Trimble's RFID Technology Used to Track Interstate Batteries Inventory

Seeonic's and Interstate's Co-developed Solution Based on Trimble's ThingMagic M6e RFID Module Reader has 99.8 Percent Accuracy Data Rate During Year-Long Pre-Production Program

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Trimble

Apr 14, 2015, 06:31 ET

SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) announced today that its RFID technology is being used by Interstate Batteries to collect automotive battery inventory in their distributed network of dealerships. The solution, co-developed by technology company Seeonic and Interstate, allows Interstate Batteries to have greater visibility into their inventory in the field. The solution's hardware device, SightWare, was designed using the ThingMagic^® Mercury^®6e module and is manufactured by Trimble.

Interstate Batteries was looking for a more efficient method of collecting battery data inventory in their distributed network of dealerships. The previous method was manual, requiring personnel to visit the store and count batteries on the racks. This was time consuming and often inaccurate. By deploying the Seeonic solution, Interstate Batteries can have true visibility into their battery inventory on a more regular basis.

"As part of our continuing modernization effort, Interstate wanted to develop a system for tracking inventory in our dealer locations so we could provide them with even greater service. Seeonic had a brilliant core technology and Interstate partnered with them to create a commercial product. This automated system has exceeded our expectations regarding accuracy and reliability, providing unprecedented visibility of our shelf-level inventory. Additionally, Seeonic and Interstate collaborated to modify this technology to work in a delivery vehicle, installing it in 29 of our trucks. We have used the technology in these trucks for over 12 months with equally positive results," said Bruce Hellen, Interstate Batteries director of Business Practices.

Seeonic has been creating and perfecting this system for many years. SightWare is designed to connect with multiple cell carriers, leveraging both CDMA and GSM networks. Other connections such as Ethernet and Wi-Fi are also available. The data is uploaded to a cloud-based management platform called Seeniq. Once the information is collected from all of the devices, Seeniq cleans up the data and transfers it to Interstate, where their systems use it to make recommendations for enhancing their delivery model.

"The complete system was built by Seeonic, Interstate and their partners. The RFID tags were designed and manufactured by Smartrac. The battery labels were printed and the RFID tags were encoded by Flexo-Graphics. Trimble supplied the embedded ThingMagic M6e RFID reader and performed the production engineering. Trimble also manufactured the SightWare devices. Display Source Alliance assembled Interstate's 'SmartRacks' and installed the technology in the 29 delivery vehicles," said Harley Feldman, co-founder and CEO of Seeonic.

Interstate Batteries began this pre-production program in February of 2014, with over 2,000 installations up and running. SightWare and Seeniq are producing 99.8 percent data accuracy.

The SightWare devices and the Seeniq Web service are available from Seeonic. For more information, visit: www.seeonic.com.

Trimble's ThingMagic 4-port M6e offers high performance to meet the requirements of the most demanding fixed position multi-antenna reader applications, delivering a high read rate and RF power. It will transmit up to +31.5 dBm and can read more than 750 tags/seconds.

RFID Journal Live! 2015 – San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA

Bruce Hellen will be featured as one of the keynote speakers at the RFID Journal Live! 2015, the industry's premier tradeshow and conference. He will speak about Seeonic's solution applied to the inventory management of Interstate's battery racks and trucks. Interstate Batteries was also selected as one of three finalists for RFID Journal's Annual Best Implementation Award with the winner to be announced at the conference. For more information on the Seeonic solution powered by Trimble RFID technology, visit:

ThingMagic – Booth #912
Seeonic and Smartrac – Booth #612

Bruce Hellen's keynote will take place on Thursday, April 16, 2015 at 9:15 am.

About Trimble's ThingMagic Division

Trimble's ThingMagic Division is a leading provider of UHF RFID reader engines, development platforms and design services for a wide range of applications. ThingMagic develops products for demanding high-volume applications and provides consulting and design services to create solutions for challenging applications. ThingMagic's customers include some of the world's largest industrial automation firms, manufacturers, automotive companies, retailers and consumer companies. Located in Woburn, Massachusetts, the ThingMagic business was founded in 2000 by a group of visionary PhD graduates from Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab. ThingMagic is "The Engine in RFID™".

For more information, visit: www.thingmagic.com.

About Trimble

Trimble applies technology to make field and mobile workers in businesses and government significantly more productive. Solutions are focused on applications requiring position or location—including surveying, construction, agriculture, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping. In addition to utilizing positioning technologies, such as GPS, lasers and optics, Trimble solutions may include software content specific to the needs of the user. Wireless technologies are utilized to deliver the solution to the user and to ensure a tight coupling of the field and the back office. Founded in 1978, Trimble is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif.

For more information, visit: www.trimble.com.

GTRMB

SOURCE Trimble