RFID solutions for logistics and manufacturing
A passion for efficiency is one of Europe s leading providers of asset tracking and supply chain RFID systems. We identify our customers bottlenecks and offer turn key solutions that automate their processes, resulting in more efficient operations. s offering includes own software, own or third party hardware supplied from a trusted partner network and services such as installation, integration, consultation and 24/7 support. Global installations 600 sites in production 1 500 000 daily tracking events 3 000 000 + assets tracked 300 billion combined customer turnover 6 12 months typical payback time Reference customers ABB Ahlsell Aimpoint DHL Fenestra Finnish Road Administration Finnish Transport Agency Gekås Goodpack HKL Metroliikenne Kuusakoski Martela Metsä Fibre Metso Paper Nokia Nowaste Logistics NP Collection Paperinkeräys Plandent Sandvik SBB SCA Schoeller Arca Stora Enso STX Europe Swisslog Swiss Post Valtra Volvo Von Roll VR Transpoint Volkswagen Wärtsilä Würth The implemented RFID solution fulfills all our operational and technical requirements fully and has well-proven its functionality over 99 %, even in the strong wintertime. Alain Meuwly Project Manager RFID Systems at Swiss Post, Switzerland The solution works very well. It has enabled us to dramatically reduce delivery errors, increase customer satisfaction, and significantly reduce the loss of pallets and overall costs. We believe that the pay-off time for the system will be as low as one year. Daniel Johansson Logistics Manager at Ahlsell, Sweden Thoroughly tested, problem-free launch and production. 99.999 % RFID system reliability in industrial day-to-day operation with 100 000 events per day RFID just simply works. Systems took full responsibility of the implementation. Their consistent and rigorous approach revealed improvement potential in our material flow and offered prompt results. Kari Lahti Process Owner, Window Frame Component Production, Fenestra, Finland Julle Ala-Lahti Manager, Production Development & Methods, ABB, Finland
Asset Tracking Solution Track your assets location and movement automatically with RFID Companies use assets in their logistics processes. These assets can be pallets, roller cages, plastic boxes, railway wagons, air cargo containers, recycling bins and any other returnable transport items (RTI). Asset Tracking solution is de signed for tracking high volumes of RTIs with RFID. By automating asset-related processes and business transactions using RFID, companies can increase the usage of assets by 30 % on average and reduce related labor costs by 35 %. has a complete asset tracking solution that includes hardware, software and the needed services to implement and maintain your RFID system. All the assets are first equipped with appropriate RFID and/or barcode tags carefully selected from a wide range of available tags. The RFID tracking system is then put into place. This includes the installation of fixed readers or gates that track the movement of your assets and give real-time updates to the RFID tracking software. Benefits Asset loss prevention with asset inventory and location in real-time Efficient asset management and optimized asset availability with permanent inventory and ad-hoc reporting Reduced effort and risk for errors in inbound process Prevents sending damaged assets to customers Automatic rent calculation based on actual usage integrated to backend system Long-life and maintenance-free Gen2 RFID system. Rail Solution Automate rail car tracking and shunting yard operations offers a complete, proven and robust solution based on Gen2 RFID. It answers the needs of both operators and infrastructure managers for achieving better productivity and improving rolling stock management, safety and service. provides all the needed hardware and software for combining and analyzing the data, as well as, specialized services. Infrastructure Managers use s solution for tracking cars and their locations. The cars are tagged with Gen2 UHF RFID tags. Railway Reader Units are installed on several locations throughout the railway to enable the reading of RFID tags. Tracking and monitoring of all information is possible in real time through Server. Operators use s Rail Solution to optimize shunting yard operations along with the asset tracking. RFID handhelds are used to compose trains and manage the rolling stock efficiently. RFID can be used to also automate tracking of maintenance operations such as train washing, de-icing and weighing. Benefits Improved safety and service Timely and accurate error detection Fast repair and preventive maintenance. Productivity gains Accurate and automated tracking and tracing of cars tested for speeds up to 250 Km/h Efficient shunting operations Efficient wagon and locomotive utilization Efficient use of labor Efficient identification of faults and errors. Improved rolling stock management Accurate billing of third parties Inventory control. Customer Warehouse Customer
