12:00

Preconference seminars open with working lunch

Working Lunch: RFID Basics
New to RFID? Here's your opportunity to gain a basic introduction to the fundamentals of radio frequency identification. The differences between the various classes of tags will be explained, including active and passive systems, and the need for additional IT systems to build upon RFID in real-world applications will be highlighted. This session will also include a very brief overview of the EPCglobal network, the future of ISO standards, ETSI reader regulations and the latest standardization efforts worldwide. Finally, the relationship between different standards in the areas of RFID and EPC, including the latest EPC Gen 2 standard, will be presented.

Speaker:

Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal

13:00

Preconference Seminars Break into Separate Rooms

RFID Journal University

17:15

RFID Journal University Preconference Seminar Concludes

08:00

Continental Breakfast

09:00

Welcome and Introduction

09:15

Opening Keynote:
Airbus Reveals the Benefits of an Enterprise Approach to RFID

Airbus, the 2008 RFID Journal Award winner for best implementation, has been pioneering best practices in the adoption of RFID by deploying the technology as "business radar" across all aspects of its business, including supply chain logistics, transportation, manufacturing and aircraft in-flight operations. This approach, which leverages a passive and active RFID reader infrastructure for multiple applications operating on a common software platform, has yielded significant benefits. The head of the company's RFID program will explain some ways in which Airbus leverages its RFID "business radar," as well as some of the benefits the technology helps to deliver.

Speaker:

Carlo K. Nizam, Head of Value Chain Visibility and RFID, Airbus

10:00

Keynote Session:
The Benefits of Using RFID in Logistics

One of the world's leading consumer packaged goods companies has been exploring RFID applications within its supply chain and logistics operations. In this session, learn the results of tests conducted at its facilities, how the company selected the right transponder and optimized it for high read rates under real-world conditions, and how the system was integrated with back-end systems using GS1's Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) standards. In addition, hear how RFID can be employed to increase product quality.

10:45

Refreshment Break in Exhibit Hall

11:15

General Session:
Achieving Real Business Value From RFID—Why You Should Act Now

Game-changing technologies enable early adopters to gain competitive advantage and drive shareholder value. Leading companies in many industries are already gaining that advantage from RFID, and our panel of experts will focus on how other businesses can do the same.

Moderator:

Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal

Panelists:

William Mapp, President, BA Systems, LLC
Lode Theunynck, Sales Manager, Automotive and Manufacturing Automation, Zebra Enterprise Solutions

11:45

General Session:
RFID in the Lufthansa Technik Group—UHF Technology for Logistic and Maintenance Processes

Lufthansa Technik, a leading provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for civilian aircraft, has implemented an RFID solution for tracking aircraft components through its maintenance processes. In this session, learn the latest information about the company's RFID initiative to use ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) technology permanently on parts.

Speaker:

Tom Burian, RFID Application Manager, Lufthansa Technik

Takeaways:

• Tag development and implementation status
• The business case for the deployment, as well as the benefits

12:30

Lunch in the Exhibit Hall

Manufacturing/Operations:
Automating Asset Management, Orders With RFID

Three years after deploying passive 125 kHz RFID tags to track its tool usage, the Byrne Group, a U.K. concrete substructure construction firm, has expanded its use of the system to identify users of its 16,000 assets—including tools, excavators, trailers and other heavy equipment, as well as consumables, such as gloves and boots—across its numerous construction projects. The company is also using the technology to manage the online ordering of those assets. In this session, hear how the firm, which is employing 125 kHz RFID to expedite shipments of equipment and supplies to its workers, as well as to track usage, expects to recoup its investment by 2011.

