RFID Partnership: TEXDATA Relies On You-R OPEN Software And RF-iT Solutions' RFID expertise
The Graz-based technology company RF-iT Solutions GmbH and the international standardization organization GS1 Austria opened the first RFID/EPCglobal Test CENTER in Austria this past May. The aim is to provide businesses with the opportunity to become acquainted, in a neutral setting, with the advantages and benefits of RFID technology and to experience how global standards are being implemented throughout the logistics chain. At the center, interested trade and manufacturing companies receive impartial advice on technologies along with support in introducing RFID-driven processes.
Among the first users to take advantage of these offerings is TEXDATA, a Karlsruhe, Germany-based software manufacturing company specialized in solutions for the textile, clothing and shoe industries. Together with the experts from Graz, TEXDATA is involved in a project to implement radio chips in supply chains from Asia to Europe. "Particularly in the fashion industry we are seeing great potential and strong interest in RFID solutions, as these offer a wide range of potential applications," observed Michael Plohnke, managing director of TEXDATA Software GmbH. "With You-R OPEN Software, its fashion solutions and their test lab, RF-iT Solutions is an ideal partner to help us successfully implement RFID projects. This puts us in the position of being able to gather precise information on costs and reading accuracy even before a project is launched. In the medium term we are also looking at realizing projects that are independent of the industry and establishing a new area of business using the expertise developed in software manufacturing," Plohnke added.
The fashion and textile market in particular offers an attractive potential for RFID solutions. Among the major drivers for implementing this innovative technology are EU regulations, globalized markets, broadly distributed supplier networks as well as growing complexity in the face of shrinking profit margins. A number of pilot projects carried out with international partners has put RF-iT Solutions in a leading position on the market in the fashion industry. "Our expertise clearly lies in the area of solutions for RFID software and technology. Yet, in order to be able to implement projects using RFID technologies that are feasible both in technical and economic terms, we need the help of experts with profound process knowledge who have also grasped how to integrate RFID with ERP systems. This is the expertise that texdata is bringing into our cooperative effort," Dominik Berger, managing director of RF-iT Solutions GmbH, noted in welcoming the new partnership.
About TEXDATA
Based in the technology region of Karlsruhe, the software manufacturer texdata software GmbH was founded by Michael Plohnke and Roland Stein in 1983. Initially, as a partner of Hewlett-Packard, texdata developed application software for databases to be used in the clothing industry and other sectors. With the introduction of Microsoft's Windows operating systems to the commercial market, texdata reengineered the product line for ORACLE and SQL databases as platforms. Today their offerings include comprehensive solutions for processes in the textile, clothing and shoe industries and for wholesalers. Among their customers are found names such as Seidensticker, Luisa Cerano, Marc Shoes, Van Elten and Bierbaum-Prönen. Since the fall of 2006 texdata has been working together closely with NTS Systemhaus Süd, a company specialized in software solutions for clothing retailers. In this way it is possible to provide solutions modelling the entire value chain, from product development on down to sales and end consumers.
About RF-iT Solutions GmbH
RF-iT Solutions GmbH, Graz, Austria, a firm active in the area of RFID solutions, software and services, was founded in 2005 through a management buy-out of the "RFID Software and Solutions" business division of Infineon AG. RF-iT Solutions is the market leader in the strategic segments of the fashion and the automotive industries. The company provides RFID middleware and technology consulting, devising comprehensive communications solutions to link together business processes, RFID technology and IT. With a staff of 25, the company is focused on the marketing and continued development of You-R OPEN, a scalable Auto-ID software product and the world's leading RFID operating environment, which serves as a platform for system integrators, software manufacturers and operators. RF-iT Solutions also provides system integrators with comprehensive technology consulting, serving them as a technical backbone, so that business processes that have been optimized in theory will also work when implemented in practice. In combination with the knowledge of experts, You-R OPEN enables partners to provide global RFID solutions quickly and with the required expertise, thus allowing them to focus on added value for their customers. The company operates the "RFID Solutions Excellence Center", for RFID testing tailored to customer needs, at the business site in Graz, Austria. On the basis of the convincing features of You-R OPEN, including its functionalities and capacity for integration, the company was awarded the valued European Auto-ID Award in the category of RFID in 2006 as well as the IT Constantinus award and the German Innovation Award in 2007.
SOURCE: RF-iT Solutions GmbH