RFID Inside Track

1. What RFID markets does Lowry serve?

Lowry addresses the Consumer Packaged Goods, Fresh Produce, Chemical, Automotive, Government (Aerospace/Defense and DoD supplier compliance), as well as Manufacturing Supply Chain applications.

2. How did you come to select Impinj's Speedway® readers and Monza™ chips?

Through testing, we have determined that Impinj is the leading manufacturer of both readers and chips in the market with regard to performance. Our experience working with the Impinj technical team and owners also provided us with an added level of confidence in the company and its products.

3. What value do you add to the products?

Lowry packages and delivers all-in-one solutions. We scope the project, provide testing, professional integration services, and project management. In addition, we resell software and provide training as well as technical service and support after installation.

4. What is your experience with UHF vs HF in RFID deployments?

Lowry is a leader in the integration and installation of UHF RFID systems. We have limited experience with HF applications due to a lack of demand from our traditional customers.

5. What pilots and/or deployments are you working on?

We are working on a harvest management application utilizing Impinj readers to read products with high moisture content. This solution provides complete traceability from field to processing plant yard, through the cooling tube operation and into the processing plant. This application has resulted in a reduction of spoiled produce, the ability to take operational action based on the view into the harvest operations, and the ability to track individual bins of produce down to grower, ranch, lot, and harvest crew levels. In addition, we are utilizing Impinj readers in an automated shop floor process solution designed to reduce errors and increase operational efficiencies, and we are undertaking an RFID item-level project utilizing UHF near field.

6. What are the implementation challenges Lowry faces as an integrator?

We are continually working through customer education issues regarding the capabilities and payoffs of RFID systems. Another challenge we face is companies not looking at RFID far enough beyond simple compliance, or the fact that it is a new technology, to find true business-driven solutions with measurable ROI.

7. What response have you seen to DoD mandates from DoD suppliers?

We are seeing an uptick in DoD compliance business due to the contracting agents building RFID requirements into their contracts. This is truly a compliance market with very little value being driven further into the end-user processes today. However, we are optimistic that this market will develop beyond compliance-driven applications as more and more companies gain experience with what the technology can do.

8. What has been your experience with slap and ship vs ROI-driven deployments?

I would say the market is 75% compliance versus 25% value driven; however, the resultant revenue is reversed.

9. What interest have you seen in case/pallet vs item-level tagging applications?

Our customers are deploying case- and pallet-level RFID systems now, but we are finding more and more opportunities to assist them in exploring how item-level tagging could work in their environments.

10. Can you provide more information about Lowry's RFID Lab?

Lowry has two RFID Innovation Centers focused on rapid solution development and testing—a 6,000 sq. ft., multi-million dollar facility located at our headquarters in Brighton, MI and a 1,000 sq. ft. lab at our Irvine, CA location. Our capabilities include product performance testing, software development, process simulations, and load testing. Technology demonstrations and tours are extremely popular with our customers and the labs play an important role in making RFID “real” to them. We also provide RFID training and certification in partnership with OTA Training at both locations.

Lowry RFID Innovation Center, Brighton, MI.




	INDUSTRY INSIDER: LOWRY INTERVIEW WITH JEFF TAZELAAR RFID Product Manager Lowry Computer Products www.lowrycomputer.com 1. What RFID markets does Lowry serve? Lowry addresses the Consumer Packaged Goods, Fresh Produce, Chemical, Automotive, Government (Aerospace/Defense and DoD supplier compliance), as well as Manufacturing Supply Chain applications. 2. How did you come to select Impinj's Speedway® readers and Monza™ chips? Through testing, we have determined that Impinj is the leading manufacturer of both readers and chips in the market with regard to performance. Our experience working with the Impinj technical team and owners also provided us with an added level of confidence in the company and its products. 3. What value do you add to the products? Lowry packages and delivers all-in-one solutions. We scope the project, provide testing, professional integration services, and project management. In addition, we resell software and provide training as well as technical service and support after installation. 4. What is your experience with UHF vs HF in RFID deployments? Lowry is a leader in the integration and installation of UHF RFID systems. We have limited experience with HF applications due to a lack of demand from our traditional customers. 5. What pilots and/or deployments are you working on? We are working on a harvest management application utilizing Impinj readers to read products with high moisture content. This solution provides complete traceability from field to processing plant yard, through the cooling tube operation and into the processing plant. This application has resulted in a reduction of spoiled produce, the ability to take operational action based on the view into the harvest operations, and the ability to track individual bins of produce down to grower, ranch, lot, and harvest crew levels. In addition, we are utilizing Impinj readers in an automated shop floor process solution designed to reduce errors and increase operational efficiencies, and we are undertaking an RFID item-level project utilizing UHF near field. 6. What are the implementation challenges Lowry faces as an integrator? We are continually working through customer education issues regarding the capabilities and payoffs of RFID systems. Another challenge we face is companies not looking at RFID far enough beyond simple compliance, or the fact that it is a new technology, to find true business-driven solutions with measurable ROI. 7. What response have you seen to DoD mandates from DoD suppliers? We are seeing an uptick in DoD compliance business due to the contracting agents building RFID requirements into their contracts. This is truly a compliance market with very little value being driven further into the end-user processes today. However, we are optimistic that this market will develop beyond compliance-driven applications as more and more companies gain experience with what the technology can do. 8. What has been your experience with slap and ship vs ROI-driven deployments? I would say the market is 75% compliance versus 25% value driven; however, the resultant revenue is reversed. 9. What interest have you seen in case/pallet vs item-level tagging applications? Our customers are deploying case- and pallet-level RFID systems now, but we are finding more and more opportunities to assist them in exploring how item-level tagging could work in their environments. 10. Can you provide more information about Lowry's RFID Lab? Lowry has two RFID Innovation Centers focused on rapid solution development and testing—a 6,000 sq. ft., multi-million dollar facility located at our headquarters in Brighton, MI and a 1,000 sq. ft. lab at our Irvine, CA location. Our capabilities include product performance testing, software development, process simulations, and load testing. Technology demonstrations and tours are extremely popular with our customers and the labs play an important role in making RFID “real” to them. We also provide RFID training and certification in partnership with OTA Training at both locations. Lowry RFID Innovation Center, Brighton, MI. © 2007, Impinj, Inc.	Upcoming Events Auto-ID Expo 2007 Tokyo, Japan 9.12.07 - 9.14.07 Learn more ... EPC Connection Chicago, Illinois 10.2.07 - 10.4.07 Learn more ... RFID Journal Live! Europe Amsterdam, The Netherlands 11.6.07 – 11.8.07 Learn more ... FEEDBACK Is there an RFID-related topic you’d like to see covered in future issues? Did you find this newsletter helpful? Please send your comments, questions, and suggestions to RFIDinsidetrack@impinj.com