Speaker:

Matthew Preston, Group IT Director, Byrne Group

Takeaways:

• Why the Byrne Group chose an integrated RFID solution to manage, track and attain visibility into its plant, stock and equipment
• How the firm is utilizing the system to automate the issue and return of those assets

Supply Chain/Logistics:
Auto Importer Uses RFID to Reduce Labor Costs and Expedite Vehicle Movement

Colmobil, Israel's largest automobile importer, is employing an RFID system to decrease labor costs and expedite the processing of those vehicles as they are brought into the country at two ports. The company imports 35,000 to 45,000 cars every year, and sells them at 45 dealerships throughout the nation. The cars are brought into the Port of Eilat and the Port of Ashdod, where they are stored until they can be removed from the port's storage parking lot and shipped to Colmobil's pre-delivery inspection (PDI) facility. At the storage parking lot, each automobile is identified by its vehicle identification number (VIN), printed in text and bar-code form on a sheet of paper glued to the car's rear-left passenger window. The firm permanently fits each new vehicle with a 3/4-inch by 4-inch EPC Gen 2 passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tag as it is being unloaded from the ship. In this session, learn how the staff uses a handheld computer coupled with an RFID interrogator and a bar-code scanner to locate and confirm they have the correct car before picking it up. Hear how the technology is being utilized to accurately determine final detailing, safety inspections and registration with the motor vehicle license bureau, and to provide that information to customers.

Speaker:

Gil Katz, CIO, Colmobil Corp.

Takeaways:

• How RFID has decreased the amount of time the company spent on its annual inventory count from two days to only four hours
• The next phase of the system, which will enable Colmobil to expedite the movement of vehicles out of the storage lot

Retail:
Deploying RFID in the Fashion Supply Chain

The RFID Fashion Pilot, the first Italian supply chain pilot aimed at assessing RFID's impact in the fashion industry, was launched in June 2009 by the University of Parma's RFID Lab. Participants include Branded Apparel, Dolce & Gabbana, DHL, TNT, Imax, Miroglio and Trussardi. In advance of the spring-summer 2010 season, approximately 30,000 garments were tagged at a distribution center and followed to a store, enabling real-time visibility of logistics flows. In this session, hear the results of this groundbreaking pilot, and learn how radio frequency identification benefits logistics and store processes.

Speaker:

Antonio Rizzi, Ph.D., Full Professor - Industrial Logistics & Supply Chain Management, University of Parma

Takeaways:

• How a pool of technology partners supplied state-of-the-art RFID hardware and software to track the flow of goods in the supply chain, enabling value-added information to be obtained from data warehouses
• How the RFID Fashion Pilot helped the companies to obtain accurate and real-time data from their supply chain

14:40

Movement from Room to Room

14:50

Sponsored Breakout Sessions

15:30

Movement from Room to Room

Manufacturing/Operations:
Pack and Sea Uses RFID to Automate Crate Tracking

Pack and Sea, a Danish company that leases crates to the fishing industry, is employing radio frequency identification to track the locations of its plastic crates. The containers hold fish as they are caught at sea, and later as they are sold at market. The company had relied mainly on a manual method of tracking its containers, using pen and paper to record the number of crates a fisherman, auction house or buyer has at any given time, along with when they need to be returned. The firm turned to RFID to streamline the tracking of crates and invoicing of customers. Learn how the system delivers a real-time overview of the number of fish crates in various parts of the logistics chain, as well as providing documentation of the actual location and status of the individual fish crate, whether onboard the vessel, at the auction or at the manufacturer.

Speaker:

Bent Kirk, Managing Director, Pack and Sea

Takeaways:

• How RFID can support food traceability by providing visibility into the location and contents of each crate
• Using RFID to decrease labor costs by reducing time spent searching for crates

Supply Chain/Logistics:
Driving Down Costs With RFID

Radio frequency identification can play a key role in helping companies manage the inventory of materials arriving on a construction site, as well as reduce theft and improve the tracking of tools and other critical assets. In this session, learn how Byrne Group PLC, one of the United Kingdom's fastest-growing companies in the project management and construction services industry, used RFID technology to take control of its assets by improving visibility. Hear how the tagged assets are being instantly scanned using handheld computers, enabling the firm to manage inspection schedules for each asset. In this session, hear how these systems are helping Byrne to create an e-catalog of consumables (such as timber and fuel), as well as stock items (including boots, drills and other equipment).

Speaker:

Neill Pawsey, Programme Manager, Construction Opportunities in Mobile IT (COMIT)

Takeaways:

• The advantages of employing RFID-enabled technologies to produce accurate, real-time data that eliminates the manually maintained, out-of-date asset register
• How RFID lowers administration costs through process automation

Retail:
How Retailers Benefit from Using RFID to Improve Inventory Accuracy

For the past several years, the University of Arkansas' RFID Research Center has been studying the impact various retailers have achieved by employing radio frequency identification to improve inventory accuracy and replenishment. The center has now aggregated this information, and plans to provide baseline data revealing the benefits the typical apparel retailer can expect to achieve with RFID. Attendees will also learn how the technology can be applied to improving inventory accuracy and reducing the out-of-stock problem that has long plagued retailers.

