David Orain is VP of Marketing at Omnitrol Networks, a leading provider of application network solutions for the wireless, RFID and sensor automation market.
David, we understand Omnitrol is making an announcement today.
Orain: We are very excited that Endwave Corporation, a leading defense and homeland security supplier, has selected our RFID-based work-in-process (WIP) visibility solution. They were looking to completely automate work order tracking and manufacturing traceability on parts, components or raw materials they need to produce their microwave communications products.
Where did they see the value?
Orain: Our Edge Application Service Engine software, which we call EASE, provides real-time and automated work-in-process (WIP) tracking at Endwave’s manufacturing facility in Diamond Springs, CA. They were previously using bar-code and manual data entry for WIP tracking. One major goal of theirs was to find and develop the next level of process innovation rapidly.
Now they are able to find out immediately where a work-order is; who worked on it; who is now working on it; when is it going to be completed. The solution uses RFID to track work-orders, parts, and assets. They love the web-based dashboards, which give them a real-time view of their manufacturing operations. They also like the ability to use the information for root-cause analysis of problems or anomalies. Price comparisons are what closed the deal.
We have seen a lot of announcements coming from Omnitrol. Remind us about them.
Orain: Well it started last summer, when we announced the launch of our work-in-process solution that we just talked about, completely integrated in a single Omnitrol appliance for manufacturers to track work orders, parts, process and asset on their assembly line without any manual intervention.
Last fall, we announced that we added wide-area capabilities to our WIP visibility appliance at the EPC Connection conference in Chicago. We had integrated our solution with IBM’s EPCIS implementation. The IBM RFID Information Center is the only implementation that has satisfied all the standard requirements for EPCIS. It creates a very critical solution for companies who need to integrate their supply chains.
When you refer to your customers, who else have you been working with that this solution is ideal for?
Orain: Manufacturers who have a large community of suppliers are the ideal customers for the wide area work-in-process solution. Suppliers to manufacturers or end-users can also use the solution as a competitive weapon, because they can now offer visibility to their customers of when their products are going to be delivered. Last year, the Boeing Company announced that they were using the Omnitrol.
As far as branching out, what types of networking relationships are you looking to build with other companies?
Orain: We are working with three types of companies. The first ones are the reader companies. We are working with leading companies like Alien, Motorola, Impinj. We help them deliver the application value with the innovation they bring with their RFID products. We support proprietary protocols as well as standard-based protocols like LLRP.
Other types of companies we work with are all the channels or added-value resellers selling to manufacturers. Resellers or system integrators selling RFID can leverage the appliance to make their solution cheaper and to develop solutions faster. And last but not least, we are also working with some of the back-end system application companies like SAP.
How have other manufacturers been responding to your new product?
Orain: We are growing our installed base very rapidly. Our customers are facing so much competition in the marketplace, especially in aerospace, but also in high tech in general that anything that gives them a competitive edge or reduces their costs is worth the investment. Being able to track work-orders in real time on the shop floor, and respond to customer demands immediately and accurately without impacting the current operations is a pretty good value proposition.
To gain more visibility across its supply chain also improves a manufacturer’s ability to stay competitive. I don’t think there is a more complex product than an airplane, for instance. With thousands of suppliers providing critical components, you could save a lot of time and money if you knew in real-time what parts were going to be delayed before it’s too late. If you can see any delay, or can change a work order in real time, without having to wait too long and then delay the entire assembly process, that is where RFID can shine.
