Enterprises are continually working to become more efficient in their operations. Strategic outsourcing of non-core capabilities is increasing, driven in part by the decreasing costs of monitoring external processes. Critical business data now comes from outside the enterprise, rather than being generated internally as before.

Trading partners and internal operations alike can keep enterprise systems (ERP, CRM, Accounting) updated via standards-based message protocols such as EDI and RosettaNet AS2, and now this data is becoming even more prompt and accurate by incorporating real-time RFID scan data.

InSync’s new class of Edgeware applications operates at the “edge of the enterprise” to enable enterprises to leverage global RFID and partner messaging to create substantial value, business differentiation, and long-term competitive advantage.

RFID delivers substantial business value through real time visibility, item-level tracking, higher data quality, and lower user effort. Handling of assets can become seamless and hands-free. Once an item’s tag number is associated with its context data, asset tracking and real time visibility across the supply chain are achieved with little or no data entry.

Accurate, timely, and non-labor intensive data from edge and partner operations can help an enterprise realize more value from its outsourcing arrangements, by making it more feasible to entrust critical operations to partners, while accurately monitoring and measuring their performance. Monitoring customer shipments can enable fast, accurate revenue recognition.

RFID can enable a wide range of material condition and asset visibility applications. Some tags can provide sensor data such as temperature, pressure, humidity, and motion, as well as store data on-board the tag such as expiration and warranty dates.

Thus in addition to mandate-compliance in the consumer goods and defense sectors, enterprises can typically generate huge savings and efficiencies in specific upstream and logistics operations with targeted RFID applications, including Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI), Spares and Warranty Management, Material Condition Tracking, Returnable Asset Tracking, and Service Level Agreement Monitoring.

To enable these and other high-ROI domain-specific Solutions InSync provides the core Edgeware™ application suite including:

• Edgeware Site Manager to manage RFID readers at local (“edge”) sites,
• RFID Tracking Server to collect and organize the RFID scan data and associate business context information,
• eBusiness Server to generate update messages to central IT systems plus handle XML, RosettaNet, or EDI traffic with outsourcing partners and suppliers,
• Application Portal to provide global data visibility for internal users and authorized external partners through alerts, inquiries, and reports.

Edgeware Site Managers can be installed at supplier and outsource partner sites to implement asset control zones, and partners can obtain access via the Edgeware Portal, with administration and roles, to obtain visibility to their respective item-tracking data.

As additional InSync RFID applications are deployed, the enterprise can leverage its investment in the core Edgeware application framework across several RFID projects.