service with its own website. The option of making bookings via smartphone or tablet was also first developed and established by Sixt. The Challenge The service cyle of a rental car is characterized by a high degree of complexity, which must impeed the hundreds of customers that visit a rental station every day as little as possible. At a busy airport, more than 600 vehicles are rented daily. In order to keep an overview of the status of the vehicle and to track the rental and return process, it is necessary to track the vehicle keys. The Solution Some years ago, Sixt integrated a solution based on HF-technology for this purpose. However, the solution did not provide the required added value, which is why Sixt decided to roll out a solution based on the Gen2 standard. All key fobs for rental cars get a UHF RFID label. RFID readers with four antennas each were integrated into the rental counters of about 100 of the corporate subsidiaries with the highest turnover in most cases at airports or in large stations. This solution accelerates the localization of the key and thus streamlines the rental process. For the second important step in the rental process, Sixt uses USBbased RFID desktop readers in order to document the return of the vehicles and to generate the completionmessage after the vehicle is cleaned and refuelled. For return documentation at locations without staff or outside of office hours, the company equipped 200 Key Return Safes with RFID readers. Solution Key Data Around 200 counters and 200 safes for automatic key return in ten countries provide real time information on the time of key return 70 RFID label printers in registration centres and rental offices write and print the UHF RFID tags More than 150,000 UHF RFID tagged key fobs every year Integration into the Sixt ERP system for automatic updates on the vehicle status and key position, as well as Vilant Device Manager that controls all RFID readers worldwide. Vilant Engine enables autonomous smart RFID readers The rollout was completed within six months with a preceding a pilot phase of two months which speaks for the high degree of standardization, modularity, and quality of the solution with Vilant Systems RFID components.

4 Product Guide 2015 RFID. NFC. SMART CARDS by RFID im Blick 37 Looking Behind the Scenes What is the difference between the HF and UHF solution? The modularity of UHF smart shelf systems nowadays provides a more comprehensive range and flexibility on the component level compared to HF. The major difference between the technologies, however, is that intelligent shelves need to be based on intelligent RFID readers that are network-capable, which usually only applies to UHF readers. Manual HF antenna adaptations are no longer necessary for UHF, once the basic algorithms of the system are developed and tested on the level of the control software. Furthermore, the costs of UHF transponders, and also of the other hardware, are lower than the costs of HF technology. Another important advantage is the higher read rate that allows interesting variants for process extension in the application at Sixt. What other industries can the solution be transferred to? The Sixt solution is basically a normal, intelligent RFID smart shelf solution, compiled according to the construction kit principle. In the application for Sixt, the UHF antennas had to be quite small to fit into the drawers. However, the principle is simple: based on RFID labels, the intelligent shelf allows for a permanent inventory of the key stock in real time without manual intervention. This principle is of interest to fashion retailers or tool stocks, for instance. It is the decisions that are based on the collected information that make the difference. Is there a killer application in your sector? Supply chain tracking and also the tracking of reusable containers are two killer applications in the field of UHF technology for Vilant. According to different studies, both application scenarios have a global growth of 20 percent annually. Even though there are industry- and applicationspecific differences within these fields, all of them can be served with the same range of UHF RFID components. Finding the key within 20 seconds - before the UHF solution was implemented, the search procedure took up to three minutes About Vilant Systems Founded in 2002, Vilant Systems is one of Europe s leading providers of asset tracking and supply chain RFID systems. Vilant has implemented RFID solutions on more than 1000 customer sites worldwide. We identify our customers bottlenecks and offer turn key solutions that automate their processes, resulting in more efficient operations. Our customers include ABB, Nokia, SCA Paper, Von Roll and Volvo among others. Vilant s products include its own RFID software and hardware, third party RFID hardware supplied by a trusted partner network, and services such as installation, integration, consultation, and 24/7 support. Vilant s headquarters are situated in Finland with offices in Switzerland and Sweden.