Speaker:

Justin Patton, RFID Lab Director, University of Arkansas

Takeaways:

• Baseline data and new insights regarding the ROI that apparel retailers can expect to achieve using RFID
• The requirements for applying RFID to out-of-stocks

16:15

Day 1 Conference Program Concludes

08:00

Continental Breakfast

09:00

Welcome and Introduction

09:15

Keynote Session:
Third-Party Logistics Provider Improves Service and Reduces Costs With RFID

One third-party logistics (3PL) company provides end-to-end supply chain shipping services to more than 100 retailers, including land, sea and air shipments. The firm has deployed an RFID system at one of its warehouses to better manage customer inventory. Learn how the system has enabled the 3PL to provide compliance services, meet customer service-level agreements and improve the efficiency, accuracy and profitability of its warehouse operations.

10:00

General Session:
Reaching Out to a New Audience With NFC

The Centre Pompidou, an art museum in Paris, France, is using a mobile phone system known as Smart Muse to attract young visitors to its new Teen Gallery. As part of a French national project supported by the Ministère de l'Economie, de l'Industrie et de l'Emploi, and the Direction Générale de la Compétitivité, de l'industrie et des Services, the objective is to put Near Field Communication (NFC) technology into consumers' hands. The Centre Pompidou is employing RFID-enabled mobile phones to reach young visitors through the medium to which they are accustomed—social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace. In this session, learn how each phone the museum provides is equipped with an NFC RFID module and an antenna, and how passive 13.56 MHz RFID tags compliant with NFC standards are attached to posters and exhibits in the Teen Gallery. When a user moves his or her phone close to a tag, the handset will read that tag's unique ID number. Using software residing on the phone, as well as on the server, the phone will access the server to download content related to that particular poster or exhibit, and display it on the handset's screen.

Speaker:

Mauricio Estrada Muñoz, Project Manager, Youth Programs, Centre Pompidou

Takeaways:

• How Centre Pompidou is using NFC-enabled phones and displays to encourage young visitors to interact with the museum and share cultural content online with friends
• The importance of utilizing a tool familiar to most teens—a mobile phone—to choose what they would like to learn more about, as well as watch videos, listen to interviews or obtain details regarding specific artists and museum program schedules

10:45

Refreshment Break in Exhibit Hall

Manufacturing/Operations:
Looking Ahead—Exploring RFID and Related Emerging Technologies for Construction

As the construction and facility-management industries begin to deploy RFID solutions, new issues beyond the selection of readers and tags begin to emerge. This session will explore some of these emerging issues, including infrastructure setup (communication options to consider in an open environment), alternative mobile devices as readers (digital pens and tablets, interactive hands-free or head-mounted mobile devices, and cell phone readers), and unique issues involving rugged and metal-friendly tags (including ATEX certification and data standards).

Speaker:

Francis Rabuck, Director, Intelligent Infrastructure Lab, Bentley Systems

Supply Chain/Logistics:
Improved Tracking Efficiency With RFID

The Blood and Tissue Bank of Balearic Islands (FBSTIB), located on the island of Mallorca, is using an ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID-based solution to track bags of blood and its derivatives, from donor to hospital. The RFID system tracks hemo-derivatives from the point at which the blood is drawn at a mobile blood-donation clinic—typically, a bus or similar vehicle—until it leaves for a hospital. The process is more efficient (because it eliminates the need to scan a label's bar codes or visually read its printed text) and safer (because it ensures that mistakes are not made). In this session, hear how FBSTIB tested the system this year in several pilots at the blood bank, before beginning the permanent installation—which includes a fixed reader at the plasma storage freezer to capture tags as they enter and leave it, handheld interrogators to locate items within the freezer, and desktop readers to update the tag data as blood is processed. Passive UHF tags, containing EPC Gen 2 chips, are attached to each bag, and the data is then linked with FBSTIB's management system to provide information regarding each bag's contents and location.

