Leveraging RFID technology to create supply chain visibility and security.
Done.
Thomasville Furniture Industries complied with big-buyer mandates and laid the foundation for a next-generation supply chain.
Business Challenge: Leveraging RFID to Comply with Big-Buyer Mandates
Founded more than a century ago, Thomasville Furniture is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Furniture Brands International, the largest furniture manufacturer in the United States. Thomasville designs, manufactures, and markets a comprehensive line of high-end consumer furniture. Thomasville’s Creative Interiors division, which makes ready-to-assemble furniture, had to meet the requirements of large retail partners such as Target and Wal-Mart, by using RFID to securely track and trace all shipments. Specifically, it sought to track goods at the pallet and case level, which for furniture are the same as the item level, since items are packed one to a case.
The first step for Thomasville was to deploy and integrate a leading-edge system encompassing RFID readers, printers, software, middleware, and other components. ODIN technologies, the leader in the physics of RFID testing, deployment, and installation tools, implemented the system. Thomasville also needed to ensure it had the capability to monitor the system for optimal performance and provide reliable end-user support 24x7. For those vital services— without which its RFID investment might have been compromised—Thomasville turned to Unisys.
“Thomasville Furniture is excited about having partners with the experience and capabilities of ODIN technologies and Unisys,” said Terry Bargy, vice president and chief information officer, Thomasville Furniture. “Working with both partners gives us the confidence to continue to be proactive in using RFID and other new technologies to improve our business.”
Solution: Adopting Advanced Technologies to Protect the Brand
The RFID tags are placed on finished goods infrastructure—ready-to-assemble furniture created by Thomasville’s Creative Interiors division—before the products are shipped to distribution centers. This enables Thomasville to track shipments and confirm deliveries. Ultimately, the system will be used to monitor and secure shipments across every link of the supply chain, giving Thomasville the ability to re-route shipments and manage inventory in real time.
Unisys experts collaborated with ODIN technologies to first validate the existing system design, and then to establish the support capabilities for the RFID infrastructure deployed at Thomasville's Appomattox, Virginia distribution center. Unisys quickly implemented a full-service 24x7 help desk and processes to repair software and hardware issues—from power outages to hardware damage to decreases in read rates. Unisys serves as the single point of contact for this end-to-end solution, with a full trouble ticketing system and detailed processes for problem reporting, diagnostics, and resolution. A knowledge base is updated continuously to address recurring issues.
“As RFID matures, 24x7 support will become a critical asset required to maintain fulfillment lead times,” says Patrick J. Sweeney II, chief executive officer, ODIN technologies. “For Thomasville, the combination of Unisys global field support and service management capabilities and deep RFID experience, coupled with ODIN’s position as a leader in RFID infrastructure, will support the efficient operation of the system over time.”
A team of dedicated staff members provide 24x7 telephone support and help desk services from the Unisys Managed Services Centre in Austin, Texas. Four-hour response times for on-site support are provided through a Unisys field office. Designed to meet EPCGlobal standards, the operation covers all the critical components of Thomasville’s infrastructure, including:
- Alien Technology readers and antennas
- RFID middleware from Shipcom Wireless
- Zebra printers
- Programmable logic controllers
- Mobile tagging carts from Accu-sort
- Ruggedized RFID reader racks from ODIN technologies
Results: Reliability, Responsiveness and Technology Innovation
The RFID tags enable Thomasville to confirm the delivery of products to key customers, ensuring highly efficient and effective supply chain performance and early notification of any emerging delays or bottlenecks.
The Unisys help desk and support team have exceeded all of the service targets, including highly efficient response times and 100% resolution rates. The support agreement with Unisys provides Thomasville with confidence that its RFID network is functioning at a high level at all times.
Through this relationship, Thomasville has emerged as a technology leader. According to the RFID Journal, the contract represents “a first in the RFID market and a sign that the technology is moving into the mainstream of company IT operations.”
Thomasville has the foundation in place to create a highly flexible and adaptable real-time infrastructure that will use RFID and other enabling technologies to optimize supply chain performance. In the future, Thomasville will be able to leverage remote diagnostics to streamline management of the ODIN-Unisys infrastructure.
”With ODIN and Unisys as our technology partners, we have a clear path ahead to secure and optimize our supply chain based on RFID and other advanced technologies,” says Bargy. “We are well-positioned to continue operating with the highest degrees of flexibility, efficiency and security.”
What’s the bottom line? With one point of contact for all RFID service requests, Thomasville has streamlined support processes to ensure high performance today and has established the foundation for tomorrow’s highly visible, real-time infrastructure.