Supply Chain Solution Efficient inbound, outbound and production processes Inbound goods receiving automation is one the most popular and successful applications for RFID in manufacturing, logistics and retail. Shipments are automatically registered as they enter the site eliminating manual typing of purchase order numbers or barcode scanning. can handle the integration of the RFID system to your backend system: goods receipts are sent automatically to ERP. can also provide RFID capa bility for your suppliers easily and efficiently. Lean production is getting maximum flow with minimum hold-ups. With RFID you can automate material movements, replenishment orders, work-inprogress tracking and vendormanaged-inventory processes. Equipping material containers or units with RFID tags enables automatic transactions as materials are automatically identified at different stages of the production process. Outbound shipping with RFID helps to dramatically reduce shipment errors. Packing mistakes and shipping to wrong locations are expensive errors. With RFID you can automatically ensure your shipments content, verify they are loaded in the correct truck and that nothing is missing from the truck. sends automatic shipping transactions to your ERP, decreasing manual labor and enabling more efficient shipping process. Benefits Overall Supply Chain Improved material flow Real-time visibility and on-time delivery control Reduction of errors and enhanced timeliness of material movement Reduction of out-ofstock situations Improved labor efficiency Hosted SAAS solution available (no ERP required) Easy to deploy web user interface EPC Information Services (EPCIS) standard compliant interface available. Inbound Receiving Automated goods receiving 80% work time savings 60% error rate reduction. Outbound Shipping Reduction and timely catching of packing and loading errors Automated and accurate sending of Advanced Shipment Notifications Added value for customers with automated inbound process. Pulp & Paper Solution Track pulp and paper accurately throughout the lifecycle For pulp companies, provides a ready RFID solution that increases control of the pulp movements and its stock levels. By applying RFID tags to individual pulp units, pulp companies can ensure the correctness of the shipments to customers, track pulp throughout the supply chain and know exactly when it has arrived at the warehouse, when it is delivered to the mill and finally, the customers can track pulp as it is being consumed. Paper finishing, previously a labor-intensive operation, is becoming increasingly automated. Today the finishing machine control systems already administer all operations and communicate with the mill s other information systems. offers ready roll identification and monitoring solution with RFID making it possible to raise production efficiency and improve utilization rates. Rail car tracking is an additional application with RFID. It combines pulp information with rail car information by utilizing passive Gen2 RFID tags both on the pulp and the rail cars. This can increase the reliability of loading information at the mills and performance of the goods receiving process at the ports. It enables real time tracking of the location of trains between the mill and the port or terminal. Benefits Correct stock data in real-time Increased operational performance Less loading errors Less frequent inventory Elimination of labor requirements at ports Knowledge of exact units shipped Prevent sending wrong units Real-time data about consumption for the end customer End customer is less tied in capital in VMI. Suppliers Production Customers Core Cutting Packing & Loading Clump truck Pick Receiving
Products Software A single point of control software suite connects RFID gates, printers and mobile readers to your back end systems. It offers global control for your logistics process at a low cost of ownership. This is one of the reasons why our software products are in use in hundreds of customer locations. is one of the rare suppliers that is capable of providing the entire RFID system in one package. We offer a complete range of RFID software, hardware and services enabling you to take advantage of the latest RFID technological advancements. Client Products With over 10 years of focus in RFID system delivery, we are committed to continuous investment and innovation in our product offering. Gate Client Application for reading RFID tags used in Smart RFID gates, forklift readers & printing stations. Handheld Client Application for RFID handhelds for reading and writing RFID tags. Engine Embedded control software that enhances the software functionality of off-the shelf RFID readers. Server Products Device Manager Controls and monitors RFID readers or other related devices. Web interface. Visibility Manager Improves asset usability and control. Brings realtime visibility to supply chain operations. Web interface. Train Analyzer Combines RFID and Axle data from trains. Determines all train cars, type, speed, location and direction of train. Web interface. EPCIS A standard GS1 and EPC global RFID event repository that enables multi vendor environment.
