Kimberly-Clark
Deploys First Mobile RFID Tagging Solution;
Uses OATSystems' Mobile Tag to Improve
In-Store Product Promotions
Incorporates
Mobile Tagging Station From ADASA; Solves
Challenge of Encoding, Applying RFID
Tags, Verifying Shipments of In-store
Product Displays in Remote Facilities
DALLAS – March
27, 2007 -- OATSystems Inc.
today announced here at RFID World
2007 that Kimberly-Clark Corporation
(NYSE: KMB) has deployed OATSystems’ newly
introduced OAT Mobile TagTM, the first
enterprise-class, mobile RFID tagging
solution to improve the execution of
in-store product promotions.
Like
other consumer product companies, Kimberly-Clark
invests significantly in in-store product
promotions, using as a primary vehicle
a manufactured display that features
the promoted product. These displays
are typically shipped from Kimberly-Clark’s
contracted manufacturers directly to
retailers’ stores. All too frequently,
operational challenges prevent these
displays from reaching the sales floor
at the beginning of the promotional period.
In fact, industry statistics show that
between 15% to 40% of stores fail to
move displays to the sales floor on time,
missing critical promotional windows
and the opportunity to increase sales.
Working with OATSystems, Kimberly-Clark
has solved this complex operational problem
using the latest RFID technology and
a mobile tagging solution.
The
solution, which incorporates the Mobile
Tagging Station from ADASA, enables
Kimberly-Clark’s third-party contract
manufacturers to apply RFID tags to promotional
displays. In-store RFID readers read
the displays’ tags to record when
they reach the backroom of the store
and again when the displays reach the
sales floor. When a display’s tag
is read, data is sent to Kimberly-Clark
and the retailer showing whether the
display has reached the sales floor on
time. With this innovation, Kimberly-Clark
and its retail customers can intervene
promptly when displays fail to reach
the sales floor on time. This benefits
Kimberly-Clark, the retailer and the
consumer by ensuring promoted products
are where customers expect them to be.
The
OAT Mobile Tag solution will also enable
Kimberly-Clark to support RFID-enabled
stores in new geographies, easily conduct
RFID proof of concepts and explore other
RFID applications to improve performance.
(See today’s related announcement
from OAT, OATSystems Announces Real-Time
Promotion Execution Solution). With
this new capability, Kimberly-Clark will
enrich its information flow substantially
and thereby manage its promotions with
greater precision to improve bottom-line
results.
Before OAT introduced Mobile Tag, companies
either had to deploy costly fixed, enterprise-connected
RFID technology or take an unconnected
approach that offered limited visibility,
failed to ensure data quality and sapped
the value of RFID data. OAT Mobile Tag
now provides a pragmatic choice the market
has been waiting for: enterprise connectivity
at a moderate cost and without fixed
infrastructure requirements.
“We have been working closely
with OAT and ADASA for several months
to advance our RFID operational tagging
capabilities through a portable edge
concept that we developed,” said
Mike O’Shea, director, Auto-ID
Sensing Technology, Kimberly-Clark. “OAT
Mobile Tag is a cost-effective solution
that allows us to focus our RFID tagging
efforts where there is a clear value
proposition for K-C and our customers.”
In addition,
OATSystems said that Kimberly-Clark
has signed an enterprise license agreement
to purchase the OATSystems’ OAT
Foundation Suite as part of its global
RFID initiatives. The OAT Foundation
Suite is a complete RFID solution from
encoding tags, managing tag readers and
gathering and analyzing electronic product
code data. Kimberly-Clark said it plans
to use the OAT Foundation Suite generally
to increase efficiencies within its entire
global supply chain and specifically
to improve promotion management and other
critical business functions, including
goods movement within distribution centers,
proof of delivery and shipment reconciliations.
OAT Mobile Tag Components
The OAT Mobile Tag solution includes
software to manage the electronic product
code number allocation and the business
process, including coding, applying,
verifying tags, verifying shipment and
exchanging data between remote facilities
and corporate headquarters.
“OAT Mobile Tag is a practical,
cost-effective approach to applying RFID
tags centrally and verifying tags and
shipments, all in a manner that can be
easily moved when necessary,” said
Paul Cataldo, vice president of Marketing,
OATSystems. “We are excited that
Kimberly-Clark is once again taking the
lead in demonstrating to the market the
benefits of RFID solutions to improve
operations and bottom-line results.”
The ADASA Mobile Tagging Station includes
the PAD3500 mobile encoder, which can
be worn on a belt and commission thousands
of Gen2 electronic product tags per hour,
a laptop running OAT software and a Symbol
RFID and Barcode handheld device. All
these are within a hardened case that
weighs less than 50 pounds and is small
enough to travel as checked baggage on
most airlines.
“The mobile tagging station with
the PAD3500 provides a unique, bundled
solution that can be quickly set up and
within minutes begin tagging,” said
Clarke McAllister president of ADASA
Inc.
The OAT Mobile Tag solution and ADASA
Mobile Tagging Station are available
for deployment immediately.
About ADASA
ADASA Inc. is a highly innovative technology
company specializing in advanced mobile
RFID systems and RFID recycling. Based
in Eugene, Oregon, ADASA is leading
the development of patented and cost
effective mobile RFID and tag recycling
methods, technologies, and applications
for Fortune 500 companies.
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global
brands are an indispensable part of
life for people in more than 150 countries.
Every day, 1.3 billion people -- nearly
a quarter of the world's population
-- trust K-C brands and the solutions
they provide to enhance their health,
hygiene and well-being. With brands
such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups,
Kotex and Depend, Kimberly- Clark holds
the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in
more than 80 countries. To keep up
with the latest K-C news and to learn
more about the company's 135- year
history of innovation, visit http://www.kimberly-clark.com.
About OATSystems, Inc.
OATSystems Inc. is the recognized radio-frequency
identification (RFID) solution leader
with software applications that empower
businesses to achieve a competitive
advantage and increase ROI. It provides
solutions supporting the entire RFID
process from tagging to data capture
and filtering to analysis. As a pioneer
in developing RFID technology, OAT
has been setting the standards for
more than half a decade and is responsible
for industry firsts that include the
largest scale and scope of deployments,
as well as the most innovative approaches
to providing enterprise-wide RFID solutions.
OAT’s multinational client base
consists of more than 80 customers
in the retail, consumer packaged goods,
industrial and other markets. Headquartered
in Waltham, MA, OAT has offices in
Austin, Chicago, London and Bangalore.
To learn more about the company’s
latest developments, visit the website
at www.oatsystems.com.
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