5 38 Product Guide 2015 RFID. NFC. SMART CARDS by RFID im Blick Full-Service Logistics Provider From Load Carriers up to Tracking Everything under Control For the wood composite manufacturer Wilms, it was a logical choice to also become a RFID-solution provider and system integrator Katharina Wilms Henning Natenhorst Managing Director Project Manager Gustav Wilms Supply Chain Technologies Being a user as well as a developer makes providers of RFID-solutions ideal project partners. The benefits are obvious: practical experiences flow continuously and directly into the solution optimization process. Since the beginning of pallet manufacturing 60 years ago, the family company Wilms grew into a highly sought all-in provider of RFID-based logistics systems from the first self-wound coil for internal pallet tracking to end-to-end UHF-tracking solutions. The acquisition of Felix Schoeller Supply Chain Technologies (FST) RFID-division was the final step of development into an all-in provider of RFID-based logistic systems. What critical development steps did this diversely positioned company take? How is the stability of customer-specific RFID-systems before the go-live date ensured? 120 years of development: A wood composite manufacturer turning into a system integrator The RFID service range of Wilms Supply Chain Technologies is based on more than 20 years of experience and development work as a system integrator. RFID-system integration is, however, only one branch that grew from the company tree which started as a wood composite manufacturer that has more than 120 year old roots. In 1893, the company was founded as a saw mill by Gustav Wilms, and ever since has remained family owned. In the 1960s we started the production of wooden pallets, followed by round pallets for the paper industry 20 years later, says Katharina Wilms. Some of these reusable pallets circulate globally and are returned to us for processing and repairs. In the middle of the 1990s, customers started to demand a more transparent cycle of reusable pallets for the paper industry to get an overview of their whereabouts. This was the beginning of RFID-activity in our company. RFID-hard- and software developed in-house At that time, only LF-technology existed. There were no antennas at the ramps, so we had to wind the coils ourselves and use them for pallet tracking, Katharina Wilms says about the beginning of RFID-implementation. At first, the tracking only happened internally. But soon, we connected our customers with that system and started in-house software programming to display pallet tracking more clearly. Today, this software is known as Transponder Logistik System (Tralosy). More and more customers became part of our RFID-pallet supply network and we were willing to provide the technology for Automatic detection of load carriers in the loading process these companies. In 2006, Wilms, together with the then newly-founded FST, entered the UHFfrequency range. We acted as a service provider and producer in the background while FST did the analysis of tags and the conceptualization. This cooperation evolved RFID-technology into a mainstay of our company. In March 2014, Wilms acquired the RFID-division of FST and so became an all-in provider of RFID-based intra-logistics systems. Development project with Hörmann: RFID-based loading bridge One of the recent projects that demonstrates the innovative drive of Wilms Supply Chain Technologies is a RFID-based loading bridge developed in cooperation with Hörmann. Hörmann already worked on solutions to combine ramp and loa-

6 Product Guide 2015 RFID. NFC. SMART CARDS by RFID im Blick 39 ding technology with RFID-technology. Together we pushed the development work forward to design a marketable solution which has been available for almost a year now, explains Henning Natenhorst. The RFID-based loading bridge has an integrated antenna so that the hardware will not be damaged by forklifts and gates. The automatic capture of load carriers during loading or shipping allows a transparent flow of goods. The loading bridge was already installed at a first customer project in April. We expect to get a positive market response because the optimization potentials for distribution processes are enormous. Target sectors: wood composite, paper, foil, beverage, laundry The paper, foil, and beverage industries, as well as the laundry sector, are other target sectors of Wilms Supply Chain Technologies besides the wood composite industry. Henning Natenhorst: We see potential for optimization everywhere where returnable load carriers are being moved. Within the wood composite industry we address manufacturers and processors of particleboards and furniture manufacturers, among other things. All wood composite products come under consideration. For the paper and foil industries, where long sheets are wound onto a cardboard or metal core, we designed an industry solution that can easily be rolled out. Within the beverage industry, the tracking of bundles, barrels, crates, or event material is of paramount importance to enhance the transparency of the cycle between supplier and customer. Whereas in the laundry sector, we focus on the tracking and identification of laundry within the transfer processes of laundries and their customers. Philosophy and range of services: Concept creation, integration, and maintenance Customer consulting, including feasibility studies and profitability analyses, is the foundation of sustainably profitable RFID-systems. Therefore, we create a concept and present different options for processes optimization to our customer. If there is no off-the-shelf-solution we create it specifically for the customer. There is always a way to make load carriers smarter, knows Henning Natenhorst from his experience as a project leader. We develop new process steps if individual applications are needed within the production line. This is followed by project management, realization and integration, including switch cabinet building, software programming and integration at the customer s site. As RFID-systems are not always completed at the time of installation, the follow-up care includes service, maintenance and a 24/7 hotline. Logistic-Process-Center: Practicability on the test bench Wilms in-house test center, the Logistics-Process-Center, gives the company the opportunity to build and test hardware and software functions under practical conditions in a m² wide area. Thus all sources of error can be ruled out and solutions can be smoothly integrated into customer process without causing delays or production downtimes. Two RFID-based loading bridges are preinstalled in the test center. On top of that, two truck gates simulate whether cargo load can be read optimally. We can also test the tracking of beverage crates or the identification of pallets when passing a certain point, explains Henning Natenhorst. Moreover, the identification of objects over long distances was successfully tested in projects for block storage scanners. The hall has got enough space to reproduce customer s whole production lines. About Wilms Supply Chain Technologies Identification, information, and integration from a single source: we are a system integrator with high logistics, RFID, and IT competence. Based on our 20 years of project experience, we develop systems that combine the flow of material and information of our customers to bring efficiency and transparency to business processes. With our Transponder-Logistics-System (Tralosy) we have solved many logistics issues in a system-specific manner. Tralosy allows to integrate logistics concepts, such as Kanban or JIT, efficiently into your company. As a system provider, we accompany our customers from their initial idea to the installed solution and beyond. Customer consulting including feasibility and profitability analysis is a basic element of sustainably profitable RFID systems. For this reason, we develop a concept and present different solutions to the customer to optimize their processes. If there is no appropriate solution off-the- shelf, we develop a tailored solution. There is always a way to make load carriers intelligent. We develop new process steps if special applications are required within the assembly lines. Then comes project management, implementation, and integration, including control cabinet construction, software programming and integration into the customer s system. However, RFID systems are not always finished once they are set up. This is why our follow-up care includes service, maintenance, and a 24/7 hotline.