Software Architecture s software architecture enables you to seamlessly manage RFID devices and integrate related processes to your backend infrastructure. The modular architecture offers a cost-efficient way to exploit RFID in your business. Devices with engine* server products Reader unit, railway reader unit, conveyor reader DC gate Devices with client Interfaces ALE LLRP Web service LAN WLAN GPRS 3G Device manager Visibility manager Asset tracking Supply chain Train analyzer Epcis Interfaces Web Service HTTP/XML TCP socket SQL Custom erp wms mes Custom modules Smart gate, shipment verification station Handheld Forklift reader * Engine is optional for LLRP ready readers
RFID Hardware One vendor, one responsibility We provide ready packaged hardware solutions for rail, RFID gates for asset tracking and inbound or outbound processes, as well as, pulp and paper tracking. As an independent solution provider also supplies hardware from over 40 manufacturers, and we always have more than one option for you. We are in favor of modular setups. This will save you money in implementation and maintenance. We deliver proven solutions and welcome challenges caused by harsh production environments. Services Agile and fast Customer decision point Site Survey 1 day Site Survey and ROI Feasibility 2 5 days Quick proof of concept Pilot One month for setup, 3 months of piloting Turn key pilot Production 1 2 months for setup Turn key production Support Global on-call support Support 24/7 Smart Gate Fully equipped gate reader enclosure for dock doors. Equipped with touch screen interface for user interaction. DC Gate Fully equipped gate reader enclosure for any form of dock door. Light Read Station High performance RFID reader and antennas for basic setups on dock doors and indoors. Railway Reader Unit Fully equipped RFID reader enclosure for identifying rail cars, connecting RFID data with axle counter data, defect and inventory level monitoring. RFID training workshop Improved process concept Support 8/5 Project plan and BOM Shipment Verification Station Reader unit for item level pallet content verification equipped with touch screen user interface. Conveyor Reader High performance RFID reader and antennas for conveyor and automation reading. Forklift Reader High performance RFID reader enclosure installed on forklift. Some commonly used third party hardware RFID shipping label RFID printer RFID handheld
Customer Cases We go the extra mile for you How to get started? Site Survey Could reveals here how be you a can tagline utilize RFID explaining profitably generally in your process how satisfied in 3 hours customers are? 1 Order a Site Survey online: www.vilant.com/contact ABB improves efficiency of inbound processes through automation with RFID Supply Chain The RFID system automates goods receiving, reducing manual labor and human errors in the inbound process. For Kanban suppliers an RFID based re order triggering system was developed. Goodpack turns to RFID for efficient asset pool management Asset Tracking Automated tracking and management of 2.3 million assets in 400 warehouse locations and multiple customers all around the world. Better tracking reduces the risk of loss or theft of valuable steel RTI and optimizes usage. Von Roll optimizes asset availability with permanent inventory and ad-hoc reporting Asset Tracking 50 000 plastic reel assets were tagged with ultra robust yet still very affordable UHF Gen2 RFID labels. Automation of inbound and outbound processes was achieved through the installation of RFID hardware products and Visibility Manager. 2 A specialist will conduct and document a 3-hour Site Survey at your site. 3 You will discuss the findings and figures at the end of the survey. 4 If applicable will deliver a draft quote for system implementation afterwards. Liikennevirasto implements Europe s largest train identification system with passive RFID rail is installing 120 specialized RFID Reader Units and integrating them into Liikennevirasto s detector network. The new, highly reliable railway tracking system aims to improve safety and service of operations on Finnish railroads. VR Transpoint utilizes RFID for a more efficient asset pool management rail Over 10 000 wagons and locomotives are tagged with passive RFID tags. To automatically read and transfer wagons RFID information to the backend, VR s staff uses 300 handheld readers enabling efficient shunting yard operations. Metsä Fibre implements RFID system for a more effective and reliable way to track pulp Pulp & Paper The RFID system includes passive RFID tags automatically applied into each pulp bale, RFID readers, and RFID software. It enables close to 100% accuracy of identification, simplifies stock management and helps to avoid costly errors.
Systems Oy Tietäjäntie 2 02130 Espoo, Finland info-finland@vilant.com Tel.: +358 9 8561 9900 Fax: +358 9 8561 9901 Systems Sweden Bror Nilssons Gata 5 417 55 Göteborg, Sweden info-sweden@vilant.com Tel.: +46 31 789 0000 Fax: +358 9 8561 9901 Systems AG Könizstrasse 161 3097 Liebefeld, Switzerland info-switzerland@vilant.com Tel.: + 41 31 511 0260 Fax: + 41 31 511 0261