Speaker:

Dr. Josep Muncunill, CEO, Blood and Tissue Bank of Balearic Islands

Takeaways:

• How RFID dramatically improves upon efficiency, reduces errors, enhances visibility and bolsters security within the supply chain
• The challenges the firm overcame when choosing a chip that could reliably perform in harsh conditions

Retail:
Using RFID to Reduce Theft

Gerry Weber International, a German manufacturer of women’s fashions, is applying EPC Gen 2 RFID tags to the 25 million garments it produces annually. The company also plans to roll out RFID technology at 150 of its company-owned retail stores in Germany and abroad. The application is designed to improve the efficiency of its incoming goods and inventory processes, and to function as an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system.

Speaker:

Christian von Grone, CIO, GERRY WEBER INTERNATIONAL AG

12:00

Lunch in the Exhibit Hall

Manufacturing/Operations:
Manufacturer Improves Warehouse Processes With RTLS

A German iron foundry is using an RFID-based real-time locating system (RTLS) to track forklifts and containers at three of its facilities. The system employs ultra-wideband (UWB) active RFID tags for tracking 20 to 30 forklifts, as well as passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) EPC Gen 2 RFID tags for tracking 10,000 metal containers and their contents. Learn how the RTLS captures the signals and unique ID numbers sent out by the forklift tags, then analyzes the forklift's location within the warehouse. Hear how the company benefits by being able to locate particular items more quickly, and by having a better overview of production.

Takeaways:

• How to use a combination of active and passive RFID technologies to track the location and movement of equipment
• The benefits to a manufacturing facility of locating specific items quickly

Retail:
RFID and Wireless Systems for Intelligent Airports

Airports and other large infrastructures have diverse communications needs that include complex and often varying service requirements, traffic profiles and user expectations. The Intelligent Airport (TINA) project was created to address these future and present needs. This three-year research project is being carried out by the University of Cambridge, UCL and the University of Leeds. The project aims to develop a self-organizing, wired/wireless converged system using a next-generation advanced wired and wireless network that will meet the needs of a future airport environment. In this session, hear how RFID can manage a wide range of fixed and mobile equipment. Uses for RFID in large facilities include information and entertainment services, security cameras, biometric sensors and explosive and chemical detectors, as well as logistical support for retailers, facility services and operations. With such a capability, this system concept is also expected to find applications outside the airport sector.

Speaker:

Sithamparanathan Sabesan, Researcher, Centre for Advanced Photonic and Electronics, Cambridge University

Takeaways:

• Improving efficiency and security through the active tracking of visitors and employees, by using RFID tags to aid in the detection and identification of possible intruder threats.
• How RFID can be utilized in airports to locate checked-in passengers who are either missing or late, thereby facilitating the reduction of passenger-induced delays and speeding up aircraft turnaround.

Supply Chain/Logistics:
Using RFID to Track Pallets and Containers

Packaging Logistics Services (PLS), a British provider of plastic pallets and reusable containers, as well as a manager of pallets and containers used by other companies, is employing RFID to track its own assets—while also helping customers to set up RFID tracking for their reusable pallets and containers. PLS has tagged its own products, in addition to installing RFID interrogators at its four European depots (three in the United Kingdom, and one in Germany), and at 16 third-party warehouses that the firm utilizes to ship its pallets and containers throughout Europe. In this session, hear the company's future plans, which include putting readers in customers' warehouses, and enabling them to share information with PLS regarding the movements of containers.

Speaker:

Jon Graves, General Manager, Packaging Logistics Services

Takeaways:

• How to actively manage stock to make sure there are adequate supplies, while eliminating overstocking—a common practice of product manufacturers and reusable packaging providers
• How RFID is being used as tool to offer to customers

14:10

Movement from Room to Room

Manufacturing/Operations:
RFID Helps Car Maker Save Labor and Improve Business Metrics

A high-performance automobile manufacturer is employing RFID to track the movements of its custom-made vehicles as they pass through the finishing process, to ensure they are produced according to the demands of the automaker's customers, and to provide business analytics. The company installed the RTLS at its production facility in the United Kingdom in early 2009. The system informs the automaker of the whereabouts of cars during the off-tracks (finishing) process, as well as how long each process takes to complete, and where bottlenecks occur. Prior to the system's deployment, having visibility of cars removed from the line had been nearly impossible without manually checking for them within the facility. The company wanted a better system that would enable it to know where all of its vehicles were, in real time, and to understand the dwell time at each step, as well as which model numbers took more or less time at any particular station. In this session, hear how the system's server provides a map of the facility, with an icon indicating each car's specific location, thereby enabling employees to see where each vehicle is located.

Takeaways:

• Using an RTLS to save employees time previously spent locating a missing vehicle
• Generating accurate business and performance measurements with RFID

Supply Chain/Logistics:
Using RFID Technology in a Seaport Terminal

Cargo that is too heavy and bulky to be placed in a container and does not move on its own wheels is typically loaded onto roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessels by means of special heavy-duty trailers. These trailers, in turn, are handled by a special piece of towing equipment called a "tugmaster." Storage positions of full and empty trailers are manually recorded, resulting in less than optimal control and necessitating significant efforts to localize trailers when the need arises. This session presents an innovative solution being used by a German port operator and its scientific partner. The technology achieves automatic identification and localization by combining passive RFID tags and GPS.

Speakers:

Wolf Lampe, Director, Innovative Seaport Technologies, BIBA - Bremen Institute for Production & Logistics
Anne Schweizer, Research Scientist, BIBA - Bremen Institute for Production & Logistics

Takeaways:

• How the system's implementation is expected to significantly reduce operational efforts
• How RFID is being used to reduce the flow of traffic at the seaport terminals

Retail:
Retail Chain Reduces Out-of-Stocks by Tracking Items from Production to Point of Sale

A European fashion retail chain has deployed one of the world's first end-to-end supply chain tracking solutions at the item level. The company has its suppliers tag clothing items at eight production facilities in China. The goods are then tracked through a warehouse at the port of Shanghai, as well as at European distribution centers, the backs of four stores in Slovenia, on the retail floor and, finally, at the point of sale. In this session, find out how the system is being used effectively, as well as plans for future use.

Takeaways:

• Utilizing RFID to improve on-shelf replenishment
• How the system helps stock-taking, inventory management and the management of the store's back room

15:00

Movement from Room to Room

Supply Chain/Logistics:
Manufacturer Reduces Costs With Wireless Vehicle-Management System

A global manufacturer is using a wireless vehicle-management system on a fleet of industrial trucks at a production and distribution facility in Germany. The system has enabled the firm to gain a competitive edge in its material-handling operations, by identifying opportunities to reduce costs and improve operations. In this session, learn how the company is reducing fleet maintenance expenses by automatically uploading vehicle data, reporting vehicle problems electronically, scheduling maintenance according to actual vehicle usage rather than by calendar or manual data entry, and helping determine the optimal economic time to replace equipment.

Takeaways:

• Configuring a system so that employees can use existing identification badges
• Improving supply chain productivity by establishing accountability for equipment usage

Manufacturing/Operations:
Using RFID to Detect and Identify People and Objects in Hazardous Situations

A European nuclear fuel and waste company that manages and disposes of all radioactive waste from centrally located nuclear plants is using RFID to identify individuals and objects at a hard-rock laboratory. The underground lab is where the company compiles and refines knowledge of all processes that occur in a final repository of nuclear waste, and tests different technical solutions on a full scale and in a realistic environment. The RFID-enabled system—an integrated part of its fire and security plan—enables the company to implement a secure system to detect and identify people and objects underground.

Takeaways:

• How an RFID-enabled system can be an integrated part of a fire and security system
• Insights into the use of RFID technology in high-risk situations

Retail:
Improving Sales With RFID

A chain of premier German department stores has successfully deployed an item-level RFID system for apparel inventory management. At its 30,000-square-meter (323,000-square-foot) Düsseldorf store, small RFID tags were successfully attached to 50,000 men's jeans, sweaters and shirts from six suppliers at its hub. Learn how store management can determine, in real time, where each apparel item is located, and which styles and sizes are selling best.

Takeaways:

• How RFID can improve overall store efficiency while enhancing the customer experience through complete stock visibility
• How to track individual clothing items from receiving to the point of sale, and how to ensure customer privacy

15:50

Conference Adjourns